9 February 1864

Rodes, Robert Emmett, 1829-1864

Autograph letter signed

Title: to Eugene Blackford

Confederate General Rodes thanks Major Blackford for a note and cake he sent through Captain Halsey. Writes that he arrived in Hanover Junction to protect Richmond, Virginia. Hopes "soon to be in my old place however with the Div: reassembled... I am glad to learn that the operations you have had performed are likely to be so successful..." Hopes Blackford will soon be back with his regiment. Mentions Riley's Company and the Greensboro Company. Mentions a discussion he had with McCall.

GLC02615

16 August 1792

Knox, Henry, 1750-1806

Letter signed

Title: to Samuel Hodgdon

Knox, Secretary of War, instructs Quartermaster General Hodgdon to send food, including chocolate, port wine, sherry, and coffee, to the hospital department in Pittsburgh.

GLC02621

January 25, 1837

Taylor, E. W., fl. 1837

Autograph letter signed

Title: to Jeremiah Wilbur

Taylor, a Northerner who had moved to South Carolina and became a slave owner, explains his views on slavery and his willingness to fight for it. "If these matters are going to be carried so far as to the separation of the Union and blood must be spilt I fight for the South, & feel as though I could plunge the dagger to the heart almost of a brother in such a glorious cause. It would be for Liberty, Liberty." Believes abolitionists should leave well enough alone or the result might be the dissolution of the Union. Accuses abolitionists of being hypocrites and relays the story of a…

GLC08476

1753-1755

Massey, Samuel, fl. 1753-1755

Manuscript signed

Title: Samuel Massey's version book

Page 1, which is dated 5 March 1753, notes that he has shipped sixteen barrels of bread to Barbados on board the Rebecca, a ship under the command of James Lowther. The shipment is consigned to Jonathan and John Mifflan. Exact title reads "Saml Masseys version book."

GLC08639

23 May 1863

Fred, fl. 1861-1864

Autograph letter signed

Title: to his father

Written by a Union sailor aboard the USS "Morse". References his father's letter. Says that last Saturday "the mail boat was coming up and the rebels fired into her with field pieces and struck twice, and we got under way and went down and by the time we got there they had gone under[.] the captain was so mad he order us to shell all the houses on the bank of the river and we did to I tell you we fired all that afternoon ... then we went ashore and set all the buildings afire. I tell you we had some fun we burnt one house full of splendid furniture." Says he burned down 3 barns full of ham,…

GLC08658

1778-1780

Header Record

Title: [Tea receipts] [Decimalized .01- .03]

Collection of three receipts for tea sold during the Revolutionary War.

GLC08696

14 December 1863

Manuscript document

Title: [List of farm animals, farm supplies, and destroyed crops]

States "United States of America to Savanah Billingsley & Livingston Brien." Possibly a list of items lost or damaged during military looting, possibly a supply inventory or request. Lists corn, fodder, cattle, sheep, bacon, and other items. Refers to the destruction of bushels of green corn, cotton, sweet potatoes, and several other crops.

GLC08578

February 4, 1862

Benjamin, Judah Philip, 1811-1884

Autograph letter signed

Title: to Jefferson Davis

Writing to the Confederate President, Confederate Secretary of War Benjamin notes that there is much molasses available in Louisiana and suggests that molasses would be welcomed by the troops to improve their deficient coffee.

GLC00495

October 5, 1780

Penn, John, 1741-1788

Letter signed

Title: to Jethro Sumner

Written by Penn, a signer of the Declaration of Independence, as a Continental Congressman to Brigadier General Sumner in North Carolina. Informs Sumner that the militia must serve three months from the time they were at headquarters, not counting the time they were absent from their regiments since the defeat. Mentions insubordinate soldiers by saying, "those Men that are refractory ought to be informed that they must be obedient to the Laws of their Country." States that the board has written to Colonel Polk to furnish provisions for Sumner. Tells Sumner that Colonel Daniel Morgan and…

GLC00621

1813-1815

Green, Joseph W., fl. 1812-1815

Diary

Title: [Journal of a privateer and of prisoner of war during the War of 1812]

Diary written while aboard the privateer Alfred and as a prisoner of war in Melville Island Prison, Halifax, and Dartmoor Prison. Records many sightings and occasional capturing of ships. Entry on 22 February 1814 records the capture of Green's privateer by the British and being brought to Melville Island Prison at Halifax. Records writing to family and the arrival of new prisoners. Notable entries include mention of a prisoners' petition to General John Mason on 28 April 1814, the reduction of rations on 1 May 1814, the release of 90 prisoners on 23 July 1814. There are also…

