18 May 1864

Wainwright, Charles Sheils, 1826-1907

Autograph letter signed

Title: to Henry Jackson Hunt

Field dispatch, written at 8 a.m., re battle of Spotsylvania Court House, during main Union assault, which was preceded by heavy artillery bombardment, directed by Hunt. Written at 8 AM. Colonel Wainwright writes to Hunt, Chief of Artillery of the Army of the Potomac, during the Battle of Spotsylvania Courthouse. Writes that General Gouverneur K. Warren "insists on a much more rapid firing than I think my supply of rifled ammunition can stand." Notes that General George Gordon Meade, commanding the Army of the Potomac, informed Warren of the location of a large supply of ammunition. Asks…

GLC02382.031

23 May 1864

Hunt, Henry Jackson, 1819-1889

Autograph manuscript

Title: [Personal military checklist]

Hunt, Chief of Artillery of the Army of the Potomac, writes in pencil on Artillery Headquarters, Army of the Potomac stationery. Notes things he needs to do, including making sure rations are drawn, obtaining several field returns, confirming that ammunition has been drawn before leaving Fredericksburg, Virginia, etc. Cites one captain's refusal to act as commissary, and mentions the 2nd, 5th, and 6th corps of infantry. Lists other notes. Possibly written in Virginia. Content pertains to the campaign of Cold Harbor.

GLC02382.032

3 June 1864

Hunt, Henry Jackson, 1819-1889

Autograph note signed

Title: [Questions regarding munitions]

A field dispatch written during the Battle of Cold Harbor. Hunt signs with initials. Hunt asks Col. Charles H. Tompkins how many batteries have been engaged and arms expended and whether he can spare ammunition for Capt. Elder. A Tompkins autograph note signed on verso says "Have five (5) batteries engaged. Have expended about 100 rounds per gun. Not known exactly…." Offers to provide ammunition to Captain Elder, but may need it himself. The Battle of Cold Harbor, part of the Overland Campaign, pitted Grant against Lee in one of the war's bloodiest engagements. At dawn on 3 June 1864,…

GLC02382.033

16 August 1867

Hunt, Henry Jackson, 1819-1889

Autograph letter signed

Title: to dear General

Signs with the letter "H." Addressee is likely Hunt's father-in-law, Henry K. Craig. Hunt.discusses President Andrew Johnson's attempt to force the resignation of Secretary of War Edwin McMasters Stanton. Refers to newspaper editorials discussing Stanton's successor. "So S. [Stanton] is at last kicked out - and what a precious scene of buttering and licking each other is presented by him and his successor." Writes that Johnson "would be sure to select the worst possible man" for the position. Declares that the Republican party always turns to Ulysses S. Grant. Discusses various letters/…

GLC02382.034

4 October 1867

Hunt, Henry Jackson, 1819-1889

Autograph letter signed

Title: to Henry Knox Craig

Hunt calls Emory Upton's book A New System of Infantry Tactics, Double and Single Rank a "botched application of a stolen principle." Hunt had been a member of a three-man board that revised field artillery drill and tactics, and published a revered manual on the topic. Claims that Upton stole his ideas, but "failed to apply the principle properly to the infantry, or to understand the fullness of its value..." Refers to William F. Barry, who had served with him on the board. Discusses the evils of current times; does not think that political conservatives will carry elections in Iowa, Ohio,…

GLC02382.035

circa February 7, 1868

Hunt, Henry Jackson, 1819-1889

Autograph letter signed

Title: to Henry Knox Craig

Hunt discusses salmon he previously sent to Craig. Mentions Julia and Conway, his children. Discusses other family or mutual acquaintances. Year inferred from content. Signed as "H.J.H." Includes a pencil note on page 3. Letter was originally with others in an envelope labeled "Private Letters from Eastport to General Craig &c."

GLC02382.036

February 25, 1868

Hunt, Henry Jackson, 1819-1889

Autograph letter signed

Title: to Henry Knox Craig

Hunt reports that he sent papers to Craig the previous day addressed to General Schenck (possibly Robert Cumming Schenck, a Congressman from Ohio), and Wilson. Discusses whether or not the House of Representatives will vote to impeach President Andrew Johnson, using the accusation that he wrongly fired Secretary of War Edwin M. Stanton (on 24 February the House actually did vote to impeach Johnson). "I am of the opinion that the House will think better and that they will not impeach. Then the Rads will be furious and it is not unlikely that both S. & W. will jump at the chance of taking…

GLC02382.037

19 March 1868

Hunt, Henry Jackson, 1819-1889

Autograph letter signed

Title: to [Henry Knox Craig]

Comments on Johnson's impeachment and radical reconstruction. He has been involved with Schenck's bill. Says, "It looks to us here as if the P. [President] would stand a poor chance, that the case is prejudged on party grounds. I hope the evidence will be full and show up many things not expected by the Rads…."

