1866

Melville, Herman, 1819-1891

Book signed

Title: Battle-Pieces and Aspects of the War.

First edition of Melville's only book of poetry. Inscribed on inital blank facing the titlepage: "Major Edward Y. Lansing from H. Melville. As a souvenir of his soldier hospitality at the cavalry camp in the Virginia woods, April 1864." Also inscriped by Lansing in pencil on page 187 above the peom "The Scout toward Aldis": "Major Edwin Y. Lansing's cavalry camp in the Virginia woods, April 1864." In April, 1864 Melville and his brother obtained a pass to visit the front to search for their cousin, Colonel Henry Gansevoort. Melville met Lansing in a scouting party he and his brother…

GLC00768.01

September 23, 1864

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

Autograph letter signed

Title: to Benjamin Franklin Butler and George Gordon Meade

Grant, Commander-in-Chief of the United States Army, writes to Generals Meade, Commander of the Army of the Potomac, and Butler, commander of Army of the James. Grant praises General Philip Henry Sheridan on his victory in the Battle of Fisher's Hill September 21-22, 1964. He writes "Order a salute of one hundred guns, shotted, at day light tomorrow morning in honor of Sheridan's second great victory." Letter written on Headquarters, Armies of the United States stationery.

GLC00772

January 3, 1863

Lewis, Henry, fl. 1863

Autograph letter signed

Title: to cousin Charlie

Lewis describes the destruction in the town from artillery when Union forces occupied it. He mentions pickets and surveillance balloons, and talks about morale. Letter written from Camp Opposite Fredericksburg, in Virginia.

GLC00653.25

April 7, 1864

Cheney, Edward, fl. 1864

Autograph letter signed

Title: to Roelzo J. Warren

From a soldier in the Vermont corps. Letter discusses the Rappahannock Wilderness campaign. Letter written while the solider was hospitalized. The letter has some military content and mentions General Ulysses S. Grant.

GLC00653.26

December 1864

Header Record

Title: Collection of two items related to Abraham Lincoln and Lazarus Whitehead Powell [Decimalized]

GLC01011

12 September 1864

Lincoln, Abraham, 1809-1865

Autograph endorsement signed

Title: [Petition for promoting Colonel Andrew Wood Denison].

Lincoln submitted this petition to Secretary of War Stanton. Fifteen prominent men from Maryland signed the petition asking that Colonel Denison be promoted to Brigadier General of Volunteers. The petition recounts Denison's service to the Union, including his recruitment Maryland soldiers and his efforts leading them in battle. Denison's contribution culminated in the loss of an arm due to being shot at the Battle of Spotsylvania, but the petition contends, he has recovered and wants to be of service to the U.S.

GLC01012

24 September 1862

Lincoln, Abraham, 1809-1865

Printed document

Title: General orders no. 139.

Preliminary version of the Emancipation Proclamation published for the Army War Department printing, removed from a compilation of general orders. Noted on pages 117-120 are the orders that all people enslaved in the south will be freed. Beginning on Page 120 but not complete is General Orders No. 140, order respecting Special Provost Marshals and defining their duties. Printed circa 1863.

GLC01024

circa 1864

Lincoln, Mary Todd, 1818-1882

Autograph note signed

Title: to Thomas W. Sweeny

Mary Todd Lincoln writes that she and Taddie (Thomas Lincoln) are going to carry some flowers to the sick soldiers and asks that if he is free, will he accompany them. She remarks that Taddie is appropriating Colonel Sweeny for a horseback ride to the navy yard this afternoon. "It is sometimes unfortunate, to be a favorite, with so exacting a young man." Letter written on mourning stationery, possibly for her son William, who died in 1862. Written from the Executive Mansion.

GLC01056

1863

United States. Navy

Manuscript document

Title: [Ordnance used by ships during siege of Vicksburg]

Ordnance book listing supplies used by Union ships Pensacola, Sportsman, Fearnot and Storehouse. Documents ordnance issued and ordnance used. Dated March 31- August 1863.

