24 September 1863

Pickett, George Edward, 1825-1875

Document signed

Title: General orders no. 1

General Pickett assumes command of the Department of North Carolina and announces his staff appointments. Sent to Major General William H. C. Whiting, commanding at Wilmington, North Carolina.

GLC04399

1778

Massachusetts Bay Council

Printed document

Title: An Act, For apportioning and assessing a Tax of Two Hundred and Fifty-four THousand, Seven Hundred and Eighteen Pounds, Sixteent Shillings and Eleven Pence, upon the several Towns and other Places in this State, for defraying the public Charge.

Enacted by the Council and House of Representatives of Massachusetts. Breaks down the amount to be raised by county and town. Also enacts many rules for determining tax liability. Copy for Selectmen of Gorham. Printed by Benjamin Edes.

GLC04401

10 April 1786

Ivers, Thomas, ?-1800

Broadside signed

Title: [Massachusetts document assessing a tax]

A copy for the selectmen or assessors of the town of Gorham, Massachusetts. Signed by Thomas Ivers as Treasurer and Receiver-General of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Docketed on verso: "Treasurer Warrant for Assessing 1037:19/ March 1786. Select Men or Assessors of Gorham. Rec'd. May 3rd 1786." Associated with the series of burdensome tax laws which led to Shay's Rebellion.

GLC04402

17 July 1798

Adams, John Quincy, 1767-1848

Autograph letter signed

Title: to Silvanus Bourne

Refers to letter of Bourne's from 10 July 1798. Written to the American General Consul in Amsterdam. Tries to console Bourne about the publication of one letter and the false statements made about the contents of another that made him appear pro-French by Russell (possibly Boston newspaper publisher John Russell). Says the controversy is minor but that the explosive atmosphere in America after the XYZ affair will make it appear worse than it is. Claims the real letter would have been innocuous and the real controversy is the breach of trust of his correspondent. Says letter is short because…

GLC04403

11 February 1862

Rowan, Stephen Clegg, 1805-1890

Letter signed

Title: [Congratulatory address to his men after capturing Elizabeth City, North Carolina]

Congratulating his men on the Union's naval victory and capture of Elizabeth City, North Carolina. During this battle the Union also destroyed what little was left of the Confederate navy, for the time being. Applauds his men's "coolness, gallantry and skill." Commends their "strict observance of the plan of attack, and the steady but onward course of the ships without returning a shot until within 3/4 of a mile of the Fort." Congratulates them for "refraining from trespassing in the slightest degree upon the private property of defenseless people in a defenseless town." Believes "the…

GLC04405

12 October 1864

Lydston, William, fl. 1813-1881

Autograph letter signed

Title: to Mr. Forbes

States he was requested by H. P. Brothers to write to Forbes and send his watercolor drawing of the siege of Petersburg which he drew while watching the action that night. Gives a description of the siege and explains what is depicted in his drawing. " ... the cannonading, musketry and shelling lasted a full hour and a half. These shells were above, below all around and about us, but these are familiar scenes and one can trace at night the course of the shell in the air as the lighted fuse leaves a long trail in its course, you see them coming and going, but know not how they are timed, or…

GLC04406.01

28 September 1864

Lydston, William, fl. 1813-1881

Painting

Title: [Watercolor drawing of siege of Petersburg, Virginia]

Watercolor drawing on brown paper. Shows members of the band watching the siege from a distance. The sky is filled with missiles and explosions highlighted in white. See GLC04406.01 for the artist's description of the siege and his drawing.

GLC04406.02

9 April 1865

Broadside

Title: Union Sentinel - Extra

Announces the surrender of General Robert E. Lee's Army of Northern Virginia at Appomattox and publishes the correspondence between General Ulysses S. Grant and Lee leading up to the surrender, including the terms and Lee's acceptance.

GLC04407

circa April 1861

Perine, George Edward, 1837-1885

Sketch

Title: [Charcoal illustration of the bombardment of Fort Sumter, South Carolina]

Depicts the 12-13 April Confederate attack on Fort Sumter. Illustrates cannonballs soaring toward the Fort, which was situated in Charleston Harbor. Reveals firing cannons emerging from windows of the Fort as smoke billows above the building. An American flag remains flying on the roof of the Fort. The outline of a city (possibly Charleston, South Carolina) is evident in the background. Possibly created by an eyewitness, and reveals similarity to other depictions of the battle that were published in Harper's Weekly.

GLC04408

1776/03/12

Dury, Andrew, fl. 1775-1776

Map

Title: A Plan of Boston and its Environs... [siege of Boston]

Nebenzahl, Battle Plans of the American Revolution, 16.

GLC04410

1775/11/27

Sayer, Robert, 1725-1794

Map

Title: A Plan of the Battle on Bunkers Hill [Boston]

Nebenzahl, Battle Plans of the American Revolution, 28.

