1835

Adams, John Quincy, 1767-1848

Book signed

Title: Oration on the Life and Character of Gilbert Motier De Lafayette

Title page continues: "Delivered at the request of both Houses of the Congress of the United States, before them, in the House of Representatives at Washington, on the 31st December, 1834." Published by Gales and Seaton. Signed by Adams and inscribed to Gayton P. Osgood. Cover is contemporary ribbed red morocco.

GLC01238

January 2, 1848

Buchanan, James, 1791-1868

Autograph letter signed

Title: to B.S. Schoonover

Buchanan discusses his presidential prospects and thanks Schoonover profusely for his support. Describes at length the faithfulness and devotion the people of Pennsylvania have shown him over the years. Mentions that if it was up to him, he would not have sought out the presidency but the support for his nomination was so great that he could not avoid it. He expresses his surprise at learning that Governor Francis Shunk's administration would oppose his nomination since he had exerted all his influence to get the governor elected. Comments that it seems General Lewis Cass and himself will be…

GLC01239

1863-1864

Leslie, Joseph, fl. 1863-1864

Diary

Title: [Diary of Joseph Leslie 18th regiment, Pennsylvania Cavalry, Company D]

Several pages in the diary have names and regiments of different officers from New York, Ohio, Michigan, etc., who were prisoners with him. Includes several pages of Libby Prison expenses/accounting of what he paid for crackers, paper, tobacco, bread, onions, soap, and other items. There are nine pages of Union and Confederate generals who died or were killed in action with their place of death including, Chantilly, Antietam, Gettysburg, Wilsons Creek, Shiloh, Manassas, Vicksburg, Corinth, Perryville, etc. At the back are 12 pages of poetry and verse Leslie composed while in Libby…

GLC01185

4 March 1861

J.A. Cowardin & Co., (publishers), fl. 1853-1880

Newspaper

Title: Richmond daily dispatch--extra. [no volume or number information (March 4, 1861)]

Same-day "Extra" printing of Lincoln's first inaugural address; the concluding portion of the speech is not printed. Also: Paragraph criticizing Lincoln for secretly passing through Baltimore (dubbed "Lincoln's pass over"). Report from Capt. Foster at Fort Moultrie; another report of 2 Dahlgren guns arriving in Charleston from Richmond, with more munitions on the way. On verso "Lincoln inaugural" is written in ink.

GLC01186

8 April 1865

Newspaper

Title: Selma union. [Vol. 1, no. 1 (April 8, 1865)]

Occupation newspaper printed by Union soldiers W.W. Van Antwerp and Theo. T. Scribner. Reports the capture of Selma and of the Chattanooga "Rebel" (newspaper) printing press.

GLC01187

October 28, 1775

Warren, Mercy Otis, 1728-1814

Autograph letter signed

Title: to Ellen Lothrop

Letter written by Warren, the well known Revolutionary and post-Revolutionary writer, to her friend Lothrop. Says she will leave politics for others to discuss and that she only has warm feelings for the circle of friends in Fairfield (where Lothrop is). Fears she will spend a very lonely winter, but would not want her husband back if would hurt the American cause. Year inferred from contents. Mrs. Warren is confident she will avoid bloodshed in her area and expects Providential intervention "to save the injured distressed Americans." Says the bearer of this letter will relate the news that…

GLC01189.01

April 5, 1865

Hardee, William J., 1815-1873

Manuscript letter

Title: to Samuel Cooper

In a clerical hand, Confederate General Hardee reports to Adjutant and Inspector General Cooper on the operations of his corps of the Army of Tennessee, including the loss of Atlanta and his differences with General John B. Hood, whom he blames for the loss. He states that his report is late because, "most of the General officers in that Corps having been killed, wounded or captured in the recent Tennessee Campaign ..." He feels it is necessary to correct misrepresentations made by General Hood. He comments "That I failed to save Atlanta as charged by General Hood is a matter of regret, that…