GLC02382.039

2 April 1868

Hunt, Henry Jackson, 1819-1889

Autograph letter signed

Title: to Henry Knox Craig

He is working for pay for retired soldiers. Comments on the Supreme Court decision in the McCardle case and President Andrew Johnson's impeachment. Expresses strong feelings about the Republican party and Reconstruction, criticizing the unfair treatment of rebels. "I don't wonder that you characterize so severely that little dodge by which the Supreme Court was ousted of its jurisdiction in the McArdle [McCardle] case…." Compares it to a scene from Tristram Shandy of "accomplishing a purpose and avoiding the responsibility." Discusses the Radical Republican tactic of disallowing votes from…

GLC02382.040

13 April 1868

Hunt, Henry Jackson, 1819-1889

Autograph letter signed

Title: to [Henry Knox Craig]

Writes from Fort Sullivan. Asks if Craig received a copy of a play-bill he previously transmitted. Complains about the cold Eastport winter. Discusses the abrupt departure of Captain Wilson from Fort Sullivan. Discusses Wilson's actions, and declares that he is insane or deranged, due to his loss of memory and atypical behavior. Recipient inferred from content and from previous letters in the collection.

GLC02382.041

29 April 1868

Hunt, Henry Jackson, 1819-1889

Autograph letter signed

Title: to Henry Knox Craig

Writes about Captain Wilson, noting that he was an honest man who became involved in dishonest dealings regarding expenditures, etc. Cites his attempts to organize Wilson's ill-managed accounts "in the interest of those who have in good faith trusted Uncle Sam through him." Discusses the impeachment of President Andrew Johnson, mentioning Charles Sumner, an impeachment advocate. "I have not doubted a conviction, law or no law, evidence or no evidence and Mr Sumners [proposal?] just received here, to limit the 'findings' to the facts set forth , and not to pronounce on the charge 'high crimes…

GLC02382.042

25 June 1868

Hunt, Henry Jackson, 1819-1889

Autograph letter signed

Title: to Henry Knox Craig

Expects Craig to visit in July. Mentions his son Conway Hunt. Discusses his plans for the Fourth of July, and whether Craig should travel to Maine by steamer or train.

GLC02382.043

21 October 1868

Hunt, Henry Jackson, 1819-1889

Autograph letter signed

Title: to Henry Knox Craig

Hopes Craig will consider spending future summers in Eastport, if he (Hunt) remains stationed there. Discusses the upcoming presidential election (won by Ulysses S. Grant). "So the October Elections are over and we are beaten on all the fields - This settles the November Election beyond doubt; they may cry fraud as much as they please and I have no doubt that the states all three were carried by fraud - but the result will be to send a host of those who worship success - the great Wobble party in a Mass into the radical ranks. We are only demonstrating the truth of an old American theory. '…

GLC02382.044

January 29, 1880

Warren, Gouverner K., 1830-1882

Autograph letter signed

Title: to Henry Jackson Hunt

Thanks Hunt for help writing an article on the Mine Run campaign. Discusses, at length, his "appeal to the president for a Court of Inquiry" relative to charges made by Sheridan against Warren, which has been granted. "Genl Sherman seems to have intended to give me a fair show, in putting Genl Hancock at the head. I am urged now to give an account of the battle of the Wilderness, but I cannot do it without running the risk of stepping on Hancock's toes, on one side, or Grant's on the other, and it is obvious that when I am having a contest with Sheridan, that I must avoid both…." Says he…

GLC02382.045

16 July 1884

Sharpe, George H. (George Henry), 1828-1900

Autograph letter signed

Title: to Henry Jackson Hunt

Discusses his attempt to persuade a Senator regarding an unspecified matter of Hunt's interest (possibly regarding a bill that would affect Hunt's retirement rank). In 1884, Elbridge Gerry Lapham and Warner Miller were the United States Senators from New York.

GLC02382.047

25 September 1883

Gibbon, John, 1827-1896

Autograph letter signed

Title: to Henry Jackson Hunt

Discusses Hunt's retirement. Expresses hope that Logan (possibly Senator John Logan, chairman of the Committee on Military Affairs) presses the 62 year bill during the upcoming winter. Writes "I shall not mourne when my time comes, tho' I do not doubt that I shall have vitality- enough left to feel like a cat on a strange garret at having nothing to do. I console myself however with the reflection that I shall still retain the right to grumble!" Instructs Hunt to ask General Andrew Atkinson Humphreys to show him correspondence Gibbon sent to Humphreys regarding a report on the Battle of…

