28 November 1864

Lee, Sydney Smith, 1802-1869

Document signed

Title: [Confederate States Navy Department orders to proceed to Richmond]

Partially printed document signed by Captain Sydney Smith Lee. Docket added 1 December 1864 reads: "Be pleased to assume command of the C.S. Iron-Clad 'Richmond'." Co-signed by John Mitchell aboard the Virginia. Sidney Smith Lee, older brother of Robert E. Lee, had accompanied Perry to Japan in 1853 and served as one of the early commandants of the U.S. Naval Academy Lee was commissioned as a commander in the Confederate Navy in 1861 and promoted to captain and chief of the Confederate Navy Bureau of Orders and Detail in 1864.

GLC00684.13

January 11, 1863

Wood, Sterling Alexander Martin, 1823-1891

Document signed

Title: [Report on the Battle of Murfreesboro, or Stone's River]

Written from the Headquarters of Wood's Brigade, General Patrick Ronayne Cleburne's Division, Army of Tennessee (Confederate). Brigadier General Wood directs this report to Captain Irving A. Buck, Cleburne's assistant adjutant-general. Discusses the battle in detail, naming generals present, mentioning troop movement and position, and citing weapons and tactics used. Relates "In conclusion, the Brigade Commander Expresses the opinion that in this battle the 1100 men he took into action vindicated by their blood the determination of our people to conquer their freedom or die in the struggle…

GLC00784

1865

Butler, George H., fl. 1865

Diary

Title: [George H. Butler's Diary for 1865]

Autograph manuscript signed of George H. Butler, who served in G Company, 12th Wisconsin Infantry, 1st Brigade, 3rd Division, 17th Army Corps. Signed and dated 28 January 1865 on free front endpaper. Discusses the march through the Carolinas and the destruction it caused. Describes Negroes helping Union POWs (February 8); innocent Rebel prisoner shot in retaliation for Union death (March 2); mention of enemy in Union uniform (March 5); 300-500 "hombly" women in a cotton factory (March 11); Battle of Bentonville (March 20); rumors of Johnston's surrender (April 12, 15, 16); news of Lincoln's…

GLC00794

May 17, 1864

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

Autograph letter signed

Title: to Henry W. Halleck

Sherman writes to General Halleck about the Atlanta campaign. He discusses the movements of Union generals James B. McPherson, George H. Thomas, and John M. Schofield. Sherman is on his way to Adamsville, Georgia, to engage enemy forces led by Joseph E. Johnston. He discusses potential strategies for this engagement, and his anticipation of taking either Altoona or Rome. Johnston has Confederate generals Hardee, Hood, and Polk in his lines of communication, and a larger cavalry. Although Sherman has abundant supplies and the animals are grazing well, he realizes that bloody battles "such as…

GLC00639.23

1861-1864

Figures, Henry Stokes, 1844-1864

Header Record

Title: [Collection of Henry S. Figures, F company, 4th regiment, Alabama, infantry] [Decimalized .01- .33]

Figures was a member of Law's Brigade, Longstreet Division, of the 4th Alabama Infantry. Letters mention prisoners from the "Star of the West," the Battles of Manassas, Yorktown, Fredericksburg and Gettysburg, enslaved people, etc. Figures was killed at Battle of the Wilderness on 4 May 1864. Two of the letters (10 April 1861 and 25 April 1861) are on "Confederate States of America, War Department" stationery. Also includes 1867 burial card and a 6 page biographical manuscript (ca. 1890).

GLC00653.01

May 15, 1861

Letcher, John, 1813-1884

Autograph letter signed

Title: to the Council

States that Colonel Fauntleroy outranked General Robert E. Lee in the United States Army and feels Fauntleroy is entitled to be commissioned nothing lower than a brigadier general in the Provisional Army. With endorsement of P. F. Howard, secretary of the Council approving the nomination. Says "…I regret that I cannot concur in the recommendation made by the Council in the case of Colonel Fauntleroy. If I am correctly informed, Col Fauntleroy ranked General Lee in The United States Army, & if this is so, it seems to me, that he is justly entitled to the commission of a Brigadier General…

GLC00642

October 6, 1862

Smith, Gustavus Woodson, 1821-1896

Letter signed

Title: to Robert E. Lee

Confederate Major General Smith discusses troop activities and movements, including an attack on Union gunboats. Also discusses a requisition for "negroes to work upon the fortifications under recent act of the Legislature - When we get negroes the works will be finished rapidly to completion." Refers to the request of North Carolina Governor Zebulon Vance "for more protection for the eastern portion of the state." Writes "The yellow fever at Wilmington will prevent the enemy from attempting anything in that quarter for some time to come - and during the epidemic the Troops had better be…