GLC01009

23 August 1864

Granger, Gordon, 1822-1876

Printed document signed

Title: [General Orders acknowledging soldiers' bravery in the capture of Forts Morgan and Gaines, Alabama]

General Granger relates his appreciation to officers and soldiers. Writes "In the midst of danger you have been brave; under the severest exposure and fatigue you have been patient... continue to cherish all those virtues of discipline and courage so necessary to the success of a soldier, which you have so signally displayed and which aided in producing the result that has fulfilled our most sanguine expectations. By your efforts, united to those of our gallant Navy, the strongholds of the enemy at the entrance of Mobile Bay have been captured..."

GLC01010

1861-1931

Lay, Creed A., fl. 1861-1864

Header Record

Title: [Collection of Creed A. Lay, A company, 40th regiment, Illinois, infantry] [decimalized]

Lay was served in the 40th Regiment, Ill. volunteers. Collection includes 64 items including 32 letters, 25 envelopes, 2 metal lapel pins, and 5 miscellaneous items. Letters include many original envelopes, some with patriotic designs, a cut-out valentine to his wife Sarah Lay, and a steamboat pass for her to meet him at Memphis. Also includes correspondence from other family members, such as Sarah's sister Marget.

GLC01013

05 November 1862 - 09 July 1865

Winegar, Daniel G., fl. 1862-1865

Header Record

Title: Collection of Daniel G. Winegar, B company, 95th regiment, Illinois, infantry [Decimalized .001-.189]

This collection consists exclusively of correspondence from Daniel G. Winegar, to his wife Elvira in Belvidere, Ill. Winegar enlisted as a private in August 1862, and was mustered into Co. "B" of the 95th Illinois infantry in September of that year. As these letters indicate, his service took him to Mississippi, Alabama, and Tennessee, with the largest concentration being in Vicksburg. These letters bear witness to the siege of that city, as well as the Battle of Franklin, and capture of Mobile. The letter dated 2 May 1865 mentions the official announcement of Lincoln's assassination. In…

GLC01014

2 July 1863 - 3 July 1863

Manuscript document

Title: List of killed & wounded at the battle of Gettysburg Pa. July 2nd & 3rd 63

Manuscript field report of killed, wounded, and missing from the 1st Massachusetts Infantry. Most likely written while at Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. Includes comments such as "coward" and "d-d good soldier" after a few names.

GLC01015

1865

Header Record

Title: Diary and Photograph of Benjamin F. Thomas [Decimalized .01-.02]

GLC01016

8 October 1862

Hurlbut, Stephen A., 1815-1882

Broadside

Title: General orders, no. 112

Praises his men, the "Fighting Fourth" Division of the Army of the Tennessee, for their actions after the battle of Corinth. Hurlbut's men arrived after the Confederate assault on the city had been repulsed, but he praises their actions against the retreating Confederates. "When at last our victorious flag shall float over the national domain reconquered and united...you shall recite...how you swept the rebel hosts, with every advantage of position across the Hatchie." Also informs his men that he has been promoted and will no longer command them, but says "whatever I may have of military…

GLC01017

3 April 1865

Eden, R.C., fl. 1865

Newspaper

Title: Grant's Petersburg progress. [Vol.1, no.1 (April 3, 1865)]

Union occupation newspaper announcing the capture of Petersburg: "Petersburg Ours! We are here! Hallelujah!" Prints the official surrender correspondence, describes Black celebrating as the "colored population." Brief report that Union forces had taken Richmond that same morning.

