12 August 1863

Soule, Pierre, 1801-1870

Autograph letter signed

Title: to Edwin DeLeon

Marked confidential at the top. Soule writes to DeLeon, Confederate Envoy to France 1862-1864. Relates, "I came to the confederacy by the way of Nassau & Charleston. Before leaving Nassau, we had the news of a great battle fought at Gettysburg, of a glorious victory won, and of fourty thousand prisoners taken from the enemy. Upon our landing at Charleston, we learned that the affair at Gettysburg had been a last reserve to our arms, and that Vicksburg & Port-hudson had fallen. The effect which these disasters had produced upon the country were visible in the dejected countenances…

GLC04570

1861-1866 circa

Colfax, Schuyler, 1823-1885

Photograph album

Title: [Photograph album of Major Schuyler Colfax]

Album belonging to Schuyler Colfax with over one hundred cartes des visite of New York, Washington, famous policians and other sights. Includes forty outdoor cartes of New York City by E & H.T. Anthony; 16 of Washington and environs by Gardner and by Gardner & Gibson; 12 of Richmond by George O. Ennis; and 5 of Boston by John Soule; 26 portraits by Anthony (Grant, Farragut, Sherman, etc.), Lee and Jefferson Davis by Vannerson and Jones, etc. The album is full calf with beaded decorations and brass clasp edges with all edges gilt, with silver beads sewn over original leather on cover…

GLC04689

1863

Lincoln, Abraham, 1809-1865

Broadside

Title: Facsimile of the Emancipation Proclamation

Large format facsimile of Lincoln's handwritten Emancipation Proclamation draft in the Confederacy. Includes blind stamp of authenticity, "Emancipation Proclamation," in lower left corner. Printed by Edward Mendel, Chicago. Prints Lincoln's letter of 26 October 1863 to the ladies in charge of the Northwestern Fair for the Sanitary Commission.

GLC04654

1861-1866

Walbridge, Charles E., 1842-?

Header Record

Title: Collection of Charles E. Walbridge, US volunteers quartermaster's department [Decimalized .001-.126]

The collection contains 125 letters of Charles E. Walbridge, of Buffalo, New York, to his mother. Two stray items are at the end of the inventory: an undated letter to his mother and a letter to Minnie Walbridge, his sister (#126). The letters cover Walbridge's recruitment in New York and his service in Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Florida. Although he enlisted as a member of the 100th New York Volunteers, Walbridge repeatedly served in the quartermaster's department, and eventually became Chief Quartermaster on General Truman Seymour's staff. Walbridge rose from…

GLC04662

6 August 1864

Farragut, David Glasgow, 1801-1870

Manuscript document signed

Title: [Thanks to officers & men for gallant conduct in battle of Mobile Bay]

Draft of General Order # 12 signed by Rear Admiral Farragut. Thanks the crews of the ships that fought in the battle for Mobile Bay "for their gallant conduct during the fight." Lauds their lack of hesitation, even when they were asked "to follow your Commander in Chief through the line of torpedoes and obstructions of which we Know nothing except from the exaggerations of the enemy." Several phrases in this draft were altered for the final copy of the General Order (see GLC03310). For example, the draft uses "cheerfulness" and the final version uses "courage and cheerfulness"; "not the…

GLC04664.01

7 August 1864

Farragut, David Glasgow, 1801-1870

Letter

Title: [General order requesting fleet to thank God for victory]

A clerical copy of the General Order issued by Farragut on 7 August 1864. The order asks the fleet to give thanks to God for their victory in the Battle of Mobile Bay.

GLC04664.02

5 December 1867

Mercer, Hugh W., fl. 1867

Autograph letter signed

Title: to C. C. Jones re: applying for pardon, for financial reasons

Writing to Jones about business, especially about the matter of seeking a direct pardon. He adds: "...Now that the Pres[iden]t. & Congress are renewing the fight, things will only go from bad to worse, we may suppose."

GLC04676

1870

Davis, Jefferson, 1808-1889

Autograph quotation signed

Title: [Quote on the authority of governments from Davis's inaugural address]

Writes: "The Rightful powers of government are derived from the consent of the governed." Quoted from his inaugural address as Confederate president, but probably written after the Civil War. Written on a card.

GLC04677

4 May 1882

Arthur, Chester Alan, 1829-1886

Document signed

Title: [Presidential authority to the Secretary of State to affix the seal to the pardon of Fitz-John Porter].

