8 January 1865

Cook, Gustave, 1835-1897

Autograph letter signed

Title: to Eliza Cook

Decides to write a lighthearted and witty letter since he cannot sleep. Describes the routine morning activities and talks about the bad food. Writes a bit later in the day and includes "…I only need the love of one being and that one you can guess. The others I can give up." A postscript reads, "You are authorized to act in all things as you desire except marry again." Discusses letters he has received from family and friends, but never from his wounded brother Girard and sister-in-law Jennie. Mentions that some friends have stopped writing altogether and writes, "It looks like I was…

GLC02570.65

January 12, 1865

Cook, Gustave, 1835-1897

Autograph letter signed

Title: to Eliza Cook

Tells Eliza that he wrote her four days ago and "sent the letter off by a very uncertain carrier but hope you will get it. I now regret not having retained it until the present as I have a most excellent opportunity to transmit letters." A friend from home has come to visit and Cook is glad to be able to give himself "up again to the aspirations of partial friends and becoming immersed in ambitious dreams of fame and power, that I sometimes tremble at the thought of a return of peace and opportunity for temptation." Relays a dream he has about their reuniting. Hopes to secure 1000 acres "…

GLC02570.66

24 April 1776

Knox, Henry, 1750-1806

Autograph letter signed

Title: to Lucy Knox

Writes that he curses "the man who first brought on this war only because it separates me from my Love." Mentions that he has received instructions from George Washington to inspect and fortify the local harbor in order to make it safe for Continental troops and the American navy (see GLC02437.00274). Comments on his meeting with Admiral Esek Hopkins and his son, John B. Hopkins, who was recently injured in a naval engagement with the British ship Glasgow. Gives a favorable impression of both, comparing Esek to the Dutch Admiral Van Tromp and proclaiming that John will become a "formidable…

GLC02437.00276

circa March 1776

Knox, Henry, 1750-1806

Autograph letter signed

Title: to Lucy Knox

Responds affectionately to a letter from Lucy asking what has become of him. Answers that he has not written because of how busy he has been (during the siege of Boston). Comments that the British are packing up and leaving Boston, and Knox expects to be in the town in 2-3 days, at which time he will also be able to visit her. He is uncertain where the British are going and in what state they will have left Boston, but states that "to New York my Dear Lucy [we] must prepare to follow them. As we are Citizens of the World any place will be our home & equally cheap." Copy.

GLC02437.00264

April 28, 1862

Churchill, Byron, 1846-?

Autograph letter signed

Title: to: Drazilla Churchill.

Churchill explains that he is sick with "disinterry," as are most of the soldiers in his camp, and twice asks his mother to do what she can to bring him home. He divulges that "the boys don't find it as they expected," and that rations are only about half of what is necessary.

GLC03859.01

26 July 1862

Churchill, Byron, 1846-?

Autograph letter signed

Title: to: Drazilla Churchill.

Churchill learned in his mother's last letter that his brother is missing, and now offers encouragement that he will be found alive. He reveals that "disease is making sad havoc with us at present….[i]n fact I am more afraid of disease than I am of rebil bulits." He explains that only ten men in the company are fit for duty.

GLC03859.02

01 September 1862

Churchill, Byron, 1846-?

Autograph letter signed

Title: to: Drazilla Churchill.

Churchill describes a false alarm the previous evening, when a picket reported around 2:00 A.M. that "the Rebels were coming in force." All of the soldiers turned out equipped to fight, and remained ready until 6:00 A.M., when it became apparent they were not in danger. Churchill reports that "the boys are burning the town" [Chawalla?], with "ten buildings already burned to the ground, and others burning." Only the depot is to be left standing. He expresses contempt for the men of Burr Oak who have remained at home, and observes that Boughton and Snook (see #4) "had better turn their…

GLC03859.06

25 September 1862

Churchill, Byron, 1846-?

Autograph letter signed

Title: to: Drazilla Churchill.

