After William’s letter on April 10, 1862, reporting the Battle of Shiloh, there are no letters from William in the Patterson Family Collection for the remainder of 1862. In fact, the next surviving letter in the collection is May 6, 1863. However, we do know the whereabouts of his unit, the 1st OVI.
After the Battle of Shiloh, the 1st OVI participated in the pursuit of the Confederate Army to Corinth occupying the city on May 30, 1862. The 1st OVI remained in the city until June 10, when it received marching orders for Nashville, Tennessee. While on the march, the regiment passed through: Iuka, Mississippi; Tuscumbia, Alabama; Florence, Alabama; and Huntsville, Alabama. At Huntsville, the regiment boarded railway cars and traveled to Boiling Fork, Tennessee arriving on July 7, 1862. Boiling Fork is located on a tributary of the Elk River near Winchester, Tennessee. (Source, Ohio in the War)