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Alabama. Governor (1857-1861 : A.B. Moore). Military correspondence, 1860-1861.

Title: Military correspondence, 1860-1861.

This series consists of Gov. A.B. Moore's military correspondence from 1860 to 1861, containing correspondence, reports, legislative acts and resolutions, financial statements, receipts, and petitions. An act approved 1860 Feb. to "provide for the efficient military organization of the state" greatly expanded the Governor's military authority. The act established a Military Commission composed of the Governor, Adjutant and Inspector General, and Quartermaster General, and provided for a volunteer corps of eight thousand men. Much of the correspondence is from volunteer companies which after organizing and electing officers, sought the Governor's official recognition in order to draw pay and receive equipment. Also included is correspondence from county sheriffs and judges of probate in compliance with a law requiring them to locate and collect state-owned military equipment which had fallen into private hands. A great deal of correspondence concerns James R. Powell's efforts to purchase arms for the state in Washington, D.C., Richmond, Va., New York, N.Y., New Haven, Ct., and Chickapee, Mass. One of the most frequent correpondents is Duff C. Green, Moore's Quartermaster General. Topics discussed by them include the occupation by Ala. troops of the U.S. Army Arsenal at Mt. Vernon, and the capture of Forts Morgan and Gaines. Included is a copy of a letter by Moore to U.S. President James Buchanan in which Moore offers an explanation for the occupation of the Mt. Vernon Arsenal. Also included is correspondence between Moore and Fla. Gov. M.S. Perry, concerning the use of Ala. troops to aid in the capture and occupation of U.S. forts near Pensacola, Fla. Present also is correspondence with members of the government of the Confederate States of America, such as Jefferson Davis, Judah P. Benjamin, C.G. Memminger, L.P. Walker, and Thomas Hill Watts; with military officials such as Braxton Bragg and Tennent Lomax; with Ala. business leaders such as Daniel Pratt and Josiah Morris; and with state political leaders such as William Brooks, A.B. Meek, George S. Houston, Jeremiah Clemens, Edmund W. Pettus, Percy Walker, George Goldthwaite, and Rufus W. Cobb. Of particular interest is a group of letters forwarded to Moore 1861 July and Aug. from sheriffs, judges, and private citizens concerning public demonstrations of pro-Union sentiment by many people in Tuscaloosa, Walker, and Blount counties. As evidence of sedition are several letters from "Unionists" and "Lincoln men" who attempted to dissuade their friends and relatives from supporting the Confederate war effort.

ArchivalResource: Originals: 0.5 cubic ft. (1 archives box).Copies: 2 microfilm reels.

http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/81455638 View

Semple, Henry C. (Henry Churchill), 1822-1894. Papers, 1846-1919.

Title: Papers, 1846-1919.

Papers, 1846-1919, containing legal records, personal, political, military and legal correspondence, accounts, and printed materials. Series A, Legal Records, includes case notes for Semple's law practice, incorporation documents for railroad companies, and a copy of a case before the U.S. Congress. The bulk of this collection is correspondence, which includes Civil War letters Semple wrote to his wife, military correspondence containing copies of Adjutant General's letters discussing Semple's feuds with fellow Confederate officers such as Braxton Bragg, post war letters discussing state and national politics, including a letter from Horace Greeley and a 1918 letter to Mrs. Semple from Franklin Delano Roosevelt. The rest of this collection contains accounts, a daybook register of law cases, speeches about various legal points and information concerning Semple's Civil War service.

ArchivalResource: .66 cubic ft. (1 records center carton and 1 oversized v.)

http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/145408296 View

Alabama. Governor (1857-1861 : A.B. Moore). Pardons, paroles, and clemency files, 1857-1861.

Title: Pardons, paroles, and clemency files, 1857-1861.

The Governor of Ala. may grant pardons and reprieves, and remit fines and forfeitures in criminal and penal cases. This series consists of petitions and letters to Gov. A.B. Moore from prisoners, their families, friends, and others seeking clemency. Many petitions also contain affidavits from the convicting judge, jury, and state solicitor, as well as statements from the Inspectors of the Penitentiary which attest to the prisoners' good conduct in prison. The majority of pardon requests are for the the crimes of larceny, carrying a concealed weapon, assault and battery, manslaughter, and murder. There are a number requesting pardons for persons convicted of adultery, negro-stealing, and gaming with slaves. Of particular interest is the case of Hannah, a slave woman convicted of arson in Montgomery Co., Ala. in 1857 and sentenced to death. Because he thought she might be pregnant and thus ineligible for execution, the sheriff ordered a team of six physicians to examine Hannah. Unable to state definitely whether or not she was pregnant, the team recommended that the Governor order a stay of execution of four months, by which time her true condition would be more evident. A subsequent petition requesting a full pardon for Hannah contains the signatures of George Goldthwaite, William Knox, James R. Powell, William W. Screws and Thomas H. Watts, among others. Also contained is a series of letters and petitions requesting clemency for Jake, a slave belonging to Raphael Semmes. Jake had been convicted of nighttime burglary in Mobile Co., Ala. and was sentenced to death. He was later pardoned on the condition that his owner remove him from the state. Also included is a letter from William Lowndes Yancey requesting a pardon for Seaborn Flanigan, convicted of stealing a mule. Percy Walker's name appears on a petition requesting clemency for Godfrey, a slave boy under sentence of death for murdering a child. The names of Edward C. Bullock and John Gill Shorter appear on a petition for the pardon of Francis J. Cobia, convicted of manslaughter in Henry Co., Ala. A significant number of petitions are for the remission of fines and forfeitures, principally from persons whose bonds were forfeited after the bonded party failed to appear in court.

ArchivalResource: Originals: 1 cubic ft. (2 archives boxes).Copies: 2 microfilm reels.

http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/122562292 View

Goldthwaite, George, 1810-1879. Letter, 1843.

Title: Letter, 1843.

Letter, 1843, written by George Goldthwaite to Ellen Wallach (his sister-in-law) in Boston, Massachusetts. The amusing letter discusses social life in Montgomery, Ala. including the establishment of a Lyceum, marriages and births, and general society.

ArchivalResource: 1 item.

http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/122558047 View