Churchill reports that Captain Waterman has been discharged and will be coming home with money for Mrs. Churchill. The letter instructs Mrs. Churchill to purchase stamps with this money, which she should send to him at Corinth.

GLC03859.09

18 April 1863

Churchill, Byron, 1846-?

Autograph letter signed

Title: to: Drazilla Churchill.

Churchill received his pay, but has no money left to send to his mother after paying his clothing bill. He believes he may get furlough sometime over the summer. If he does, he would like his mother "to arrange things so to kepe me thair for I am taird of soldiering."

GLC03859.17

24 August 1864

Churchill, Byron, 1846-?

Autograph letter signed

Title: to: Drazilla Churchill.

Churchill reports very little going on: "[We] don't have ena thing [anything] to do onlee to eat and sleap." This respite apparently comes after a busy period of building works. Churchill received a letter from Olive in Illinois, who reports that "Andrew has enlisted and Weltha [?] is maried and her husben died in the armee about seven months after tha [they] was maried."

GLC03859.25

11 April 1865

Robins, Juliet G., fl. 1865

Autograph letter signed

Title: to: Drazilla Churchill.

Churchill wishes his mother to know that he is alive and that he arrived at the hospital at David's Island from Wilmington, where he spent a month in the hospital there. Previously, he was a prisoner in Florence, S.C., where he suffered frostbite and lost all his toes.

GLC03859.26

16 April 1865

Robins, Juliet G., fl. 1865

Autograph letter signed

Title: to: Drazilla Churchill.

Churchill would like his mother to send a box from home as his appetite is very good. Mrs. Robins laments the suffering of the soldiers, and urges the end of the war. She wishes no mercy for the South for their part in this "terrible tragedy."

GLC03859.27

28 April 1865

Robins, Juliet G., fl. 1865

Autograph letter signed

Title: to: Drazilla Churchill.

Churchill is making strides in his recovery, and believes that if he could get a furlough he could make the journey home, despite the fact that he cannot walk due to the condition of his feet. Mrs. Robins has hope that Col. Geer, who accompanied the prisoners from Wilmington to David's Island, may be able to secure a furlough for Churchill. A postscript indicates something of the conditions under which she writes: "…I am writing this in a great hurry and on my knee without even a book to rest on. I can, under some circumstances write at least a decent hand."

GLC03859.28

08 May 1865

Robins, Juliet G., fl. 1865

Autograph letter signed

Title: to: Drazilla Churchill.

Churchill requests that his Uncle Nelson come and escort him home. He expects to be well enough to get out of bed in a few days.

GLC03859.29

15 May 1865

Robins, Juliet G., fl. 1865

Autograph letter signed

Title: to: Drazilla Churchill.

Churchill is well enough to go outdoors, but is not yet completely recovered. He requests ten to fifteen dollars from his mother to last him the remainder of his stay in the hospital, and expects to receive his discharge soon.

GLC03859.30

01 June 1865

Robins, Juliet G., fl. 1865

Autograph letter signed

Title: to: Drazilla Churchill.

Churchill chastises his mother for not writing, and reminds her to send the money he requested previously. It was announced in the newspaper that all who have suffered in Southern prisons should be discharged with three months extra pay, thus he and others in the hospital should be coming home soon.

GLC03859.31

14 June 1865

Robins, Juliet G., fl. 1865

Autograph letter signed

Title: to: Drazilla Churchill.

Churchill has still received no word from his mother, nor has he received any money from her. Mrs. Robins argues that the money is unnecessary, as he gets plenty to eat at the hospital. He is recovering rapidly and should be able to walk by the time he returns home.

GLC03859.32

7 July 1775

Knox, Henry, 1750-1806

Autograph letter signed

Title: to Lucy Knox

Longs to see her, but must be of service to his country. Sends her copies of the addresses made in Congress and directed to generals George Washington and Charles Lee (not included).

