1864-1865 bulk

Header Record

Title: Andersonville Prison photographs and documents [decimalized]

Collection of 41 items primarily concerning Andersonville Prison, although other Southern prisons, such as Castle Thunder and Libby Prison (both located in Richmond, Va.), are also briefly documented here. Andersonville Prison, located in Andersonville, Ga., housed Union enlisted troops incarcerated by Confederate forces, and operated from 25 February 1864 to late April 1865. Officially designated as Camp Sumter, it held more than 33,000 prisoners, while its cemetery provided graves for 12,000, although actual death toll may have been much higher. Notorious for its unsavory living…

GLC06999

August 17, 1864

Riddle, A.J., fl. 1864-1883

Photograph

Title: Birds' Eye View of North End of Andersonville Prison, Ga.

Title and caption on verso. "Photographed from the stockade in summer of 1864. Ragged and naked Prisoners scattered around, digging roots, &c. Sink or trough in the centre, and besie it the branch dividing the prison and crossed by the "Dead Line" on the right, to pass which was death. Flowing down the hill near the "Dead Line" is a small stream from "Providence Spring," which burst forth when most needed. In the centre is a section of tents called "The Island," and northwest extend[s] a mass of tents divided by streets. In the distance is the Sutler House, and north and west runs the…

GLC06999.01

1864 August 17

Riddle, A.J., fl. 1864-1883

Photograph

Title: Andersonville Prison, Georgia

Caption printed on mount reads: "Andersonville Prison, Georgia. South End View of the Stockade. Showing the Sentry Stands in the distance." Verso contains Century Company stamp and various notations; recto contains cropping marks and additional notations.

GLC06999.02

12 April 1862

Gordon, George Washington, 1836-1911

Autograph letter signed

Title: to his daughter

Written in pencil as P.O.W. at prison no. 3, Camp Chase, Ohio. Gordon writes about conditions living as a P.O.W and the liberty he enjoys through Christ. He mentions sickness in the camp, both deceased and surviving members of his company, and some of his neighbors.

GLC05508.004

11 May 1865

Halleck, H.W. (Henry Wager), 1815-1872

Autograph letter signed

Title: to Marsena R. Patrick

Halleck writes as Union Major General Commanding to Brigadier General Patrick. "The Secty of War wishes proof of the fact ... that Libby Prison was mined at about the time of [General Hugh J.] Kilpatrick's raid for the purpose of blowing up our prisoners." 1 full length seated black and white engraving of Halleck included.

GLC05457

1864-1865 ca.

Foote, Henry S. (Henry Stuart), 1804-1880

Letter signed

Title: to John H. Winder re: requesting list of Confederate prisoners

Requesting list of prisoners held at Andersonville and their offenses.

GLC07624

May 3, 1870

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

Document signed

Title: Pardon of William H. Gannaway, convicted of distilling without a license. Includes case letters.

Convicted of "illicit distilling;" sentenced to 6 months imprisonment and to pay a $1000 fine. Pardoned due to his poverty and had a dependent family. (c/s Hamilton Fish)

GLC00045.24

March 24, 1914

Williams, Charles T., fl. 1842-1914

Autograph letter signed

Title: to J. E. Boos

Charles T. Williams certifies that he served in the Union Army (in the 1st New Jersey Infantry and the 1st New Jersey Cavalry) for three years and nine months during the Civil War. During that time he was a prisoner of war for eighteen months, twelve of those at Andersonville Prison. Confirms that he testified against Andersonville's Commander Henry Wirz in 1865. Also notes meeting President Abraham Lincoln in 1861 on Lincoln's way to his swearing in. Provides other biographical details.

GLC00272.01

1908

Book

Title: The Seventy-seventh Pennsylvania at Shiloh. History of the regiment

Dornbusch 216. Second edition, enlarged with chapter on escapes from Confederate prisons

GLC00267.303

1866

United States. Army. Quartermaster's Dept.

Book

Title: The Martyrs who, for our country, gave up their lives in the prison pens in Andersonville, Ga.

Contains a report by Captain James M. Moore, the assistant quartermaster for the United States army, dated 20 September 1866 followed by a list of those interred at Andersonville, Georgia (which takes up 216 pages). Issued by the Quartermaster General's office (General orders no. 70) and printed by the Government printing office. Sabin no. 72820.

GLC00267.321

1864

United States. Congress

Pamphlet

Title: House of Representatives. Report # 67. Returned Prisoners.