GLC00498.01

January 19, 1858

Conover, Thomas A., 1794-1864

Manuscript letter signed

Title: to William McBlair

The letter is ordering McBlair to return with his ship to his "cruising ground" and continue his "suppression of the slave trade." Says McBlair should first take on recruits and supplies, then proceed to the coast to suppress the trade. States he is enclosing two separate orders from the Navy Department. Letter written on board the United States Flagship "Cumberland" in Porto Praya in Cape Verde off the coast of Africa. Thomas A. Conover was a Captain, later Commodore in the United States Navy, and the Commander of the African Squadron. A veteran of the War of 1812, Conover had previously…

GLC00722.02

October 22, 1857

Cunningham, John S., ?-1894

Autograph letter signed

Title: to William McBlair

Cunningham lists how many rations sailors are willing to give up, and how long the current rations will last at that rate. Letter written on board the U.S.S. "Dale," on the "Kongo River." John S. Cunningham was a purser in the United States Navy; he later rose to paymaster.

GLC00722.15

February 24, 1861

Kell, John McIntosh, 1823-1900

Autograph letter signed

Title: to Julia Blanche Kell

John McIntosh writes to his wife about a package he has sent her. He responds to news of his sons' ill health and suggests a healthier diet for them. He mentions a ship named the Everglade which is to be purchased the next day, "when I will take immediate command." The ship will be renamed the Savannah. He has gathered a group of "25 men & will probably make up the 50 before I leave." Year of letter inferred from day of week.

GLC00684.06

January 10, 1859

Cunningham, John S., ?-1894

Autograph letter signed

Title: to William McBlair

Informs McBlair that he is "in debt to the United States for six months provisions" due to a change in rules governing rations. The rule reads "'The Rule' in regard to the change in keeping the accounts of Provisions issued to officer's messes from Invoice cost to Ration Table price should take effect from the Commencement of the Quarter after the date of its receipt by the Purser." Cunningham has learned of this rule change through a letter recently sent to him "from the Government." Written on the docket, in pencil "Cunningham was too fast." Letter written on board the U.S.S. "Dale" at…

GLC00722.44

21 March 1859

Speiden, Robert, fl. 1857-1859

Document signed

Title: to William McBlair

Letter to McBlair listing the provisions on board the U.S.S. "Dale." The letter is a "Statement of provisions required for 116 person for sixty days and the quantity now on hand." Notes how many pounds of bread, beef, coffee, whiskey and other items are required for the vessel, and how many are, in fact, on board. (Quantities of some items on board are less than the required amount. ) Speiden also notes that "The greater part of the Flour is not good." Written on board the "Dale" off Porto Praya, Cape Verde.

GLC00722.51

March 1859

McBlair, William, ?-1863

Autograph letter signed

Title: to V. McBlair

To his wife, discussing his dislike of the British, the death of a United States Consul in Sierra Leone by "homicide," and the island of Goree, a former center of the African slave trade. He states he is "Anti-Anglais," calling the British "National Pirates" on the African coast. He discusses his dinner with a French captain, commenting on their culture and the bad food. Also mentions the foolishness of the Liberian Secretary of State and complains about Navy food. He closes in expectation of orders to return home, which would soon arrive. Letter written on board the U.S.S. "Dale" off Goree,…

GLC00722.65

September 1779

Walton, George, 1740-1804

Autograph letter signed

Title: to Benjamin Lincoln

Written by Walton, a signer of the Declaration of Independence and Colonel in the First Georgia Battalion who was severely wounded and captured during the Battle of Savannah in December 1778, to Lincoln as commander of the Southern Department. Walton sent Major Habersaw to British General Augustine Prevost to request relief for American prisoners in Sunbury, but Habershaw was denied entry into Savannah. In response, Major Lane was sent with this letter to Lincoln to request relief. Hopes the prisoners can be exchanged for British prisoners or made prisoners at large in America. Says that the…

GLC01019

28 October 1776

Ellsworth, Oliver, 1745-1807

Autograph document signed

Title: [Connecticut document ordering payment for guarding, moving & feeding Continental POW's]

Co-signed by Hartford mayor Thomas Seymour and Connecticut Treasurer John Lawrence. Countersigned by Moses Kimball on verso when he received payment and E. Plummer who audited the payment. Seymour and Ellsworth were members of the Connecticut Committee of Four, also called the Pay-Table, which handled finances for Connecticut during the Revolution. This document provides payment to Moses Kimball for the purchase of saltpetre. Also gives Kimball money to pay Prosper Whitmore for guarding, transporting, and feeding Continental prisoners.

