JAMES C. BEECHER, 1828-1886

This is a collection of material pertaining to the family of James C. Beecher (1828-1886) and his wife Frances Johnson Beecher Perkins. He was the son of Lyman Beecher, a picture of whose portrait is included. The family letters reveal personalities, background and interests of those who lived in the Civil War period. James joined the United States Army becoming a Colonel of the First North Carolina Colored Volunteers which fought at Fort Sumpter and in Florida. He praised the courage and ability of his negro troops. His correspondence with his military commanders reveals his impatience and lack of confidence in the operation of the Freedmen's Bureau, the treatment of the Refugee Freedmen and the policy of distribution of land of abandoned plantations. Two letters to Charles Sumner review the problems of Reconstruction. [Written by Elizabeth Bancroft Schlesinger]

From the guide to the Papers, 1850-1946, (Schlesinger Library, Radcliffe Institute)