Biographical Data Calvin Shedd was born in Tewksbury, Massachusetts in 1826. Shedd mustered into service as a private with Company C, on November 6, 1861. Shedd returned to New England and then traveled to Illinois and Indiana to support his family in the years after the Civil War. Much of Shedd's life remains a mystery.
Many questions remain, however.
Shedd's personal feelings for his wife and family are prevalent in his letters. His love for and devotion to his three daughters is obvious from his personal notes to them. On several occasions Shedd also mentions that he has mailed separate letters to each of his daughters. Unfortunately, only the letters addressed to his wife seem to have survived the passage of time. In short notes to his children found extant within these letters, Shedd describes things that he knows will delight his daughters.