Civil War collection, 1861-1868.

ArchivalResource

Civil War collection, 1861-1868.

This assortment of Civil War papers is composed of numerous individual collections from the Civil War period. The majority of the items are letters from Union soldiers to their families and friends at home. Some of the collections are substantive: the soldier is identified by regiment and hometown and many of his letters have been preserved. Most of the collections, however, are more miscellaneous and consist of one or two letters, a variety of official papers, memorabilia, incomplete diaries, reminiscences, ship records, and medical records. The more substantive collections are arranged in alphabetical order by the name of the principal writer or recipient. These include the papers of Henry Baker of Sanborton; Rev. Caleb Davis Bradlee (1831-1897), a minister in Boston, Mass.; Daniel E. Burbank of Fitzwilliam, N.H.; the Converse Family; William P. Corthell of South Abington, Mass.; Fredrick A. Dickinson of Deerfield, Mass.; Alonzo Hill; Henry L. Jeslin of Fitchburg, Mass.; George Fredrick Jourdan and his wife, of Grafton, Mass.; George G. Kimball; John G. Park; Hon. Eron N. Thomas of (Rease?), N.Y.; William Thompson ( -1877) of Lancaster, Mass.; the Vaughan and Howe families; Charles Ward; and Jonathan Gibbs Warren. The papers of John Emerson Anderson (1833- ) contain a one hundred eighty-four (184) page memoir, "Reminiscences of the Civil War," in which Anderson, a Union soldier, describes General William T. Sherman's occupation of Atlanta and march to Savannah, as well as a collection of his letters. The papers of William Sever Lincoln (1811-1889) include papers taken from Confederate homes during the last days of the war, as well as copies made by Lincoln of two soldiers' diaries, muster rolls for the Confederate army, miscellaneous general orders and correspondence, and a copy of an 1862 Confederate inquiry into the loss of Roanoke Island, which includes a response by Henry Alexander Wise (1806-1876). These papers were then donated to the American Antiquarian Society. The collection contains miscellaneous papers, arranged chronologically, including plans for a Union redoubt to be built at New Bern, N.C.; a consolidated morning report prepared by Brig. General John Sedgwick (1813-1864) at general headquarters in Fair Oaks, Va., in 1862; discharge papers; court-martial orders; a series of detailed orders by Admiral David Glasgow Farragut (1801-1870) pertaining to the Battle of Mobile Bay, August 1864; and a "Morning Report of Marine Guard Stationed on Board U.S. Steamer 'Shenendoah' ... Oct. 29th 1866." Included also in the collection are a partial diary of an unidentified Union soldier stationed at Fort Pike, La., 1863; materials removed by Lucy Chase (1822-1909) from headquarters of General Grant at City Point, Va., 1865 (see the Chase Family, Papers, c. 1787-c. 1915); miscellaneous papers pertaining to the Confederate States of America (much of this material was removed from the Chase Family, Papers, c. 1787-c. 1915); and typed copies of correspondence of Joseph Christmas Ives (1828-1868), a West Point graduate who served as Jefferson Davis' aide-de-camp. Dr. John George Metcalf (1801-1892), a physician in Mendon, Mass., a member of the American Antiquarian Society, a town officer, and state senator, 1878-1879, collected letters and Civil War memorabilia, 1861-1865, for his scrapbook entitled "The Irrepressible Conflict." Several Mendon and Milford men, serving in the Union Army and stationed with their regiments in various areas of the war zone, wrote to Dr. Metcalf during the war. They occasionally enclosed such memorabilia as Confederate bills and bank certificates, family letters removed from Confederate soldiers, Confederate pass forms, printed tracts, and government papers (e.g., draft exemptions). Several letters of soldiers were written from Confederate prison camps and bear printed slogans. The Union Army correspondents include Dr. Francis Leland (1817-1867), a Milford, Mass., physician and surgeon; the Rev. Carlton Albert Staples (1827-1904), minister in Lexington, Mass.; Nathan Wheelock (1843- ) and Charles Henry Wheelock (1840-1862) of Mendon, Mass.; and Dr. Rowse Reynolds Clarke ( -1888), a physician in Whitinsville, Mass. There are several excellent letters containing much information relative to camp life (especially the Potomac military camp), medical treatments, supplies, and illnesses; marches, skirmishes, and battles; dry-goods supplies received from Massachusetts volunteer groups; prison life, scenes of slavery. Several letters written by Dr. Leland detail a surgeon's day in military camp, Leland's visit with Abraham Lincoln (1809-1865) in 1861, and the carnage on battlefields in Virginia. Dr. Clarke wrote of political wrangling in 1862 between the provisional governor of North Carolina and Gen. Ambrose Everett Burnside (1824- 1881) concerning fugitive slaves and instruction of black refugees. Charles Henry Wheelock commented negatively on promotion techniques within the 15th Mass. Regiment in 1862. The collection also contains approximately three hundred fifty (350) letters from Southern women (and a few men) seeking to secure employment in the Department of the Confederate States Treasury. The majority of the letters are addressed to Christopher Gustavus Memminger (1803-1888) as Secretary of the Treasury and a few include an endorsement from Varina Howell (Mrs. Jefferson) Davis (1826-1909). Some of the women wrote detailed letters explaining their economic status and family situation. Two of the folio volumes are account books of commissary supplies for the Confederacy. The volume marked "Confederate States, 1863-1864" on the spine is indexed and actually includes entries for 1865. The volume entitled "Invoices of Ordnance and Ordnance Stores, 1861-1863," which includes a great variety of entries dated through 1866, was kept by Capt. Frederick Clinton Humphreys (1822- ). He was commander of Military Storekeeper Ordnance first at the Baton Rouge, La., arsenal and then at the Columbus, Ga., arsenal. Many of the accounts record supplies sent to Col. Moses Hanibal Wright (1836-1886). The third folio volume contains newspaper clippings that had been pasted into the second folio volume, but have since been removed. The octavo volume contains copies of letters written by the following Union soldiers from 1861 to 1865: Izenart P. Cushman (1827-1863), George P. Burrows (1840-1879), Alonzo S. Cushman (1843-1864), and David F. Cushman (1840?- ).

