Robert Bingham Papers, 1863-1864; 1923

ArchivalResource

Robert Bingham Papers, 1863-1864; 1923

Robert Bingham Papers, 1863-1864; 1923

http://www2.lib.unc.edu/mss/inv/b/Bingham,Robert.html

Robert Bingham (1838-1927) of Hillsborough, N.C., was a captain in the 44th North Carolina Regiment, Confederate States of America. The collection includes two volumes of a diary Bingham kept, 1863-1864, while he was a prisoner at Norfolk, Va., Fort Delaware, Johnson's Island, Ohio, and Point Lookout, Md.; and a letter, 14 March 1923, from him to his granddaughter, Henrietta Bingham, describing his Civil War experiences in Virginia, his capture, and his imprisonment. The diary, marked records thoughts Bingham hesitated to put into letters to his wife. The diary describes prison life, including quarters, gambling, work, escape plots, sermons, food, illness, and hospitals at various prison camps. Included are descriptions of the trip from Johnson's Island to Point Lookout; of Bingham's work making chairs and gold and silver rings, needles, and buttons; of his exchange of books with other inmates and guards; and of rumors, including rumors of cessation of prison exchanges, return of North Carolina to the Union, and Confederate privates signing oaths of allegiance. intended only for my wife,

3

eng,

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Library. Southern Historical Collection