GLC00648

20 May 1863

Morgan, John Hunt, 1825-1864

Autograph endorsement signed

Title: [John H. Morgan's endorsement on an offer for an exchange of prisoners]

Morgan's endorsement as Brigadier General and Confederate raider. On verso of a letter copy to Union Major General Ambrose Burnside from John W. Finnell, Adjutant General Kentucky Volunteers, dated 21 April 1863, regarding the exchange of a pro-Union Kentucky senator and Judge Buster and William Ingram. Morgan states these two men were arrested at Monticello, Kentucky, by Colonel Chennault of Morgan's command. Morgan reports that they have been " ... placed under bond & parole to Exchange themselves for Southern-rights men who have been arrested and placed in confinement by the Federal…

GLC00649

September 14, 1862

Wheeler, Joseph, 1836-1906

Letter signed

Title: to T. B. Roy

Will obey orders he has just received regarding surveillance. Is scouting enemy pickets and estimates enemy troop strength. Describes Union recruitment meeting and wonders what to do about disloyal citizens. Roy was Hardee's Assistant Adjutant General. Docket contains Hardee's autograph endorsement signed. Docket states the letter was forwarded to Braxton Bragg, and contains the signature of George G. Garner, Bragg's Assistant Adjutant General.

GLC00650

24 June 1864, 23 August 1864

Vanaernam, Henry, 1819-1894

Header Record

Title: [Collection of Henry Vanaernam, field and staff, 154th regiment, New York, infantry]

Surgeon in the 154th NY Volunteers, Surgeon in Chief. Describes Confederate resistance and the shelling of Atlanta just before its fall. Both written in pencil.

GLC00653.05

November 18, 1861

Leavenworth, F.P., fl. 1861

Autograph letter signed

Title: to his father

A Confederate captain in an ordnance unit tells his father about Civil War activities in Arkansas and Missouri. He comments on the arrival of Union General David Hunter with 36,000 soldiers. He discusses the strength and position of Confederate General Ben McCulloch's men. He claims that "The burning of the bridge in Tenn. has virtually cut the Confederacy in two," and consequently the mail has been limited, and may be worse still if Union General William T. Sherman moves into South Carolina. He notes that they have not heard from their enemies in the Creek nation, indicating that…

GLC00653.07

July 1, 1864

Sheridan, Philip Henry, 1831-1888

Letter signed

Title: to Andrew Atkinson Humphreys

This report, signed twice by Major General Philip H. Sheridan, describes the nearly disastrous Wilson-Kautz Raid of June 22-30, 1864. Sheridan tells Major General A. A. Humphreys, the Army of the Potomac's chief of staff, about his efforts to find Wilson and Kautz after the rout of their cavalry, and provides details of the battle. His five-line autograph postscript explains that the infantry brigades of Confederate generals Joseph Finegan Saunders (John Caldwell Calhoun Sanders) and William Flank Perry were under the command of General William Mahone. Sheridan also mentions Federal colonels…

GLC00653.12.01

1865

Wilson, William L., 1843-1900

Diary

Title: [Diary of William L. Wilson, B company, 12th regiment, Virginia, cavalry]

Diary of a Confederate private in the 12th Virginia cavalry which includes detailed entries on the Appomattox campaign leading up to General Robert E. Lee's surrender. Begins entries for 1865 by saying that the end of the war seems farther away than ever. Entries for early January describe the movements of his regiment through the Alleghany Mountains, Cheat Mountain, and the Tygarts Valley in Virginia. Reports a skirmish with Union forces near Beverly, West Virginia, 9 January. Often mentions the arduous journey, the weather, prisoners of war, plunder, and his horses. On 28 January he…

GLC00653.17

1862-1864

Moseley, Josiah, 1862-1864

Diary

Title: [Diary of Josiah Moseley]

Autograph manuscript. Moseley served in K company of the 6th regiment, Virginia infantry, in the Confederate Army. Describes the Battles of White Oak Swamp, Brandy Creek Station and Gettysburg, Malvern Hill, Second Manassas, and Chancellorsville.

GLC00653.18

1862

Tucker, John S., fl. 1862-1865

Diary

Title: [Diary of John S. Tucker, D company, 5th regiment, Alabama, infantry]

Tucker's 1862 autograph manuscript diary contains his account of day-to-day life in D company and discussions of battles such as Seven Pines, Williamsburg, Mechanicsville, and the Seven Days battles. Also mentions the evacuation of Yorktown.