4 boxes.3 v. ; folio.1 v. ; octavo.

Information

SNAC Resource ID: 7000324

American Antiquarian Society

Related Entities

There are 48 Entities related to this resource.

United States. Army. Massachusetts Infantry Regiment, 15th (1861-1865)

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6qg9kn4 (corporateBody)

Grant, Ulysses Simpson, 1822-1885

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6r60gqx (person)

Ulysses S. Grant (born Hiram Ulysses Grant, April 27, 1822, Point Pleasant, Ohio-died July 23, 1885, Wilton, New York) was the 18th president of the United States, serving from 1869 to 1877. As president, Grant was an effective civil rights executive who worked with the Radical Republicans during Reconstruction to protect African Americans, created the Justice Department, and reestablish the public credit. Promoted lieutenant-general, in 1864, Grant led the Union Army in winning the American Civ...

Confederate States of America. Dept. of the Treasury.

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6n69ccp (corporateBody)

The Confederate States of America (also called the Confederacy, the Confederate States, and the CSA) formed as the government set up from 1861 to 1865 by eleven southern states of the United States of America that had declared their secession from the U.S. From the guide to the Death benefit certificates and power of attorney, 1863-1865, (L. Tom Perry Special Collections) The Confederate dollar, often called a "Greyback", was first issued into circulation in April 1861, when...

Farragut, David Glasgow, 1801-1870

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6bs9hpf (person)

David Glasgow Farragut (also spelled Glascoe; July 5, 1801 – August 14, 1870) was a flag officer of the United States Navy during the American Civil War. He was the first rear admiral, vice admiral, and admiral in the United States Navy. He is remembered for his order at the Battle of Mobile Bay usually paraphrased as "Damn the torpedoes, full speed ahead" in U.S. Navy tradition. Born near Knoxville, Tennessee, Farragut was fostered by naval officer David Porter after the death of his mother...

Burnside, Ambrose Everett, 1824-1881

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w69706w5 (person)

Burnside was born in Liberty, Indiana and was the fourth of nine children of Edghill and Pamela (or Pamilia) Brown Burnside, a family of Scottish origin. His great-great-grandfather Robert Burnside (1725–1775) was born in Scotland and settled in the Province of South Carolina. His father was a native of South Carolina; he was a slave owner who freed his slaves when he relocated to Indiana. Ambrose attended Liberty Seminary as a young boy, but his education was interrupted when his mother died in...