GLC04576

25 October 1864

Fisher, Benjamin Franklin, 1834-1915

Manuscript

Title: [Battle report during the seige of Petersburg]

Written at Headquarters, Army of the Potomac. Originally written by Fisher, Major and Chief Signal Officer, Army of the Potomac. Written to Lieutenant Colonel William Joseph Leonard Nicodemus, Commanding Signal Corps, Washington, D.C. Marked as a true copy by Stephen M. Eaton, Captain of Signal Corps, United States. Fisher submits monthly reports from his department for July, August, and September 1864. Discusses in detail important stations in operation near Petersburg, Virginia. Mentions a concentration of Confederate forces 27 June 1864, possibly in anticipation of the 19 June Battle…

GLC04592

6 September 1863 - 8 Novermber 1863

Dana, Charles Anderson, 1819-1897

Manuscript document signed

Title: [Letterbook of telegrams from Dana to Edwin McMasters Stanton in the War Department]

Contains handwritten and signed transcripts of one hundred twelve telegraphs. Sent by Dana from the front lines of the Tennessee campaign to the War Department, where they were transcribed by hand into this book for consultation by Stanton, Lincoln and others. Updates nearly every day, sometimes many per day, on events of the Western campaign, including firsthand accounts of battles at Chattanooga, Missionary Ridge, and others. Details strategies, outcomes, casualties, etc. Begins with arrival at front lines and a meeting with Andrew Johnson. Dana, assistant secretary of state, had been…

GLC04605

1862

Fox, Gustavus Vasa, 1821-1883

Book signed

Title: Reports of the naval engagements on the Mississippi River

Title continues as: "resulting in the capture of Forts Jackson and St. Philip and the City of New Orleans, and the destruction of the rebel naval flotilla." Printed by the Government Printing Office. This first edition copy was owned by Assistant Secretary of the Navy Gustavus V. Fox, who signed the first page "Compliments of G.V. Fox." Contains a detailed folded-up map (38.2 x 31.5 cm) titled "General Sketch of Approaches to New Orleans From the Charts of the U.S. Coast Survey." Contains 45 reports by different officers (from several lieutenants up to Admiral Farragut) involved in the…

GLC04608

1863-1878

Maury, William Lewis, 1813-1878

Header Record

Title: Maury papers including CSS Georgia list of prizes [Decimalized .01-.47]

The C.S.S. Georgia was supposedly the only Confederate cruiser which itself was captured as a prize. (In fact, it was captured in 1864 from a British merchant and claimed as a prize.) Collection includes 6 Maury documents signed regarding the CSS Georgia, 16 autograph letters signed to his wife, 4 letters from French naval officers to Maury and post-war materials such as a printed bill to "remove political disabilities imposed by the fourteenth amendment" on Maury. William Lewis Maury, who had commanded the U.S.S. Saratoga during Perry's expedition to Japan, joined the Confederacy at the…

GLC04572

1863-1893

Flinn, John William, fl. 1863-1893

Header Record

Title: [Collection of John William Flinn, 17th Mississippi] [Decimalized .01-.15]

Covers Flinn's capture at Gettysburg and life as a prisoner of war, as well as the Battle of Chickamauga. Flinn joined the 17th Mississippi as a 14-year old and served in Virginia and Tennessee. He later earned a Doctor of Divinity degree and taught at the University of South Carolina. The collection includes an ambrotype (.01), apparently from 1862, showing Flinn as a 14-year old recruit. A card originally inserted with string into the case reads: "No. 105 Dageuerreotype [sic] of Dr. J. W. Flinn. Member of Co. G. 17th Miss. Regt. Barksdale's Humphrey's) Brigade. McLaw's (Kershaw's)…

GLC04573

27 December 1863

Johnston, Joseph Egleston, 1807-1891

Manuscript document signed

Title: [General Orders Number 1]

Johnston informs General Wheeler, commanding cavalry division, Army of Tennessee, that he (Johnston) has assumed command of the Army of Tennessee.

GLC04583

13-14 September 1863

Slagle, Jacob, ?-1900

Autograph letter signed

Title: to his brother

Writes in great detail about the battle of Gettysburg 1-3 July 1863, where he served as Union General Abner Doubleday's adjutant. Describes his duties during the fighting, which mainly consisted of delivering messages back and forth between generals and officers. Mentions General Thomas A. Rowley, General James S. Wadsworth, and General John F. Reynolds who was killed in battle, among others. On page eight, he remarks on the condition of the men during the battle, " it was a pitiable sight; the tired, worn out remnants of our five regiments, who had gone so proudly into the field in the…

GLC04585

May 2, 1862

Beauregard, Pierre Gustave Toutant, 1818-1893

Printed document

Title: Message rallying troops before an anticipated battle at Corinth, with illegible signature

