1805

Alexander, Ann Tuke, 1767-1849

Pamphlet

Title: An address to the inhabitants of South Carolina [anti-slavery]

In original blue wrappers. Anti-Slavery pamphlet. Printed by Kimber, Conrad & Co.

GLC06992

June 1863 to August 1865

Brunt, William, fl. 1863-1865

Header Record

Title: [Collection of William Brunt, D company, 16th regiment, USCT, infantry] [decimalized]

Brunt was a passionate patriot and his letters are filled consistently with pro-Union and anti-slavery sentiments. He writes on a combination of subjects, including home life, reports on health of fellow soldiers, camp life and politics and battle. He discusses deserters and disloyal soldiers, strife between officers and misbehaving soldiers (of whom he greatly disapproves). Some notable letters mention particular battles or Civil War figures, Brunt's activities in recruiting and enlisting Union soldiers (particularly freed slaves), his role in educating them for several hours per day, his…

GLC07006

30 June 1783

Wheaton, Joseph, 1755-1828

Autograph letter signed

Title: [Letter to officers defending himself against accusations]

Written by Lieutenant Wheaton of the Rhode Island Battalion. Long letter describing his service in the army and denouncing the accusations made in "envy" against him. Says he has been in the army close to eight years and has not seen his family. Says the accusations stem from events in August 1782 when he was left in command of 2 companies and the garrison at Saratoga, New York. Says that a Lt. Pratt sent him "insulting and mutinous answers" to an order for him to sign the morning reports and attend to the duties of commanding officer. Claims he did nothing until General Baron Von Steuben…

GLC02437.02204

22 October 1781

Teissedre de Fleury, Francois Louis, 1749-?

Autograph letter signed

Title: to Henry Knox

Has heard Knox has replaced ordnance lost or damaged during the siege of Yorktown by the Regiment of Bourbons and inquires if the same can be done for the Régiment de Saintonge. Also requests flags for marching. A note on the back requests information about whether or not a black man who was given to Major Fleury by a British officer has a master. "If he truly he has no master," Fleury writes, "send him back to his new one." The Régiment de Saintonge was selected in 1780 by the Count de Rochambeau to participate in the French expeditionary force to America.

GLC02437.01256

4 November 1786

Flucker, Presence, fl. 1786

Autograph letter signed

Title: to Henry Knox

Docket reads, "from [sic, about] a negro woman formerly belonging to Mr Flucker." Writes that she heard from a Miss Cummings that Knox offered to receive her into his home as a cook or some other kind of servant upon the death of the Fluckers "as an Assylum in my old Age." Would be lacking in a sense of duty and gratitude if she did not "acknowledge the great kindness of such an offer; especially from one of a Family with whom I have spent the greatest and happiest part of my life." However, she is obliged to decline the offer, as she has been married and settled in this place, and also…

GLC02437.03325

26 June 1798

Knox, Henry, 1750-1806

Autograph letter signed

Title: to Mr. White

Letterpress copy. Discusses his concerns about the navy, and mentions a "few ships of War, and the french [sic] have a few, would in a few days convey an army of ten thousand blacks and people of color in Vessels seized from our own citizens." Continues with expressing his concern about the defense of the coast. Noted as private.

GLC02437.07154

January 17, 1863

Sumner, Charles, 1811-1874

Autograph quotation signed

Title: [They are men by the grace of God and this is enough.]

Sentiment by Sumner written in the Senate Chamber.

GLC05508.241

17 June 1955

X, Malcolm, 1925-1965

Autograph letter signed

Title: to Yvonne X (Munford)

Malcolm X writes to another member of the Nation of Islam: "As Salaam Alaikum: Always remember that fasting and prayer to Allah brings all our desires to past [sic]. Islam is the reward that brings about all other rewards. Hold fast to it. Your whole family is blessed." Written on the back of an American Airlines postcard.