GLC02382.048

9 October 1883

Gibbon, John, 1827-1896

Autograph letter signed

Title: to Henry Jackson Hunt

Mentions an editorial in the 3 June 1883 issue of an unspecified Herald, which Gibbon had previously requested from Hunt. States that the Herald contained a review of a book by Andrew Atkinson Humphreys (possibly The Virginia campaign of '64 and '65; the Army of the Potomac and the Army of the James, published in 1883). The review refers to a mistake made by Gibbon during the campaign; Gibbon asks Hunt to ascertain Humphreys' source of information regarding details of the book, and mentions Hancock and Mitchell (possibly General Winfield Scott Hancock and W. G. Mitchell, his aide-de-camp…

GLC02382.049

7 November 1883

Gibbon, John, 1827-1896

Autograph letter signed

Title: to Henry Jackson Hunt

Discusses what he calls a travesty of justice regarding a Court of Inquiry held in the case of Lieutenant Ernest Albert Garlington. Garlington led the Greely Relief Expedition expedition in the Arctic. The expedition failed, and in the process the ship Proteus was destroyed after Garlington sailed into Smith Sound, Newfoundland. Hunt's son was a member of another one of the Greely Relief Expeditions. Written at Fort Laramie.

GLC02382.050

15 November 1884

Gibbon, John, 1827-1896

Autograph letter signed

Title: to Henry Jackson Hunt

He has been asked to write a description of battlefields and monuments. Mentions his approval of Hunt's writing an account of the Battle of Gettysburg. Asks Hunt about writing for "free" or "money." Refers to the Democratic victory. Written at Fort Laramie

GLC02382.052

6 September 1884

Gibbon, John, 1827-1896

Autograph letter signed

Title: to Henry Jackson Hunt

Signed "JG." Describes the Gettysburg Cyclorama, a large painting by Paul D. Philippotteaux, ca. 1882. Mentions, "I send you a rude sketch..." (not included). The first copy, made in Chicago is now (1993) in private hands. The second copy, made for Boston, was transferred to Gettysburg (ca. 1913) where it currently resides under the care of the National Park Service. Copies 3 (Philadelphia) and 4 (Brooklyn) were destroyed.

GLC02382.053

6 March 1885

Gibbon, John, 1827-1896

Autograph letter signed

Title: to Henry Jackson Hunt

Refers to military decisions providing post-war funds to soldiers. Comments on Democrat leadership. Invites Hunt to Chicago to see the Gettysburg painting.

GLC02382.055

12 March 1885

Gibbon, John, 1827-1896

Autograph letter signed

Title: to Henry Jackson Hunt

Writes that General Winfield Scott Hancock is on the brink of death due to pneumonia (Hancock did not die until February 1886). Relates that Hancock recently dined with a Lieutenant Kingman, and fell sick the next morning. Writes "I fear Hancock will leave his family in very poor condition." Mentions several doctors working with Hancock, and a Mrs. Taylor, who has remained by Hancock's side. Of Hancock, declares "... there are few more high toned honorable gentlemen in the army, few possessed of more good hard common sense & very few more honest & faithful in the performance of…

GLC02382.056

24 May 1885

Gibbon, John, 1827-1896

Autograph letter signed

Title: to Henry Jackson Hunt

Refers to the sale of the Gettysburg painting and to Hunt's Gettysburg article. He refuses to work any further for promotion: "I contend I have already done all my work for promotion & if this does not promote me, I am afraid I shall have to live & die a Col." Written at Fort Laramie

GLC02382.057

25 May 1885

Gibbon, John, 1827-1896

Autograph letter signed

Title: to Henry Jackson Hunt

Informs Hunt that Century Magazine has offered him (Gibbon) $100 to write an article on the surrender of Appomattox. Wonders if Hunt thinks this an adequate price. States that his article will be a selection from his book Personal Recollections of the Civil War. Asks Hunt questions regarding how publication affects the copyright of his writings. Refers to the Gettysburg paper (possibly one of the articles Hunt wrote on Gettysburg for the Battles and Leaders series). Envelope contains extensive pencil notation added at a later date. Written at Fort Laramie

GLC02382.058

28 July 1863

McClellan, George Brinton, 1826-1885

Autograph letter signed

Title: to Henry Jackson Hunt

States that his failure to reply to Hunt's former correspondence was due to his lack of faith in the army post office. Instructs Hunt not to give up his command as Chief of the Artillery. Says "I look forward to being back in command, some of these days, perhaps not until March 5 1865….Give my kindest regards to my friends, & remember who they are." Looks forward to being "back in command"(with the date referring to his upcoming campaign for the presidency). Hopes Hunt continues to advance in rank. Writes "I have watched our old Army of the Potomac with a heavy heart... " Has seen F.J. […

GLC02382.060