The Long Journey of Writing ‘Noble Son’

Memorial Day seems an opportune time to reflect on the past more than five years of researching and writing my forthcoming book, Noble Son: The Life and Death of Private Willet Rathbun. I started the book in March 2020 and have a full draft, so hopefully publication comes soon.

The process of researching and writing this book has been the most challenging and rewarding writing project of my life. I did much of my research using online newspaper archives and reading through dozens of Civil War books. Also, in what became a great adventure, I traveled thousands of miles visiting libraries, museums, research centers, and historic sites. I tried to go everywhere Willet went, from his birth in 1844 to his death in 1864 at 19, as well as other locations for my research. Below are lists and photos from that long journey:

States visited

New York

New Hampshire

Pennsylvania

Maryland

Virginia

Mississippi

Louisiana

Florida

Historic sites visited

Willet Rathbun boyhood farmstead, Parish, New York (thanks to the current owner!)

Halfshire Historical Society, Richland, New York

Patterson Park, Baltimore, Maryland

Maryland Center for History and Culture, Baltimore, Maryland

National Museum of Civil War Medicine, Frederick, Maryland

National Civil War Museum, Harrisburg, Pennsylvania

Fortress Monroe National Monument, Fort Monroe, Virginia

Louisiana State University Libraries Special Collection, Baton Rouge, Louisiana

Port Hudson Battlefield and State Historic Site, Jackson, Louisiana

Ship Island National Seashore, Mississippi

Fort Zachary Taylor, Key West, Florida

Florida Keys History Center, Key West Florida

Other Civil War sites visited for historic context

Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania National Military Park, Virginia

Vicksburg National Military Park, Mississippi

Other sites for writing and research – almost the entire book was written at these three sites

My home office!

Carmel Clay Library, Carmel, Indiana

Bracken Library, Ball State University, Muncie, Indiana

Panera, Rangeline Road, Carmel, Indiana

MY FIVE YEAR-PLUS JOURNEY

New York - 2020

Visiting where Willet grew up outside Village of Parish

Civil War memorial in Parish, New York.

Maryland 2020

Visited Baltimore, where Willet trained, and the Museum of Civil War Medicine in Frederick.

Virginia 2021

Visited Fortress Monroe, where Willet stayed aboard a steam en route to New Orleans, as well as for context visiting major Civil War battlefields incluidng Fredericksburg and the Battle of the Wilderness.

Mississippi and Louisiana 2023

Visted sites in Louisiana including Port Hudson, site on the Mississippi River of military seige and battle, and the beautiful LSU campus where I spent two days at the special collections library. In Mississippi, I visted Ship Island where Willet landed and stayed before moving on to New Orleans.

Florida 2023

Willet died in June 1864 of yellow fever while stationed near Fort Zachary Taylor in Key West.

Hundreds of hours researching, writing, editing, revising

Help from my dad and dad-in-law

Peter Lee and David Gallahue each accompanied me on two of my trips and helped me in other ways including reading drafts.

Willet Job Rathbun, 110th New York Regiment

1844-1864