38th Congress, 1st session. Signed by W. L. Ransom. Report made by Daniel Gooch of the Joint Committee on the Conduct and Expenditures of the War. Describes in detail the harsh treatment endured by prisoners of war and the destitute condition of the returned Union prisoners: "The evidence proves, beyond all manner of doubt, a determination on the part of the rebel authorities, ... to subject those of our soldiers who have been so unfortunate as to fall in their hands to a system of treatment which has resulted in reducing many of those who have survived and been permitted to return to us…

GLC00267.358

1863

Howard, Frank Key, 1826-1872

Pamphlet

Title: Fourteen months in American Bastiles.

Published by Kelly, Hedian & Piet, Baltimore. Howard writes of his experience in prison. In the preface, Howard criticizes President Abraham Lincoln's policies during the Civil War, "The unlawful and oppressive acts of Mr. Lincoln ... " Francis Key Howard, the grandson of Francis Scott Key and a pro-Confederate Baltimore editor, was imprisoned for treason for fourteen months at Fort McHenry in September 1861. In all, 30 legislators from Maryland were seized for suspected disloyalty to the U.S. government. Most if not all were never given any criminal charge, and all were denied trial.

GLC00267.356

1864

United States Sanitary Commission, 1860-1870

Pamphlet

Title: Narrative of privations and sufferings of United States officers & soldiers while prisoners of war in the hands of the Rebel authorities.

Disbound. Title continues, "Being the Report of a Commission of Inquiry, appointed by the United States Sanitary Commission. With an Appendix, containing the Testimony." Reprints the report of the Commission of Inquiry, appointed by the U.S. Sanitary Commission, published at the office of Littell's Living Age, Boston. Includes woodcuts of starving Union POWs, based on photographs. Priced at 20 cents.

GLC00267.357

1912

Sturgis, Thomas, 1846-?

Book

Title: Prisoners of war, 1861-1865

I Nevins 203, Dornbusch (Mass.) 418. Recollections of a POW at Libby Prison

GLC00267.359

March 14, 1783

Metcalf, John, fl. 1783

Autograph letter signed

Title: to Jonathan Metcalf

Letter written by John Metcalf, a captured Continental soldier on the prison ship Jersey in New York Harbor, to his father in Dedham, Massachusetts. Says he enjoys "tollerable good health" and was assisted by a Dr. Bacon of Salem, Massachusetts. Tells his father he has been there a month and sees no prospect for a quick release. Says conditions on the ship are "horrid beyond Description." During the first part of the winter he claimed 10, 15, or 20 prisoners died a day. Says health is better on the ship since there are fewer people on board.

GLC01412.01

1863-1864

Leslie, Joseph, fl. 1863-1864

Diary

Title: [Diary of Joseph Leslie 18th regiment, Pennsylvania Cavalry, Company D]

Several pages in the diary have names and regiments of different officers from New York, Ohio, Michigan, etc., who were prisoners with him. Includes several pages of Libby Prison expenses/accounting of what he paid for crackers, paper, tobacco, bread, onions, soap, and other items. There are nine pages of Union and Confederate generals who died or were killed in action with their place of death including, Chantilly, Antietam, Gettysburg, Wilsons Creek, Shiloh, Manassas, Vicksburg, Corinth, Perryville, etc. At the back are 12 pages of poetry and verse Leslie composed while in Libby…

GLC01185

1864

Sears, Edward H., fl. 1861-1886

Autograph album

Title: [Libby prison autograph album with sketches of Union prisoners of war]

Signed by U. S. Navy Lieutenant Sears "with his mark". Hand drawn titlepage and watercolor drawings of Libby Prison and Castle Thunder. Also contains a sketch of a prisoner of war titled "Prison scene" with the quote, "Gentlemen, I wish to God I was exchanged." Signed by "F. Millward. del." Includes signatures of many Union officers confined as P.O.W.s at Castle Thunder and Libby Prison, Richmond. Among the autographs are those of Union generals Neal Dow, Eliakim Scammon and Henry Walton Wessells. Also signing are future brevet generals Robert S. Northcott, Stephen Moffitt, William G. Ely…

GLC01885

13 November 1864

Muzzey, George H., fl. 1864-1865

Autograph letter signed

Title: to his parents

Assures his parents that he is in good health and is treated well despite being confined in Libby Prison. Informs that he has been in prison now for two weeks after being captured while out foraging. Relays that a friend, George Ingerson, asks if they can go see his uncle to let him know Ingerson is okay. Hopes to get out soon. Mentions a possible love interest, "Tell C_ [Clara] I think of her often during these long lonesome hours and I hope the same of her." Muzzey enlisted in Company F, 26th Infantry Regiment Massachusetts on 18 October 1861. He was taken as a POW on 26 October 1864…

