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Brevet Brigadier General Eugene Beuharnais Payne was born in Seneca Falls, New York on April 15, 1835. His family quickly moved to Lake County Illinois and Payne studied locally in Waukegan. He graduated law school from Northwestern University in 1860 and was admitted to the bar to practice within the same year.
With the start of the Civil War, Payne formed the first Infantry company of Union troops (37th Regiment) in the state of Illinois and served throughout the conflict until September of 1864.. Most notably, Payne fought and later wrote/described in both his letters and a later 1903 pamphlet about the battle of Pea Ridge in Arkansas. Furthermore, just as this collections shows a soldier's perspective on battle, it also clearly testifies about the marriage of Eugene B. Payne and his wife Adelia A. "Delia" Wright. They married on January 26th, 1862 and as clearly expressed throughout the letters, the couple shared a deep connection of love.
After the war, the decorated general Payne, returned to Illinois and was elected a member of the State Legislature in 1864 and served until 1868. He also returned to practicing law for 17 years and became an officer/examiner of the United States Pension Bureau in Washington and later in Cleveland, OH. He wrote a number of volumes on this type of federal work and led a steady life overall. He died on April 7, 1910 in Washington at the age of 75.