Sherman, William T. (William Tecumseh), 1820-1891

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6ck93n8 (person)

Sherman was born in 1820 in Lancaster, Ohio, near the banks of the Hocking River. His father, Charles Robert Sherman, a successful lawyer who sat on the Ohio Supreme Court, died unexpectedly in 1829. He left his widow, Mary Hoyt Sherman, with eleven children and no inheritance. After his father's death, the nine-year-old Sherman was raised by a Lancaster neighbor and family friend, attorney Thomas Ewing, Sr., a prominent member of the Whig Party who served as senator from Ohio and as the first S...

Converse family.

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6dw0kmm (family)

Kimball, George M., 1866-

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6n88vhk (person)

United States. Army

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6km312r (corporateBody)

The United States Army is the largest branch of the United States Armed Forces and performs land-based military operations. It is one of the seven uniformed services of the United States and is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution, Article 2, Section 2, Clause 1 and United States Code, Title 10, Subtitle B, Chapter 301, Section 3001. As the largest and senior branch of the U.S. military, the modern U.S. Army has its roots in the Continental Army, which wa...

Jefferson, Varina Howell, 1826-1909.

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6jq8wj0 (person)

Bradlee, C. D. (Caleb Davis), 1831-1897

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w66m4vvz (person)

Confederate states of America. Army

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6fn4wfh (corporateBody)

The Savannah Ordnance Depot, Savannah, Georgia, was organized as a field depot during the Civil War. In April 1864, it became the Savannah Arsenal under the supervision of the Chief of Ordnance. From the description of Savannah Ordnance Depot employment roll, 1864. (Unknown). WorldCat record id: 38477938 The Confederate States of America Army may have created the position of Purchasing Commissary of Subsistence to oversee the distribution of food and other supplies to the Co...

Thomas, Eron N.

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6fr7sk7 (person)

Ives, J. C.

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w60018fb (person)

Army officer and engineer. Born 1828, died 1868. Full name: Joseph Christmas Ives. From the description of Papers of J. C. Ives, 1862. (Unknown). WorldCat record id: 79454086 Lt. Joseph C. Ives of the United States Army Corps of Topographic Engineers was in command of a U.S. Army expedition whose mission was to explore the region of the Colorado River and the Grand Canyon, and to establish the limit of navigation of the Colorado River. From the description of [Jo...

Metcalf, John George, 1801-1892

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6fr09x8 (person)

John G. Metcalf, 1801-1892, who compiled most of the collection, grad. Brown 1820; M.D. Harvard 1826; physician in Mendon, Mass.; member Mass. Senate; Mendon town treasurer. An amateur historian, he held memberships in NEHGS and the American Antiquarian Society. He also published the Annals of Mendon in 1880. From the description of John George Metcalf papers, 1839-1932. (New England Historic Genealogical Society). WorldCat record id: 67713017 ...

Burrows, George P., 1840-1879.

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w65f6n74 (person)

Wise, Henry A. (Henry Alexander), 1806-1876

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w62f7qt1 (person)

American lawyer and politician; governor of Virginia. From the description of Autograph letter signed : Richmond, to President Buchanan, 1857 Mar. 20. (Unknown). WorldCat record id: 270588282 From the description of Autograph letter signed : Washington, to Thomas Teackle in Baltimore, 1841 Jan. 9. (Unknown). WorldCat record id: 270588600 From the description of Autograph letter signed : Richmond, to Col. T.H. Ellis, 1859 Aug. 1. (Unknown). WorldCat record id: 270588...

Howe family.

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6kh9p2v (family)

Cushman, David F., b. 1840?

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6rc512n (person)

Memminger, C. G. (Christopher Gustavus), 1803-1888

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6cz42t0 (person)

South Carolina legislator and Confederate Secretary of the Treasury; from Charleston, S.C. From the description of Papers, 1861-1878. (Duke University Library). WorldCat record id: 20030153 Lawyer and politician of Charleston, S.C.; member of: S.C. House, 1836-1852, 1855-1860, 1877; Secession convention, 1861; Board of Free School Commissioners of Charleston; drafter of Confederate constitution; Confederate Secretary of the Treasury, 1861-1864; President of the Etiwan Phospa...

Corthell, William

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6v20188 (person)

Joslin, Henry V. A. (Henry Van Amburgh), 1846-1918

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6mt1p8x (person)

Wright, Moses Hanibal, 1836-1886.

