David Elwell Maxwell Papers (Confederate officer)

David Elwell Maxwell (1843-1908) was a native of Tallahassee and enlisted in the Second Florida Infantry Regiment in 1861.  In 1863 he joined the First Florida Cavalry as a captain.  This collection contains family correspondence written to Maxwell's mother and father between 1862 and 1864. Maxwell discusses the battles at Yorktown and Williamsburg, Va., and the aftermath of Gettysburg. The last war-time letter in the collection describes engagements near Dalton, Ga., and was written some months before he was wounded in the Battle of Atlanta.  Post-war letters contain some reminiscences.  After the war Maxwell worked as an agent for various railroad concerns in Florida.  For more biographical information see Cooper, John C., “In Memoriam: David Elwell Maxwell,” Publications of the Florida Historical Society 1:4 (January 1909):3-5 and Wright, Gilbert, “Letters to his Parents by a Floridian in the Confederate Army,” The Florida Historical Quarterly 34:4 (April 1958):353-372.