19 September 1864

Dahlgren, John Adolphus Bernard, 1809-1870

Letter signed

Title: to Lewis West

Written in a secretarial hand and signed by Rear Admiral John Dahlgren as commander of the South Atlantic Blockading Squadron to Acting Commander West. References West's letter of 12 September. Praises him for finding a channel at St. Catherine's, Georgia. Will send a small steamer to verify the channel and help buoy it. Written while abraod the USS "Philadelphia".

GLC03836.74

25 September 1864

West, Lewis H., 1829-?

Autograph letter signed

Title: to R. West

References her latest letter. Says he lives in the "usual humdrum manner." Says the ship stays close to shore and he hunts on the beach. Says he has also been fishing. Says he has been praised by Admiral Dahlgren for his discovery of the channel at St. Catherine's. Lauds Farragut's tactics at Mobile. Says most of his crew will be out of the service in several weeks and assumes he will be getting a new batch of "greenhorns." Says he will be in the war until it ends. Asks her to send coffee. Written while aboard the USS "Fernandina".

GLC03836.75

22 October 1864

West, Lewis H., 1829-?

Autograph letter

Title: to Harriet Moore [incomplete]

References receiving her letter of 22 September. Talks about the latest accounts of the elections. Says he is sorry to hear Pennsylvania has probably gone copperhead and that "If she goes for McClellan all I have to say is that I hope the rebels may desolate the state from end to end." Claims that "The men who vote in favor of slavery after the experience of the last few years, are only fit to be slaves themselves, and the sooner they become so, the better." Says New York is the only state to make provisions for sailors to vote and that they received their blank ballots recently. Says 7 on…

GLC03836.76

7 November 1864

West, Lewis H., 1829-?

Autograph letter signed

Title: to R. West

Says he received coffee, but no letter from her. Says the admiral is not accommodating to the mails, as they sit for weeks at Port Royal. Tells the story of three refugees who said they were from the North. Gave an account of Macon, where they came from. They confirmed the reports of "barbarous treatment" at Andersonville. Says "They saw the place of confinement ... where thousands of men were confined in an open field with no shelter from the weather and lying in mud knee deep." Says such things should make men who say "peace at any price" rethink their ideas. Says the Union is lucky to have…

GLC03836.77

17 November 1864

West, Lewis H., 1829-?

Autograph letter signed

Title: to Mary West

References her letter of 17 October. Says he is taking an interest in the election and says "In fact it is the only election that I ever did take any interest in ... since I have turned my attention to politics I am amazed that I was ever anything but a radical abolitionist and it is astonishing how anybody can be anything else, after the charming results of having persisted in sacrificing the right to the expedient for the last 30 years, on the slavery question." Says New York is the only state to give ballots for sailors and that he heard McClellan has a 10 or 11 more votes than Lincoln…

GLC03836.78

25 November 1864

West, Lewis H., 1829-?

Autograph letter signed

Title: to Harriet Moore

Written aboard USS "Fernandina." References her letter of 5 November, noting that it was the first definite news of the election they received, and the first information from the North. Says he heard from two South Carolina deserters that Lincoln won. Writes, "Wasn't it a glorious result! and Pennsylvania redeemed herself too! ... What will become of 'Little Mac' now I wonder? He must feel considerably 'littler' than he ever did before." Declares that the administration has made blunders, but that they have been vindicated for removing "such wretched trash" as McClellan, Buell, and Fitz-…

GLC03836.79

December 1, 1864

West, Lewis H., 1829-?

Autograph letter signed

Title: to R. West

Says the election turned out alright and that Pennsylvania redeemed herself. Says 2 deserters told him of a sloop with 10 bales of cotton that is trying to run the blockade. He has since been searching for her. Has heard Sherman is 20 miles from Savannah. Says the admiral wants to send sailors on shore to help the army but goes on to say "I dont believe that any amount of drilling will ever make soldiers out of sailors, so as to make them useful in military operations." Says 22 of his 80 men are about to leave as their time in the service is up. Written while aboard the USS "Fernandina".

GLC03836.80

December 9, 1864

West, Lewis H., 1829-?

Autograph letter signed

Title: to Harriet Moore

Says there is a northeast gale blowing and that the ship is lying with both its anchors down and all their ordinary occupations suspended. Says it is "peculiarly comfortable and cosy" writing to her in a heavy gale. Says they are all excited for Sherman to appear on the coast. Hears that the Charleston-Savannah railroad has been cut and that he is 40 miles from Savannah. Says he sent a scout boat up the Midway River and discovered there were no pickets on it as is usual. Believes most of the troops are being redirected to Savannah. Says "The sky was lit up brilliantly last night by a very…

GLC03836.81

15 December 1864

West, Lewis H., 1829-?