GLC00873

September 1, 1851

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

Autograph letter signed

Title: to George Gibson

Letter written by Captain Sherman from the Subsistence Office, St. Louis, Missouri, to Commissary General of the United States Army George Gibson. He encloses summary statements for August (not included), and notes that sums advanced to him from Santa Fe for coming expenses will be inadequate. He states " ... the mail from Santa Fe brought me notices of drafts, at one day's sight, for the sum of $14,950.00 ... It is utterly impossible to foresee the wants of service in New Mexico ... Judging alone from the past, I think I should have on hand constantly about twenty thousand dollars ... " He…

GLC00889

March 28, 1863

Johnston, Joseph Egleston, 1807-1891

Autograph letter signed

Title: to Jefferson Davis

Johnston, Commander of the Department of the West, replies to two recent communications from Davis, President of the Confederacy. He states "At Mobile, in Mississippi, & in Middle Tennessee, we cannot foresee attack long enough before hand to be able to reinforce the Threatened Army from either of the others. At the two first the enemy's appearance May, & probably would be, the first indication of this intention to attack." He estimates the amount of time it would take to transport wagons, infantry, and horses from Jackson to Tullahoma. Possibly referring to General Simon Bolivar…

GLC00914

February 18, 1865

Breckinridge, John C. (John Cabell), 1821-1875

Letter signed

Title: to Jefferson Davis

Official report to the president, signed as Confederate secretary of war, tracing the state of the Confederacy's finances from 1861 to the present. He declares that the current abysmal state of the budget, and the consequent inability of the nation to meet its debts, is causing desertion and a decline in civilian morale. "I invite your attention to the condition of this Department in respect to its claim upon the Treasury, and the necessity for prompt attention to that claim...Of the requisitions for 1864 and 1865 there remains unpaid the sum of $161,322,573.45 and besides this the sum of $69…

GLC00915

September 19, 1774

Rodney, Caesar, 1728-1784

Autograph letter signed

Title: to Thomas Rodney

Written by Rodney, an eventual signer of the Declaration of Independence, as Speaker of the Delaware Assembly to an unknown recipient, most likely Thomas Rodney. Says he wrote recipient on September 17, 1774. Says he was probably concerned about a report of the British firing on Boston. Says Philadelphia's bells rang all day when that news arrived, but that it proved to be false a few days later. When expresses were sent out from Boston to say it was false, the riders came upon 50,000 men in Massachusetts and Connecticut. Says if the men were not armed, they were carrying provisions for…

GLC00983

1864-1865

Longstreet, James, 1821-1904

Manuscript signed

Title: General Orders Confederate 1st corps Lt. Genl Jas. Longstreet

James Longstreet's general orders to the I Corps. Most of the orders are written and signed for by either Gilbert Moxley Sorrel or Osmun Latrobe. Both signed as Assistant Adjutant General. There are also twenty six printed orders interleaved, as well as six hand written orders on blue paper. Longstreet signs only once, Anderson twice. Orders relate to supplies, enlistment, rations, furloughs, transportation, and other subjects. Include marching orders and speeches to troops, such as: "Soldiers! Let us not go backwards! Let the 1st Corps be always true to itself. We have in the past a…

GLC00824.02

August 7, 1861

Walker, Leroy Pope, 1817-1884

Letter signed

Title: to Thomas Overton Moore

Walker, Confederate Secretary of War, discusses the Civil War with Moore, Governor of Louisiana. He states "The War existing between this Government and that at Washington will, probably, be prolonged during the coming winter, and, in view of the rigor of the climate at that season on the line of the seat of War; it is desired that our soldiers shall be well supplied with clothing." He instructs Moore to order Louisiana's Department of the Quarter Master to create enough woolen clothing to supply the needs of the state's soldiers. He cites the difficulty of obtaining supplies and provisions…

GLC00831

2 June 1779

George III, King of Great Britain, 1738-1820

Document signed

Title: King's Warrant

Order to pay Arnold Nesbitt, Adam Drummond and Moses Franks 9915.18.4 pounds for services provided in feeding the British troops in America. Sent to Richard Rigby, "Paymaster General of Our Gaurds Garrisons and Land Forces. Also signed by Lords North, Westcote and Palmerston. Richard Rowland, attorney for Drummond, Franks, and the late Nesbitt, signs on verso. Crow signs integral blank staing "Entered 5th June 1779 into the office of the Comptrollers of the Accounts of the Army." Title is from verso of integral blank.

GLC00857