GLC01190

May 19, 1826

Monroe, James, 1758-1831

Autograph letter signed

Title: to Charles F. Mercer

Acknowledges the letter from Mercer by Mr. Hawkins. States he is satisfied with the work of the Committee of Claims in the House of Representatives on his refund requests from his time overseas. Discusses possible publication of the documents pertaining to his claims. In the postscript he qualifies his desperate financial state: "In fact I have been plac'd in a situation, fraught with so many difficulties & delicacies, that I have not known how to act in it." Recipient inferred from handwriting of docket, which is the same as a docket on GLC01134, a letter from Monroe to Mercer. Letter…

GLC01192

July 9, 1813

Harrison, William Henry, 1773-1841

Manuscript letter signed

Title: to John Armstrong

Harrison makes an urgent request to the Secretary of War Armstrong for medical supplies to be sent to Cleveland, Ohio. Also asks that all liquor shipments be sent with a "dry-barrel" because "Experience has long since convinced all those in the western Country" that it is the only way to prevent its plunder. Letter written during the Siege of Fort Meigs. Numbered "No. 72."

GLC01193

September 4, 1838

Adams, John Quincy, 1767-1848

Autograph letter signed

Title: to Joseph Gales, Jr.

Previously received one hundred copies of a pamphlet, sent by a Mr. Franklin. Only recently had time to revise it, and transmits his corrections. Notes that he will free frank the pamphlets, saving Mr. Franklin the trouble. The Executive Committee of the American Anti-Slavery Society at New York recently asked for permission to print an edition of a speech Adams gave the previous summer. Adams notes that since there is no copyright, "it may be reprinted by any one who may think it worth his while."

GLC01194

January 1862

Grant, Ulysses S. (Ulysses Simpson), 1822-1885

Manuscript document signed

Title: Estimate of funds required for the service of the Quartermasters Department at the District of Cairo by A. S. Baxter A. Q. Master in the month of January 1862.

Report on funds needed by the Quartermaster for expenses including feed, forage, straw, stationery and hire of laborer. The required funds total $100,500.00. Written, prepared and signed by Baxter. Also signed by Grant, as Brigadier General, approving the estimate.

GLC01196

July 23, 1817

Jefferson, Thomas, 1743-1826

Autograph letter signed

Title: to James Madison

Regarding the establishment of the University of Virginia, Jefferson writes to set a meeting for handling donations to "our subscription paper" and discusses the details of arranging a meeting. Among those also contacted for the meeting were Joseph C. Cabell, General John H. Cocke, and a Mr. Watson.

GLC01198

May 3, 1862

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

Autograph letter signed

Title: to Thomas Ewing

Sherman writes about the Battle of Shiloh, April 6-7, 1862. He discusses his experiences in it, the strategy of the battle, the officers' uniforms, and various Union generals. He explains his daring position at Shiloh, "I do not think I exposed myself at Shiloh more than was necessary from the shape of the ground and the nature of my men." He writes that he had to give orders that usually would have been left to officers of a lower rank and therefore had to be out in the open. From the experiences of that day, he relays that he thinks officers should wear uniforms that differ from the…

GLC01203

February 1, 1777

Hancock, John, 1737-1793

Letter signed

Title: to William Smallwood

Hancock sends resolutions by the Continental Congress (not included) relating to measures to suppress a Tory insurrection in Somerset and Worcester counties in Maryland. He orders General Smallwood to stand ready to execute the forthcoming orders. Letter signed by Hancock as President of the Continental Congress.

GLC01205.01

February 25, 1777

Peters, Richard, 1744-1828

Autograph letter signed

Title: to William Smallwood

Letter written by Peters as secretary to the Continental Board of War to Brigadier General Smallwood. Says that he is sending a circular letter written by the Board with an enclosed resolve from Congress (the resolve is not included, but the circular letter is on verso). He requests his assistance as the matter is pressing. Says letters have been sent to Colonels Gist and Richardson as a matter of course and are not meant to countermand any orders he may have given them in regard to the Tory expedition. Congress wants to keep its previous promise to assist Maryland with the insurgents, but…

GLC01205.03

1763-1783

Manuscript

Title: [Description of General William Smallwood's family and education]