GLC05508.271

16 April 1861

Sheldon, J., fl. 1861

Print

Title: Departure of the Lynn Light Infantry for the Defense of Washington

Color lithograph by artist J. Sheldon, lithographed by J.H. Bufford's Company at 260 Washington Street, Boston. Shows regiment in red beefeaters style uniform marching toward viewer. A three story stone building in a salmon color dominates the left side of the image, while smaller wooden frame houses are seen in the fore and backgrounds. Civilians gather in the foreground and in building windows to see the troops off, including a black boy playing a drum in the lower right corner of the image. Girl at the center of the image carries a rolling hoop. Verso has note in pencil that says "…

GLC05508.273

5 April 1850

Atchison, David Rice, 1807-1886

Autograph letter signed

Title: to James William Denver

Reports the voting inclinations of several Missouri delegates to the Congressional Convention. Discusses the possible opposition of the Wilmot Proviso, but is confident that California will be admitted as a state. See collateral files for 1 November 1965 letter by Anne Atchinson concerning this letter. The Wilmot Proviso, named after Pennsylvania senator David Wilmot, was a congressional proposal in the 1840's to prohibit the extension of slavery into the territories. Imprint in upper left corner reads "Paris."

GLC05574

1929-1945

Waters, Ethel, ?

Typed letter signed

Title: to Walter Schneider

Waters details her recent illness and hospital stay and gives thanks for the many letters of encouragement from her fans. She also discusses making Christian music. A handwritten inscription discussing her new album and personal replies to fan mail appears on the verso.

GLC05508.256

12 March 1864

Whittier, John G., 1807-1892

Autograph manuscript signed

Title: [We wait beneath the furnace-blast...]

The first stanza of Whittier's poem, "Luther's Hymn." It describes God's transformation of the country by ending slavery. Whittier compares the transformation to a furnace-blast that will "mould anew the nation." One black and white bust engraving of Whittier included.

GLC05508.260

2 January 1973

Wilkins, Roy, 1901-1981

Autograph quotation signed

Title: [I am the Lord your God...]

Wilkins quotes Leviticus 26:13: "I am the Lord your God, which brought you forth and out of the land of Egypt, that ye should not be their boundmen; and I have broken the bonds of your yoke, and made you go upright." From the Bishop Earl Hunt collection.

GLC05508.264

circa 1863-1864

Lincoln, Abraham, 1809-1865

Broadside

Title: Emancipation Proclamation

Rufus Blanchard edition. Signed in print by Abraham Lincoln as the President and William H. Seward as Secretary of State. The printer, Rufus Blanchard, states the importance of the Emancipation Proclamation in a footnote: "This Proclamation is an incalculable element of strength to the Union cause. It makes an alliance between the Rebels and Foreign States as impossible as it is for millions of Bondsmen to love slavery better than Freedom..." Border surrounding text includes pink flowers surrounded by green and red-tinted leaves. Background of text is images of stars. Mounted.

GLC05508.272

1856

Fremont, John Charles, 1813-1890

Object

Title: Free Soil, Free Speech, Free Press. Fremont. [Fremont & Dayton election ribbon]

White printed ribbon depciting Fremont as the explorer, mounted on a horse and pointing? to the left.

GLC05510

February 12, 1861

Lincoln, Arch., fl. 1861

Broadside

Title: $100.00 reward!

Runaway slave broadside with stock wood cut of a runaway. For a slave named Lewis, "aged about 31 years, heavy set, about 5 feet 5 or 6 inches high, inclined to be bow legged, dark complexion, and will weigh 175 or 180 pounds..." Dated from Liberty, Missouri. Lincoln states, "I will give for the apprehension of said boy...$25 if taken in Clay county, Mo., $50 if taken out of Clay and in the State, and $100 if taken out of the State."

GLC05525

February 25, 1862

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

Autograph document signed

Title: [General order regarding the presence of non-soldier African Americans in military camp]

Written from Fort Donelson, Tennessee. General Grant states that "orders ... prohibit negroes from coming into camp. When they are brought in by an officer or soldier they must be turned out ... owners are not to be permitted to search the camp on pretence of looking after their negroes. This would open the way to the most dangerous class of spies that we could have among us."

GLC05529

circa 1850s

Longfellow, Henry W., 1807-1882

Manuscript document

Title: [Allegorical verses on slavery]

Written in Harriet Beecher Stowe's hand. Her clipped signature ("H B Stowe") has been pasted to the end of the poem. Despite being in Stowe's hand and having the addition of Stowe's signature, both poems are actually 1842 works on slavery by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, the first being a poem in five stanzas dedicated to William E. Channing. The second in three stanzas is titled "The Warning."