Autograph letter signed

Title: to R. West

Says Sherman has reached the coast. Says they have been expecting him and that they were ordered by the admiral to send boats up to the headwaters to get the latest news. Says he spoke to an officer who met up with some of Sherman troops. The officer reported to him that "The country in their rear is like a desert. On starting, the order was given to 'live on the enemy' and it was carried out to the letter." Goes to describe Sherman's situation in detail. Written while aboard the USS "Fernandina".

GLC03836.82

January 11, 1865

West, Lewis H., 1829-?

Autograph letter signed

Title: to Harriet Moore

References her previous letter. Says there was excitement when the army first made it to the coast, but that things have gone back to normal since the capture of Savannah. Says the troops have been ordered against plundering in Savannah, but that it continues. Says he knows little of what goes on at home because he has not been there very often the past 4 years. Reports that the 10 bales of cotton on the sloop he was previously searching for have made it past the blockade. Praises Sherman as "the general of the war." Has heard of the defeat at Wilmington. Written while aboard the USS "…

GLC03836.83

January 13, 1865

Dahlgren, John Adolphus Bernard, 1809-1870

Letter signed

Title: to Lewis West

Written by Rear Admiral Dahlgren as commander of the South Atlantic Blockading Squadron to Acting Master West as commander of the USS "Fernandina." References West's communication of 2 January. Says "Endeavor to relieve the colored people who were pillaged, and prevent a repetition of the act."

GLC03836.84

January 26, 1865

West, Lewis H., 1829-?

Autograph letter signed

Title: to Harriet Moore

References receiving her letter of 5 January. Says his Christmas was subdued, but that he did manage to get a turkey for dinner. Says "By the way, was not Sherman's dispatch to the president presenting Savannah as a Christmas gift, a neat thing?" Says the only present he gave this year was "a calico dress to the old darky woman who washes for me and the result is that she wants to send a barrel of peanuts to my mother, in return." Assumes that Sherman is in South Carolina by now. Recommends that her father read "Army & Navy Journal," a weekly journal based in New York, as it is better…

GLC03836.85

February 24, 1865

West, Lewis H., 1829-?

Autograph letter signed

Title: to Harriet Moore

References her letter of 28 January. Reports that he heard of the news of the fall of Charleston. Says that all the ports into the Confederacy are now closed and that Mexico is the only way to bring goods into the South now. Reports that "The rebel cavalry on the main land are hunting the negroes to drive up the country and have shot some of them. I carried off from the main, the other day a party of eighty of all ages and both sexes. There were some infants a week or two old and some very old people among them." Says he put them on a plantation on St. Catherine's Island and made a raid to…

GLC03836.86

30 March 1865

West, Lewis H., 1829-?

Letter

Title: to A. J. Smith

Copy of a letter written by Acting Master West to Smith as 4th Auditor of the Treasury. Wants to know where he can apply to settle his accounts now that his resignation has been accepted.

GLC03836.87

23 May 1898

Walker, John G., 1835-1907

Document signed

Title: [Subpoena for John G. Walker to appear before the General Court in the case of A. G. Menocal]

Partially printed document signed by C.H. Lauetler as Judge Advocate. Co-signed by Secretary of the Navy, John D. Long, marking that the document was approved by the Navy Department on 27 May 1898. Summons Walker before a General Court at the Navy Yard in New York on 23 May 1898 to testify in the case of A. G. Menocal, a civil engineer in the U.S. Navy. Docket on verso says Walker reported and was discharged and is signed by Rear Admiral Andrew Benham. Stamp below Benham's signature provides information on the mileage payment given to Walker. He received $36.48 on 28 May 1898 for his trip…

GLC03804.26

28 July 1898

Long, John Davis, 1838-1915

Autograph endorsement signed

Title: to John G. Walker

Typed letter on Navy Department stationery. Signed by Long as Secretary of the Navy. Written to Walker as a retired Rear Admiral. Orders him to report immediately by letter to the Secretary of War for duty "as a Naval Member of a Board organized for the purpose of recommend, to the Secretary of War, the width of draw or pivot spans in a bridge" across the Niagara River. Docket, signed by Walker, says he reported by letter on 29 July 1898. Address of Walker typed at the bottom: 1202 18th Street, Washington, D.C.

