Keeler, William Frederick, 1821-1886

William F. Keeler, the author of the letter, was born on June 9, 1821, the oldest child of Roswell Keeler and Mary Plant of Utica, NY. At the outbreak of war in 1861, Keeler was a senior partner of the La Salle Iron Works in La Salle, Illinois. Soon after the opening of the war, Keeler made application to his local congressman for a volunteer appointment. His request was granted on December 18, 1861 when he was made "Acting Assistant Paymaster and Clerk" and he reported for duty on board US Steam Battery Monitor on January 4, 1862. After Monitor foundered at sea in December 1862, Keeler, at the request of John Bankhead, was assigned to duty as Paymaster on USS Florida.

The Florida, a side-wheel steamer, was purchased and commissioned on 5 October 1861, with Lieutenant J. R. Goldsborough in command. Florida steamed out of New York Harbor 19 October 1861 to join the South Atlantic Blockading Squadron in patrolling the coasts of South Carolina, Georgia, and Florida. The steamer helped capture a ship and a schooner, which were running the blockade. Returning to New York during November 1862, Florida was decommissioned for repairs. Keeler wrote the present letter just prior to Florida's being re-commissioned 7 March 1863 for service with the North Atlantic Blockading Squadron. Keeler remained on duty aboard Florida for the remainder of the war.

After the war, according to a biography of Keeler for the Monitor Center, Keeler "moved his family from Illinois to Mayport, Florida. Taking on the assumed title of major, Keeler worked as a customs collector, elections inspector, and railroad paymaster until his death."

From the description of William F. Keeler Letter, 1863 February. (The Mariners' Museum Library). WorldCat record id: 754107592