GLC01942.01

February 5, 1865

Muzzey, George H., fl. 1864-1865

Autograph letter signed

Title: to his parents

Writes while confined as a POW in Libby Prison. Informs his parents that he has been given a position as clerk in the office of the Prisons of Richmond. Asks that they send him a sugar cured ham, dried salmon, other dried meats, coffee, tea, sugar, needles, pins, thread, crackers or bread, and butter. Adds that some salt, pepper, and tobacco would also be good. Tells them to address it to him at Libby Prison "by Flag of Truce via City Point, Va." Mentions Clara (a possible girlfriend) and asks that they tell her he thinks of her. Recounts his capture on 26 October 1864 by Colonel John…

GLC01942.02

7 August 1864

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

Autograph letter signed

Title: to Henry W. Halleck

Gives a detailed description of the unsuccessful cavalry raids by George Stoneman and Daniel McCook, Jr. at the Battle of Kennesaw Mountain. Both took place on the June 27, 1864 in accordance with Sherman's Order 42. Before the raids, Stoneman asked Sherman's permission to attempt to free union prisoners held in Macon and Andersonville after the battle. Sherman consented. McCook heroically led the raid against a superior force, and was mortally wounded. Sherman was criticized for this attack against General Johnston's entrenched forces, which resulted in heavy union casualties.

GLC01961

1886

Bufford, John Henry, 1810-1870

Print

Title: Bird's Eye View of Confederate Prison Pen at Salisbury, N.C.

Printed by J. B. Bufford & Sons, copyright by C.A. Kraus. Panoramic view compiled from a sketch made on the site in 1864, probably after its occupation by federal forces. The lithograph shows the prison camp set up on the grounds of a large "cotton factory" in which the prisoners were forced to work. The whole is guarded and enclosed by a stockade. Shows the tents and pits dug into the ground where Union soldiers were forced to live in. A key identifies 12 sites, including "A Hole from which prisoners tunnelled and escaped."

GLC02004

1862-1864

Holly, William H., ?-1864

Header Record

Title: [Collection of William H. Holly, E company, 12th regiment, Connecticut, infantry] [Decimalized .01-.17]

Written between January 1862 and May 1864 to a friend, Mary Ann Davis, first from Connecticut and then from various camps in Louisiana (Parapet, Hubbard, Kearney, and Stevens, as well as two regions - Lakeport and Vermilion Bayou). Describes the early Louisiana campaigns, including capture of New Orleans in letter of 27 May 1862, and capture at Cedar Creek, Virginia. Also discusses weather. Shows disillusionment with a private's life - the monotony, lack of individuality, respect - and often expresses desire to return home, though balanced by a sense of duty to country. Includes a number of…

GLC02165

1862-1864

Hughes, Alfred, fl. 1862-1864

Header Record

Title: [Collection of Alfred Hughes] [decimalized .01-.114]

Letters to his wife Mary Hughes. Hughes, a doctor from Wheeling, Virginia, was detained at Camp Chase, Ohio, as a Confederate sympathizer. He and his wife, Mary, numbered their letters to know which ones were lost, stolen or censored. The collection includes his last will, news clippings relating to the war and prisoners of war.

GLC02166

1864-1865

Nicholson, Charles, fl. 1864-1865

Header Record

Title: [Collection of Charles Nicholson, battery L, 5th regiment, Pennsylvania, heavy artillery] [Decimalized .01- .12]

Charles Nicholson was a Private in the 5th Pennsylvania Heavy Artillery, Co. L. Other letters were written by another soldier in the same family, to their cousin Alice. Writes about Lincoln's death and a cousin's death in Libby prison. Collection contains 10 items, 5 envelopes, 2 photographs, as well as various clippings.

GLC02171

1860-1917

Hall, Edward H., fl. 1860-1917

Header Record

Title: [Collection of Edward H. Hall, A company, 1st battalion, Maryland, cavalry] [decimalized]

The Edward H. Hall Papers consist predominantly of Hall's correspondence to his mother, father, and sister during his service as a private in the 1st Maryland Cavalry, C.S.A. Hall was captured and held at Point Lookout, Md., from 1864-1865; most of the correspondence held here dates from his years of internment as a POW. The collection also contains one pre-war letter, and several post-war items pertaining to reunions of Hall's regiment. More detailed inventory available.

GLC02234