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6g23wpq (person)

Baker, Henry E., 1908-

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6pr80hc (person)

Georgia soldier (Baker County). From the description of Letters, 1862. (Duke University Library). WorldCat record id: 31421761 Miller. From the description of Daybook, 1844-1845. (New York State Historical Documents). WorldCat record id: 155439421 ...

Davis, Varina, 1826-1906

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w66h4gzq (person)

Second wife of Confederate States of America president Jefferson Davis. From the description of Letter and article: New York [N.Y.], 1905 Oct. (Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library). WorldCat record id: 29417912 First Lady of Confederacy. From the description of Letter: Montgomery [Al.], 1863 March [1]. (Unknown). WorldCat record id: 122415155 Author; wife of Jefferson Davis [1808-1889], president of the Confederacy. From the description of V...

Shenandoah (Screw sloop-of-war)

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6v17mkn (corporateBody)

Lincoln, Abraham, 1809-1865

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6tz44c1 (person)

Abraham Lincoln (born February 12, 1809, Sinking Spring Farm near Hodgenville, Kentucky-died April 15, 1865, Washington, D.C.) was the sixteenth President of the United States from 1861 until his death by assassination. He was the son of a Kentucky frontiersman, Thomas Lincoln, and Nancy Hanks. In 1816, Lincoln moved to Pigeon Creek, Indiana, where he worked on his family's farm. Following his mother's death two years later, he continued working on farms until moving with his father to New Sa...

Staples, Carlton A. (Carlton Albert), 1827-1904

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6b29jk8 (person)

Chase, Lucy, 1822-1909

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6806jr2 (person)

Cushman, Alonzo S., 1843-1864.

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6mt1p61 (person)

Cushman, Izenart P., 1827-1863.

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w67b21ff (person)

Dickinson, Frederick A., 1838-1862.

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6sc225k (person)

Ward, Charles, 1841-1863.

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w63g2kjj (person)

Clarke, Rowse Reynolds, d. 1888.

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w65797m5 (person)

Vaughan family.

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w66b648n (family)

Davis, Reuben, 1813-1890

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6w394pz (person)

Born in Tennessee; practiced law in Monroe County, Mississippi; attorney for 6th Judicial District; judge of Mississippi High Court of Appeals; colonel of 2nd Mississippi Volunteers during the Mexican War; member of the state legislature 1855-1858 and the U.S. House of Representatives 1858-1861; member of the Confederate Congress 1861-1864; lawyer and author. From the description of Speech, 1859 February 17. (University of Southern Mississippi, Regional Campus). WorldCat record id: 1...

Wheelock, Nathan, b. 1843.

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6p06490 (person)

Lincoln, William Sever, 1811-1889

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6vq4jx2 (person)

William A. Lincoln, a Hancock County, Illinois farmer, was the son of David and Thankful Lincoln, and probably a brother of Nathan Lincoln. There is no apparent connection to Abraham Lincoln's Hancock County relatives. From the description of Legal papers, 1839-1841. (Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library). WorldCat record id: 642687905 ...

Burbank, Daniel, 1785-1804

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6gf8q9d (person)

Hill, Alonzo, 1800-1871

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6qn7jdj (person)

Wheelock, Charles Henry, 1840-1862.

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6pp72nx (person)

Sedgwick, John, 1813-1864

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6125vrx (person)

Union Army general in the U.S. Civil War, killed at Spotsylvania. From the description of Letter, 186[4] January 14, (Unknown). WorldCat record id: 145407072 American army officer. From the description of Telegram, not autograph : 6th A. C., to Lt. Col. J. G. Taylor, 1863 Jan. 3. (Unknown). WorldCat record id: 270665049 From the description of Telegraph, not autograph : Head-Quarters, Army of the Potomac, to Major L. Hunt, 1863 June 3. (Unknown). WorldCa...

Anderson, John Emerson

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w65147c2 (person)

Soldier; flourished 1861-1881. From the description of John Emerson Anderson memoir, 1881. (Unknown). WorldCat record id: 79455428 Lawyer, accountant, businessman. From the description of Reminiscences of John E. Anderson : oral history, 1988. (Columbia University In the City of New York). WorldCat record id: 122441493 ...

Warren, Jonathan R.

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w68x192m (person)

Leland, Francis, 1817-1867.

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6s25z04 (person)

Thompson, William Coombs, 1802-1877

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6tn5712 (person)

Jourdon, George Frederick.

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6qw1h4p (person)

Park, John G.

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6sg0s1r (person)