Calls on the "Soldiers of Shiloh and Elkhorn" to "drive back into the Tennessee the presumptuous mercenaries collected for our subjugation." Tells his men "We are about to meet once more, in the shock of battle, the invaders of our soil, the despoilers of our homes, the disturbers of our family ties. Face to face, hand to hand, we are to decide whether we are to be freemen, or the slaves of those who are free only in name...Let the impending battle decide our fate, and add one more illustrious page to the history of our Revolution; one to which our children will point with noble pride,…

GLC04593

1863

Photograph

Title: Cartes de visite of Port Hudson, La. (3), by McPherson & Oliver

GLC04596

7 December 1864

Defoe, William W., fl. 1864

Autograph letter signed

Title: to Emery Defoe

Defoe, a Civil War soldier, updates his parents on Union progress, stating "as yet we have had few killed the soldiers are all in good Spirits and fear nothing." Continues writing at a later time, requesting that if he is killed in battle, his parents ensure that his son George W. Defoe receives a proper education. Again resumes writing at a later time to relate the events of a recent battle, stating "this has been one of the bloodiest battles that has been fought since the war began. the Rebs have lost in killed and wounded Near (17,000) seventeen thousand." Accompanied by a United States…

GLC04634

16 September 1864

Kappes, Charles, fl. 1864

Autograph letter signed

Title: to Sim Van Winkel

Kappes, a Union soldier waiting for his discharge in the Annapolis United States General Hospital, relates the events of his capture to friends in New Jersey. Reports that while engaged in battle near Richmond, Virginia, his corps was surrounded by Confederate soldiers and forced to surrender, after which he was taken as a prisoner. Complains of poor conditions prisoners were exposed to while on Belle Island, near Richmond, stating "I was almost starved and then such rations as they do give why the farmers of the north would not be guilty of giving it to his hogs if he did the old Pig would…

GLC04635

30 June 1862

Campbell, Fannie, fl. 1862

Autograph letter signed

Title: to Thomas E. Vermilye

Campbell, a nurse, informs Pastor Vermilye of events which took place while she rode aboard the Union hospital steamer, the Kennebec, travelling to White House, Virginia. States that while on the Pamunkey River, the Kennebec met many transports traveling in the opposite direction, escaping fires and battle that raged behind them. The Kennebec then retreated to Yorktown, Virginia, as "mild flowers were blooming on the banks Nature in her rich June dress enthroned like a queen sat bland and smiling as if the bloodred hand of civil war was not lifted in her domain." Reports that General…

GLC04636

22 August 1862

Morgan, John Hunt, 1825-1864

Broadside

Title: Proclamation. To the inhabitants of Kentucky!

Urging Kentuckians to join the Confederate cause, during his first raid into Kentucky. Proclaims: "Better death in our sacred cause, than a life of slavery! Young men of Kentucky flock to my standard, it will always wave in the path of honor, and history will relate how you responded to my appeal, and how, by so doing, you saved your country." Printed on a press Morgan had recently captured at Hartsville.

GLC04892

2 April 1865

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

Autograph letter signed

Title: to George Gordon Meade

Grant, Commander-in-Chief of the United States Army, writes from Headquarters of the Armies of the United States to Meade, Commander of the Army of the Potomac. Discussing an assault on Petersburg, states that General Horatio Wright can contribute his force, except for a garrison of enclosed works. Relates that General Edward Ortho Cresap Ord is moving to assist Wright. Reports that General Philip Henry Sheridan "intended to start at day break and sweep the White Oak road and all North of it down to Petersburg." Accompanied by two collateral maps; one depicts the Siege of Petersburg 31…

GLC04907.01

January 20, 1862

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

Autograph letter signed

Title: to Philemon Ewing

Brigadier General Sherman reflects upon his suitability for high command and notes the handicap of having been influenced by his years spent in the South, "I am not fit to be a leader in such a war, and have from the first desired to keep in the background ..." Written from Benton Barracks near St. Louis on stationary marked "Head-Quarters, Camp of Instruction."

GLC04931

2 May 1863

Forrest, Nathan Bedford, 1821-1877

Autograph letter signed

Title: to the authorities of Rome, Georgia

Forrest, commander of a cavalry brigade in the Army of Tennessee, writes from Headquarters (of an unspecified post), "twenty miles west of Garrison." Informs the authorities of Rome "There is a Federal Force of Fifteen Hundred cavalry marching on your place I am pursuing them prepare your selves to Repulse them- they have 2 Mountain Howitzers. I will be close on them I have kild 300 of thir men They are Runing for their lives."

GLC04940