GLC03804.27

19 August 1898

Allen, Charles Herbert, 1848-1934

Autograph endorsement signed

Title: to John G. Walker

Typed letter on office letterhead of the Secretary of the Navy John D. Long. Written by Allen as Assistant Secretary of the Navy (on the letter his title is noted as "Acting Secretary") to Walker as a retired Rear Admiral. Asks him to go to Washington D.C. for further instructions in connection with his duties as a "Senior Member of a Board for the location of a bridge across the Niagara River." Docket signed by Walker saying he completed the journey from Wilton, New Hampshire to Washington. Stamp on verso from the U.S. Navy Pay Office says Walker received a mileage payment of $38.64 on 10…

GLC03804.28

3 September 1898

Allen, Charles Herbert, 1848-1934

Typed letter signed

Title: to John G. Walker

Typed letter on office letterhead of the Secretary of the Navy John D. Long. Written by Allen as Assistant Secretary of the Navy (on the letter his title is noted as "Acting Secretary") to Walker as a retired Rear Admiral. Asks Walker to proceed to Buffalo, New York for special temporary duty in connection to assignment as a Senior Member of the Niagara River Bridge Commission. Is authorized to preform necessary travel around Buffalo. Must keep a memorandum of the travel and submit it for approval to the War Department from time to time. After his duties are up, he is ordered to return to…

GLC03804.29

30 March 1899

Allen, Charles Herbert, 1848-1934

Typed letter signed

Title: to John G. Walker

Typed letter on office letterhead of the Secretary of the Navy John D. Long. Written by Allen as Assistant Secretary of the Navy (on the letter his title is noted as "Acting Secretary") to Walker as a retired Rear Admiral. Says he is to regard himself as detached from his duties in relation to the bridge over the Niagara River on 31 March. Stamp on recto, in purple ink, says "Received, J.G.W. Mar 31 1899."

GLC03804.33

7 April 1899

Davis, George Breckenridge, 1847–1914

Typed letter signed

Title: to John G. Walker

Written by Lieutenant Colonel Davis as Deputy Judge Advocate General, Recorder to Walker as a retired Rear Admiral. Says the Court of Inquiry that was convened to investigate the beef supplied to the Army during the Spanish-American War wants to question Walker on his experience with canned roast beef used by the Nicaragua Canal Commission. Asks if he can appear the next day to give the court the benefit of his experience. Asks for a more convenient time if tomorrow is bad.

GLC03804.34

4 August 1899

Adee, Alvey Augustus, 1842-1924

Typed letter signed

Title: to the Diplomatic and Consular Officers of the United States

A typed form letter written on the letterhead of the Department of State. Written by Acting Secretary of State Adee to various diplomats and consular officers. Introduces retired Rear Admiral John G. Walker as President of the Isthmian Canal Commission, who is traveling abroad to make investigations to enable him to prepare a report on the feasibility of a canal to the President and Congress. The Department of State wants Walker to be given every proper official courtesy so his mission can succeed. Also includes a small printed map of the proposed canal routes through Nicaragua and Panama (7.…

GLC03804.35

30 December 1899

Hay, John, 1838-1905

Typed letter signed

Title: to John G. Walker

Typed letter on Department of State letterhead signed by Hay as Secretary of State. Written to retired Rear Admiral Walker as President of the Isthmian Canal Commission. Says that President McKinley wants Senator George Peabody Wetmore's son to accompany the commission on its trip to the Isthmus "in some capacity in which his services may be made available." Leaves the decision of salary and expenses to Walker's discretion. Says Wetmore will call upon Walker to receive his orders. When the letter was folded the wet ink left a mirror impression of the signature at the top of the letter.…

GLC03804.36

January 23, 1904

Letter signed

Title: to John G. Walker

Letter written in a clerical hand with an illegible signature. Sent to retired Rear Admiral Walker as President of the Isthmian Canal Commission. References Walker's letter of 11 January. Has read his remarks on the canal treaty and says his report is "reassuring." Says "The Convention" -- probably the Constituent Assembly of Panama -- began its proceedings on 15 January. Also sends along a message from "the Junta of the Provisional Government" that was sent to the Convention. Says he sent along Walker's kind wishes to their friends in Panama. Stamp in purple ink on first page says "Received…

GLC03804.37

29 March 1905

Taft, William H. (William Howard), 1857-1930

Typed letter

Title: to John G. Walker

Written by Taft as Secretary of War but not signed, to retired Rear Admiral Walker as President of the Isthmian Canal Commission. Typed copy of Taft's letter to Walker. By direction of President Roosevelt, Taft is asking for the resignation of each member of the canal commission. The resignations are to take effect at the pleasure of the president. Says the president asks for the resignations so he can reorganize the board. Wants him to communicate this request to Governor George Whitefield Davis, the first military governor of the Panama Canal Zone.

GLC03804.38

21 September 1907

Army and Navy Register Publishing Company, 1879-1948

Newspaper

Title: Army and Navy Register [Vol. 42, no. 1449 (September 21, 1907)]

Most of this issue it taken up with an obituary of Rear Admiral John G. Walker titled "Death of Rear Admiral Walker." It includes a large photograph of Walker in his dress uniform with a very large mustache. Obit says his ashes will be buried in Arlington Cemetery. He was survived by his wife and 5 children. Issue also has an article titled "Medal Winners in Markmanship," giving the results of a rifle contest at Fort Niagara, New York. Large masthead on recto has an image of an eagle holding an American flag along with the symbols of each branch of service. Each issue is 15 cents a copy.

GLC03804.43