GLC00653.19.01

1861-1862

Hollingsworth, William T., fl. 1861-1862

Header Record

Title: [Collection of William T. Hollingsworth, D company, 3rd regiment, Georgia, infantry] [decimalized]

Collection includes eight letters and envelopes written from Confederate surgeon William T. Hollingsworth to his brother James H. Hollingsworth. The collection includes numerous postal covers and a family genealogy book. The correspondence mentions the Battles of First Bull Run, the duel between the Monitor and the Merrimac (Battle of Hampton), and a detailed personal account of the Battle of Seven Pines. Draft transcripts are available.

GLC00653.20

1864-1865

Cook, George B., fl. 1845-1865

Header Record

Title: [Collection of George B. Cook, E company, 42nd regiment, North Carolina, infantry] [decimalized]

This collection consists of a series of letters from Private George B. Cook of the 42nd North Carolina infantry regiment to members of his family. Cook was drafted into the army of the Confederate States of America on September 11, 1864. He was 19 years old at the time. He was mustered into E Company of the 42nd infantry regiment as a private on the same day. The date and method of his discharge is unknown, but he was paroled on June 7, 1865 in Mocksville, North Carolina. At the time of Cook's enlistment, the 42nd North Carolina was part of the Army of Northern Virginia. Cook fought at the…

GLC00653.22

May 1861

Maslin, Thomas, 1808-1878

Broadside

Title: To the People of Hardy County.

Created by Hardy County, Virginia, citizens and officials including S. H. Alexander, J. W. F. Allen, George Fisher, A. A. Inskeep, Samuel McMechen, George McNeill, John C. B. Mullin, A. H. Scott, Alfred Taylor, Joseph Vanmeter, William C. Vanmeter, F. B. Welton, and Edward Williams. Preceding the 23 May 1861 Virginia County state vote for secession, creators of this broadside inform residents: "You may not sympathize with the secession movement, yet we are in the midst of a Revolution, and the only true position of a Virginia patriot, is to cast his vote in such a mode as will secure the…

GLC00724

27 March 1861

South Carolina. Convention, 1860-1862

Pamphlet

Title: Journal of the Convention of 1860-61.

Proceedings of South Carolina's secession convention issued only to the members of the convention. Concerns the secession of other states, General G. T. Beauregard's proposed defense of Charleston, and the roll call of all the delegates. Printed by Evans & Cogswell. No wrappers, stab-sticked.

GLC00726

May 29, 1862

Lee, Robert E., 1807-1870

Letter signed

Title: to Governor Francis W. Pickens

Written to South Carolina's governor, Pickens in response to Pickens concerns about the city of Charleston. Lee writes in part, "The loss of Charleston would cut us off almost entirely from communication with the rest of the world and close the only channel through which we can expect to get supplies from abroad now almost our only dependince. [.... ] Let it be distinctly understood by every body, that Charleston and Savannah are to be defended to the last extremity. If the harbours are taken, the cities are to be fought street by street and house by house as long as we have a foot of ground…

GLC00751

11 March 1861

Cobb, Howell, 1815-1868

Book signed

Title: Constitution of the Confederate States of America

First printing, signed by Howell Cobb, President of the Constitutional Congress at end. Parrish & Willingham 8 is a variant with space for signing by Cobb, for private distribution (cf. Parrish 1)

GLC00759

May 20, 1863

Seddon, James A. (James Alexander), 1815-1880

Autograph letter signed

Title: to Sarah B. Seddon

Sends news home to his wife from wartime Richmond. He comments on working with Confederate President Jefferson Davis. He laments recent military engagements in Mississippi under generals John Pemberton and Joseph E. Johnston. Notes his anxiety about "our affairs in Miss" after the loss of Jackson, Mississippi to the Union Army. Comments that "Virginia is the sacred soil still."

GLC00761

January 5, 1861

Furniss, John P., fl. 1861

Autograph letter signed

Title: to Judge Haden

John P. Furniss asks for financial remittance due to his having taken "private classes to improve [himself] in particular branches of Medicine." He relates that two convicts hung the day before, and a friend of his took a part of one of the bodies for Furniss to dissect. Signed "Your friend & ward." Furniss was a Confederate doctor.

GLC00653.24.01

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

January 22, 1865

Wheeler, Joseph, 1836-1906

Letter signed

Title: to Daniel H. Hill

Major General Wheeler writes to General Hill about adjusting the speed of the courier line, his orders to General Ferguson, his troop and enemy movements, and the disposition of his troops to General Hill. With a long postscript addressing some possible strategies. Docketed on page four. Written from the "Head. Qu. Cav. Corps."

GLC00654