Appears to be a fragment of a biographical sketch of General Smallwood of Maryland. Previous entry in Past Perfect claimed the sketch appears to be from the early 19th century, before 1840, but there is no evidence to back up that assertion. Mentions that he comes from a "highly respectable family." Says his father Bayne Smallwood was a merchant and planter on a large scale who was also a justice of the peace and a member of the House of Burgesses for many years. He married Priscilla Heaherd of Virginia, "a lady of family and fortune." Smallwood was sent to England at a young age and first…

GLC01205.05

March 25, 1774

Adams, Samuel, 1722-1803

Autograph letter signed

Title: to Elbridge Gerry

Letter written by Adams, who later signed the Declaration of Independence, as a member and clerk of the colonial assembly in Massachusetts to Gerry, also a future signer of the Declaration, as a member of the assembly. References a letter from Gerry that explained the violence in Marblehead, known as the Smallpox War or the Marblehead Riots, and asked for military intervention. Gerry was one of the leading citizens of the town who wanted to build a hospital to inoculate the populace against smallpox. Once it was built, the populace, fearful that inoculations spread the disease further,…

GLC01213

February 5, 1860

Lincoln, Abraham, 1809-1865

Autograph letter signed

Title: to Norman B. Judd

Docketed by Judd on verso. Written by Lincoln as Presidential candidate at a time of revelations of old anti-Lincoln statements by Judd. Letter mentions the upcoming presidential campaign.

GLC01214

July 16, 1772

Adams, Samuel, 1722-1803

Autograph letter signed

Title: to James Warren

Letter written by Adams, a future signer of the Declaration of Independence, as member of the Massachusetts legislature to Warren, also a member of the Massachusetts legislature. Says the session is over and the resolves, including one asking the King to rescind Governor Hutchinson's salary, have passed. Says he will send him a copy of the resolves if he promises not to publish them. Expresses his friendship with Warren, who he says was with him when the Tories cursed him at a commencement speech at Cambridge and at another occasion when "Confusion to me & my Adherents was given as a…

GLC01215

March 3, 1829

Gallatin, Albert, 1761-1849

Autograph letter signed

Title: to William Pitt Preble

Letter regarding Canadian border dispute.

GLC01217

5 January 1865

Holmes, Oliver Wendell, 1809-1894

Autograph manuscript signed

Title: Sherman's in Savannah!

Four stanza poem glorifying General William T. Sherman's "March to the Sea." Was originally three stanzas and then the date and the word "Postscript" was crossed out and a fourth stanza added. Makes a correction in pencil in the second line of the fourth stanza. First stanza: Like the tribes of Israel / Fed on quails and Manna / Sherman and his glorious band / Journeyed through the rebel land, / Fed from Heaven's all bountious hand, / Marching on Savannah!

GLC01218

May 14, 1871

Stephens, Alexander Hamilton, 1812-1883

Autograph letter signed

Title: to Richard Haldeman

Discusses an upcoming Pennsylvania Democratic Convention with Haldeman, a United States Representative from Harrisburg. Expresses concern regarding issues which might be addressed at the Convention, stating "Is not the most present and absorbing question ever submitted to the people any where whether ours is a Gov't of Laws or bayonetts ... the Democracy then must array itself against Usurpation -- against Centralism -- against Despotism in any shape and form ..."

GLC01219

March 1776

Jay, John, 1745-1829

Autograph letter signed

Title: to Sarah Livingston Jay

Written by Jay as a member of the Continental Congress to his wife Sarah, who he refers to as "Sally." References Sarah's letter from March 17, 1776 (date of creation inferred from this reference), which gave news of her and their son's improved health. Tells the story of the "Conch Shell Beauty" - a beautiful young woman he met in November 1775. Said he was traveling with Lewis Morris and that the good weather and roads induced them to walk to Gray's Ferry to dine. As they were having a fire made in a private room, they sat in the common room and spoke to people coming back from the market.…

GLC01220

1759-1830

Header Record

Title: Pennsylvania Revolutionary War collection [Decimalized .01-.07]

GLC01221

February 12, 1783

Armstrong, John, Jr. 1758-1843

Autograph letter signed

Title: to James Searle

Armstrong writes to Searle, a fellow Pennsylvania politician, to relate personal news. He complains about political infighting and expresses his hopes for treaty negotiations in Europe and the possibility of peace. Address leaf separated.

GLC01221.01