GLC02437.00197

11 July 1775

Knox, Henry, 1750-1806

Autograph letter signed

Title: to Lucy Knox

Comments affectionately about writing to Lucy often. Reports that he goes to Roxbury and Cambridge in the mornings and returns to Watertown in the evenings, offering support to Captain Michael Jackson's company. Plans to visit her soon, but feels he must provide his "oppressed Country an essential service." Mentions that General Charles Lee received word that General John Burgoyne wants to have a meeting, but Lee will not comply unless ordered by Congress. Praises the patriot's burning of "Browns House on Boston neck." Also praises George Washington, who took over the Continental Army in…

GLC02437.00199

10 August 1775

Knox, Henry, 1750-1806

Autograph letter signed

Title: to Lucy Knox

Affectionately laments their separation. Mentions that Generals George Washington and Charles Lee inquired about her. Comments on an encounter with navy prisoners. Discusses the "regulars" making a "fine prize" of 2000 sheep and 150 heads of cattle on Fishers Island, off Connecticut. Thinks he will see her Monday. The American Army got into a skirmish with British forces nearby at Plumb Island the day after this letter was written, the first reported clash between regulars in the Continental Army and the redcoats. Letter is dated Thursday morning 9 August 1775 but Thursday was actually…

GLC02437.00200

4 December 1864

Flinn, John William, fl. 1863-1893

Autograph letter signed

Title: to A. M. Flinn

He received the sad news of his little sister's death. He asks about the cause of her death and the length of her illness. He did not receive a check his father sent to him. Signed: "your son William."

GLC04573.06

11 December 1889

Flinn, John William, fl. 1863-1893

Manuscript

Title: [Memorial ribbon and explanatory note]

The ribbon is pinned across the top of an explanatory note entitled "Jefferson Davis Memorial Badge," written by J. W. Flinn. The note indicates that the Flinn wore the ribbon at South Carolina' memorial service for Jefferson Davis. The note mourns the "dead President of the dead Confederacy," describes his himself as "a native of Mississippi -- a member of the 17th Mississippi Regiment and a personal friend of Jefferson Davis and of the Cause for which her [Nellie Flinn's] father fought & bled."

GLC04573.11

November 1893

Flinn, John William, fl. 1863-1893

Typed document

Title: A Southern Soldier's Experiences in a Northern Prison

Originally written for the students of a "lady cousin" who was concerned her pupils were being misinformed about the "kind treatment of Southern Soldiers in Northern prisons." Flinn later presented the address at "S. C. College Nov. 1893." He begins by providing a brief history of his military service and then launches into an in-depth description of his sufferings as a prisoner at Point Lookout, Maryland from July 1864 to March 1865. The manuscript contains a two-page description of the camp's physical layout. Flinn emphasizes the inadequate clothing, foul water, bitter cold, and ravenous…

GLC04573.13

23 August 1868

Conger, Levi P., fl. 1824-1868

Autograph letter signed

Title: to Ann Conger

Writes to his wife about the lack of correspondence he has received, and desperately wishes to hear from her. Explains that Gurkes Ranch is a 150-acre vineyard and describes all the fruit he has been eating. He wishes he was able to send Ann a basket of fruit. Written at Gurke's Ranch.

GLC04672.07

23 circa November 1862

Dederer, N. A., fl. 1862-1863

Letter

Title: to Peter B. Rathbone

Continued on 24 November and 25 November. Written on board Transport Thames near Fortress Monroe. The ship carried General Emory's Brigade. Provides instructions for dispensing money he sent home. Describes attending "Divine Worship" on the ship (which was more solemn than any service he ever attended), and discusses food available. Notes that he went to Fortress Monroe to "liberate" some of his men who were arrested for shooting a duck outside the fort. Sailing near "Severe Point" a rebel battery that had been destroyed by the guns of Fortress Monroe from a distance of five miles, and…

GLC04703.02