GLC01022

June 9, 1864

Lee, Robert E., 1807-1870

Letter signed

Title: to Jefferson Davis

Written less than a week after the Battle of Cold Harbor, June 1-3, 1864, where Union General Ulysses S. Grant defeated the Confederates. Lee attempts to anticipate Grant's next move and warns of another major engagement. Lee notifies Davis of his plans to check Grant's advances by sending General Jubal Early to deal with Union General David Hunter, and General Wade Hampton and Fitzhugh Lee to handle Union General Philip Sheridan. These moves forced the Union generals to abandon the valley. Lee seeks information through captured prisoners and newspaper reports about union troop strength and…

GLC01026

November 8, 1863

Adams, William Wirt, 1819-1888

Autograph letter signed

Title: to James B. McPherson

Confederate General Adams sends two men, under a flag of truce, to visit their brother, who was being held in Vicksburg as a spy. Asks Union Major General McPherson for permission for them to attempt to obtain proof of their brother's innocence.

GLC01051

February 25, 1862

Lovell, Mansfield, 1822-1884

Autograph letter signed

Title: to Thomas Overton Moore

Requesting ten thousand men "volunteer and militia...ready for defense at short notice" to protect New Orleans. New Orleans fell two months later. Letter written on printed stationery of "Head Quarters Dept. No. 1."

GLC01061

February 13, 1864

Virginia, Constitutional Convention, 1864

Pamphlet

Title: Constitution of the State of Virginia, and the Ordinances Adopted by the Convention which Assembled at Alexandria, on the 13th Day of February, 1864.

Printed by D. Turner, printer to the state. This constitution was passed by the loyal government of the state of Virginia, in exile in the North during the Civil War. The most notable change from earlier constitutions was the abolition of slavery in an official way by the state. Also includes an official repudiation of the Confederate government, and states that any officeholder under that government was barred from public office.

GLC01065

October 19, 1864

McLaws, Lafayette, 1821-1897

Autograph letter signed

Title: to Colonel Ray

Forwards an application, "Of the Officers of the 9th Ga [Georgia] Battallian of Arty [Artillery] for transfer to Siege batteries Savannah." Analyzes the conditions at different forts and batteries in Georgia and South Carolina in preparation for the defense of Savannah against Union General William T. Sherman's advance. States that the report will show that an increase in the heavy artillery force is urgently needed. Lists the forts and batteries and the ammunitions at each, the minimum number of men required, and the number needed to provide sufficient relief. Also covers the conditions of…

GLC01073

March 24, 1864

Morgan, John Hunt, 1825-1864

Letter signed

Title: to Jefferson Davis

Confederate General Morgan writes an eloquent letter to Davis to urge him to return him to his command. "My sense of duty compels me to leave Richmond in order to place myself at the head of the remnant of my Old Cavalry Brigade, diminished as it is now ... by the withdrawal of the choicest troops of my Command ... I have protested in vain against this act of injustice to me, my reclamations have not even been deemed worthy of a reply ... " Also demands the rescue of his troops from Union prisons, where he states they are being ill-treated. Claims that his men never committed cruelty against…

GLC01076

4 April 1861

Porter, David Dixon, 1813-1891

Autograph document signed

Title: [Selecting officers to expedite the U.S.S. Powhatan]

He "ordered by the President to select such officers as may be necessary to expedite the ship." Porter was initially supposed to take his ship, the steam frigate Powhatan, to South Carolina to reinforce Fort Sumter in case the Confederates chose to attack. At this time Secretary of State William Seward was still working towards reconciliation with the South. He worried that sending a warship to Sumter might increase Southern hostility, so with Dixon's help he managed to ensure that the Powhatan was not sent to Sumter. Instead it was sent to aid Fort Pickens in Pensacola, another Federal…

GLC00866

June 24, 1863

Lincoln, Abraham, 1809-1865

Autograph letter signed

Title: to Maj. John Dix

Letter written in pencil on mourning stationery. The letter discusses the dispatch from Grant, Kirby Smith, and Gen. Banks.

GLC00876

28 April 1865

Kelton, John C., 1828-1893

Document signed

Title: [Transmittal of commission of Assistant Adjutant General to Henry M. Cist]

Partially printed document signed by Kelton as Assistant Adjutant General. Transmits commission of Cist as Assistant Adjutant General, U. S. Volunteers. On War Department, Adjutant General's Office, stationary. Unrelated to .01.

GLC00898.02