Charles Brown Thurston papers, 1861-1869.

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Charles Brown Thurston papers, 1861-1869.

http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/81088365

The collection consists of papers of Charles Brown Thurston from 1861-1868. The papers include 302 letters, two drawings, and one bound volume. One hundred sixty of the letters are from Charles Brown Thurston to his family and friends. He goes into great detail in describing his activities and those of the armies in nearby areas. He tells of the ships that passed the forts and the activities in New Orleans. His position as clerk gave him opportunity to know both the men and their officers and engage in conversation with them. His letters are well written and informative as to the conditions under which he lived. He especially took great pains to tell his father of the lives and activities of the African American troops. Thurston was never involved in any major battles or suffered extreme privation so that his letters remain expectant and optimistic. Charles' family, including his father Brown Thurston, his brother George Francis Thurston, and his sisters Clara, Minnie, and Jessie, wrote Charles the war news which they received as well as the "gossip" of Portland. Charles had friends in other parts of the Union Army who also sent him frequent letters. These include Charles Oleson, a hospital steward stationed in Washington, D. C., and Reuel W. Waters who spent most of his army years in Virginia. The two drawings are of Fort Jackson and Fort St. Philip. The bound volume is an honors paper prepared by Philip Racine at Bowdoin College in 1964 entitled Charles Brown Thurston's Correspondence, 1861-1864. It is an edited typescript of approximately 80 of Thurston's letters with a description of the collection and narrative background.

.25 linear ft. (1 box and 1 BV)

Emory University. Special Collections and Archives

Information

SNAC Resource ID: 8257391

Emory University. Special Collections and Archives

Related Entities

There are 9 Entities related to this resource.

United States. Army. Maine Infantry Regiment, 13th (1861-1865)

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6b38n53 (corporateBody)

Fort Jackson (La.)

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6w71dd1 (corporateBody)

Waters, Reuel W.

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6j96xzw (person)

Thurston family.

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6q045zg (family)

Dow, Neal, 1804-1897

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6th8pwd (person)

Dow was born in Portland, Maine on March 20, 1804, the son of Josiah Dow and his wife, Dorcas Allen Dow. Josiah Dow was a member of the Society of Friends (commonly known as Quakers) and a farmer originally from New Hampshire. Dorcas Allen was also a Quaker, and a member of a prosperous Maine family headed by her prominent grandfather, Hate-Evil Hall. They had three children, of whom Neal was the middle child and only son. After his marriage, Dow's father opened a tannery in Portland, which soon...

Oleson, Charles W. (Charles Wilmot), -1906

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6q824h7 (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...

Thurston, Charles Brown, 1843-1920

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6p84vz6 (person)

Charles Brown Thurston, printer, bookkeeper, and Union soldier, was born 10 June 1843, in Portland, Maine, and died 20 January 1920. During the Civil War, Thurston served with the 13th Maine Infantry under General Neal Dow. His regiment was stationed at Camp Beauford (Augusta, Maine); Ship Island, Mississippi; Fort Jackson and Fort St. Philip, Louisiana; and New Orleans, Louisiana. He was also a clerk to Gen. Dow in Pensacola, Florida. Thurston commanded two work details of African American troo...

Fort Saint Philip (La.)

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6vf1s56 (corporateBody)