GLC04411

1786/08/15

Sayer, Robert, 1725-1794

Map

Title: A Map of the Whole Continent of America... [Wall Map on 4 sheets]

GLC04412.01

1787/01/01

Sayer, Robert, 1725-1794

Map

Title: Europe divided into its Empires, Kingdoms, States... [Wall Map on 4 sheets]

This map has an attractive depiction of Algiers and the Barbery states which is slightly larger than that for GLC# 4412.04 (Africa)

GLC04412.02

1787/01/06

Sayer, Robert, 1725-1794

Map

Title: Asia and its islands, according to D'Anville... [Wall Map on 4 sheets]

GLC04412.03

1787/01/06

Sayer, Robert, 1725-1794

Map

Title: Africa with all its states, kingdoms... by S. Boulton [Wall Map on 4 sheets]

GLC04412.04

25 July 1854

Cresswell, Samuel Gurney, 1827-1867

Book

Title: A series of eight sketches in colour (together with a chart of the route), by Lieut. S. Gurney Cresswell, of the voyage of H.M.S. Investigator (Captain M'Clure), during the discovery of the North-West Passage

Published by Day and Son. Includes four pages of text description with the sketches and chart. Sketches by Cresswell. The voyage was an attempt to locate Sir John Franklin's lost party and established the existence of Northwest passage (through the Arctic Ocean).

GLC04413

1860/11/03

Lincoln, Abraham, 1809-1865

Autograph letter signed

Title: to William H. Wilson re:did not vote against sending supplies during Mexican War

Basler, Roy. P. The Colllected Works Of Abraham Lincoln. (New Brunswick, NJ and London: Rutgers University Press, 1974), Vol. X 1832 - 1865, p. 59

GLC04415

27 January 1835

Dorr, Thomas Wilson, 1805-1854

Autograph letter signed

Title: to Metcalf Marsh

Requests Marsh's attendance at a meeting of the Rhode Island State Committee of the Constitutional Party for the purpose of nominating a ticket for the upcoming election. Dorr, who would lead the Dorr Rebellion in 1842, was then a state legislator.

GLC04416

28 March 1835

Dorr, Thomas Wilson, 1805-1854

Autograph letter signed

Title: to Metcalf Marsh

Discusses potential candidates for election (for Rhode Island's Constitutional Party). Dorr, who would lead the Dorr Rebellion in 1842, was then a state legislator. Year inferred from content related to another letter from Dorr to Metcalf (see GLC04416).

GLC04417

19 August 1776

Adams, John, 1735-1826

Autograph letter signed

Title: to Samuel Holden Parsons

Written by Adams as a delegate to Continental Congress from Massachusetts to Parsons, who became a Brigadier General on 9 August 1776 and was to take part in the fighting at the Battle of Long Island on 27 August 1776. References Parsons's letters of 13 and 15 August 1776 and says his recommendations for appointments in the army will be considered by the Board of War, which Adams sat on. Also references Parsons observations of officers Patterson, Shepherd, and Brooks, but says he is unfamiliar with all of them. Says the issues of promotion make him "so vexed sometimes as almost to resolve to…

GLC04424

1779/11/04

Adams, John, 1735-1826

Autograph letter signed

Title: to Elbridge Gerry

A fond leave-taking signed "God bless you" at the end. The letter also discusses his firm belief in the need for separate powers, his acceptance of an appointment as commissioner to France and his wish that Gerry might send him intelligence from America.

GLC04425

7 March 1799

Adams, John, 1735-1826

Document signed

Title: [Appointment of Samuel C. Crafts as Commissioner for fifth division of Vermont]

Countersigned by Secretary of State Timothy Pickering. Crafts was given power to act as one of the five commissioner in Vermont under "An Act provide for the valuation of lands and dwelling-houses and the enumeration of slaves within the United States." The act was passed on 9 July 1798 after the XYZ Affair became public and the public clamored for war. Five days later, on 14 July 1798, another act was passed to lay and collect a direct tax within the United States. The monies collected from this tax were designated to help arm the country for an impending war with France. Crafts was…

GLC04426

9 September 1775- 16 February 1776

Manuscript document

Title: [Orderly book of British troops in Boston]

Contains detailed orders, passwords, information on supplies and behavior, and court martials, among various other topics. Possibly the orderly book of Generals William Howe and Henry Clinton.

GLC04427

15 May 1864-18 May 1864

Lee, Robert E., 1807-1870

Autograph manuscript

Title: [Draft message to the Army of Northern Virginia prior to the Battle of Spotsylvania].

First draft of an address to the troops of the Army of Northern Virginia, written on the verso of (a clerical) telegram to Lee from General John D. Imboden at Sharpsburg. In an effort to rally morale, Lee recounts recent Confederate victories, reminds the men of the cause for which they have taken up arms and the gravity of the current situation, calls upon the memory of fallen comrades, and invokes God's blessing for their cause. Imboden's telegram relays news about engagements in the Shenandoah Valley, including Imboden's stop of General Franz Sigel's advance, which Lee mentions in his…

GLC04429

9 May 1865

Johnson, Andrew, 1808-1875

Document signed

Title: [Pardon of Mary Catharine Berry by Andrew Johnson]

She was convicted of larceny, and sentenced to one year. She was later pardoned because she was young at the time she committed the crime. (c/s W. Hunter)

GLC04474