GLC05570

February 5, 1861

Clay, Cassius Marcellus, 1810-1903

Autograph letter signed

Title: to Frank W. Ballard

Clay, an abolitionist, informs his friend Ballard that he was misrepresented by the New York Tribune. Discusses the possibility of New Mexico entering the Union as a free or slave state, and the Compromise of 1850. Defends himself from Horace Greeley's criticism (Greeley was editor of the Tribune). Concludes by stating, "Things look awfully gloomy-- I feel a split on the slave [line]! God save the Republic."

GLC05692

circa 1 November 1864

Ringwalt & Brown, fl. 1863-1865

Broadside

Title: [Broadside regarding recruitment of African Americans and celebrating emancipation in Maryland]

Printed in commemoration of the adoption of emancipation in Maryland. The print incorporates five illustrations, three documenting African American combat valor and two related to emancipation and the future of African Americans. At the top of the transparency is a long illustration of African American troops in the Battle of Port Hudson, above it the words (from George H. Boker's poem): "God Save the Republic: Never in field or tent scorn a black regiment." Portrays these images on the front of the headquarters of the supervisory committee for recruiting colored regiments, located on…

GLC05701

15 November 1880

Douglass, Frederick, 1818-1895

Autograph letter signed

Title: to N. C. Corbin

Douglass, serving as a United States Marshal, replies to a letter from Colonel Corbin sent 12 November 1880. Corbin invited Douglass to serve on Inaugural Ceremony committees (for the inauguration of President James Garfield, to be held 4 March 1881). Corbin informed Douglass that the ceremonies will require reception, military encampment, music, recreation, and other committees. Douglass declines, stating that because of custom requiring U.S. Marshals to serve a prominent role in the ceremonies, he will wait until he is assigned a role by those in charge. Written on United States Marshal…

GLC05717

February 25, 1909

Mosby, John S., 1833-1916

Typed letter signed

Title: to Alexander Spottswood Campbell

Spottswood was possibly Mosby's grandson (son of daughter May Virginia Campbell and Robert Campbell). Typed on Department of Justice stationery with the printed heading, "Carbon copy for the file". Transmits a clipping from the Times-Dispatch on an essay on Robert E. Lee by "a Northern girl." Declares that it is a fair assessment of Lee, and discusses the article at length: "...if there had been free schools in the south there would have been no war simply because an enlightened public opinion in that section would not have submitted to the rule of a slave holding oligarchy. A large…

GLC05738

1 January 1803

Jansen, Zacharias, fl. 1803

Manuscript document signed

Title: [Grants of money for children of slaves in Ulster County, New York]

Grants of money for the children of slaves in the town of Shawangunk, New York. Signed by Zacharias Jansen, several other members of the Jansen family, and various others. Refers to the eventual abolition of slavery in New York State. "...for the support and maintenance of the children of slaves duly registered and born after the fourth day of July, 1799 whose right of service has been abandoned by the respective proprietors of the mothers of such children in pursuance to the directions of the several acts of the Legislature for the gradual abolition of slavery ..." Lists the names and birth…

GLC05685

January 1883

Douglass, Frederick, 1818-1895

Autograph letter signed

Title: to unknown

Sends his autograph to an unknown recipient with a quotation: "What does it imply? The Mongolian, the Hebrew, the African, the least aggressive and sanguinary of men, why are the most hated and persecuted by Christian nations?"

GLC05716

24 April 1834

Whittier, John G., 1807-1892

Autograph letter signed

Title: to Samuel J. May

Whittier writes to May, an ardent abolitionist: "Until connected with the Cause of Anti-Slavery I never knew what friendship was... engaged in this holy cause of Truth & Love, I have found high & pure hearts beating in perfect unison... No matter what may be our creed- whether we follow Socinius or Fox, or Calvin,- we are all brethren." Discusses the engagement of abolitionist William Lloyd Garrison to Helen Eliza Benson: "It will quiet the fears of some of our good Colonisationists that our friend G. might some day or other practice upon the thing of Amalgamation- and, smitten by…

GLC05720