1863

Pamphlet

Title: The United States Conscription Act of 1863

Published by J. J. Dyer & Co. Printed by S. O. Thayer. Sold for five cents. Advertisements on inside front and both sides of the back cover. Gives full text of the Conscription Act, which was also known as the National Militia Bill, which was passed 2 March 1863. Divided into 38 sections. Has 2 page index. The Union draft law caused angst since exemption and commutation clauses allowed propertied men to avoid service, thus laying the burden on immigrants and men with few resources. Occupational, only-son, and medical exemptions created many loopholes in the laws. Original stab stich…

GLC03951

29 August 1780

Paine, Robert T., 1731-1814

Autograph document signed

Title: [Indictment of William Samson for counterfeiting currency]

Signed by Paine as an attorney and also signed by John Bathes, Caleb Swan, and a Mr. Greenleaf as witnesses, and by Samuel Welles as foreman. Gives the details of the counterfeiting case against Samson. Paine is listed as an attorney.

GLC03952

1861-1865, ca. 1900

Sarsons, Eleazer L., 1836-?

Header Record

Title: [Collection of Eleazer L. Sarsons, C company, 4th regiment, New Hampshire, infantry] [decimalized]

Contains account of his capture and release from Andersonville; his exchange; Lee's surrender. Includes description and drawing of Fort Marion.

GLC03953

1862-1865

Kennedy, Ronald A., fl. 1862-1865

Header Record

Title: [Diaries of Ronald A. Kennedy of the Vermont Infantry]

Three volumes of diaries belonging to Ronald A. Kennedy dated 1862-1865 related to battles, and finances of I Company of the 3rd Vermont Infantry during the Civil War.

GLC03954

1864-1865

Phoenix, John W., fl. 1864-1865

Header Record

Title: [Diaries of John W. Phoenix, A company, 28th regiment, Wisconsin, infantry]

Diaries are decimalized.

GLC03956

1861-1865

Scurry, John G., fl. 1861-1871

Header Record

Title: [Collection of John G. Scurry, A company, 11th regiment, Virginia, infantry][Decimalized .01-.81]

Collection of letters belonging to John G. Scurry dated 1861-1865. Consists of 81 letters sent to various recipients, two of which are incomplete. The letters describe the battles of Chickahominy, McClellan's claim of victory in the Penninsula campaign, being wounded and captured at Gettysburg, service in North Carolina in 1864, and prospects for McClellan's election as president in 1864. Also includes 14 letters by other soldiers.

GLC03957

1862-1864

Cook, Henry, fl. 1862-1864

Header Record

Title: [Diaries of Henry Cook, K company, 9th regiment, New Jersey, infantry]

Henry Cook discusses his infantry and Signal Corps service at Roanoke Island, NC and New Bern, NC.

GLC03958

8 December 1879

Ericsson, John, 1803-1889

Letter signed

Title: to Franklin Hanford

Comments briefly on a lecture Hanford gave. Discusses an account of a torpedo experiment he published in the Army and Navy Journal. Expresses his reluctance to have foreigners transmit information overseas. Mentions that he left out information about how the torpedo entered the water in deference to Commodore Jeffers of the Navy Department and Ordnance Office. Since the results were unfavorable, they may try more experiments and would like to keep the information quiet for now. Adds an autograph postscript at the bottom of page three where he discusses sketches and a record of the…

GLC03959.01

25 August 1879

Ericsson, John, 1803-1889

Letter

Title: to Franklin Hanford

Clerical copy. Reports that he has recommended the Bureau to remove the Ordnance Scow from Sandy Hook because it cannot sustain heavy weather. Discusses the torpedo trials and states they have accomplished what was intended, "ascertaining if the explosive energy of powder gases can be substituted for compressed air in expelling submerged torpedoes. The result is more than successful, it is brilliant!" Explains the scientific and mechanical workings that have produced this result. Addressed to Hanford, Lieutenant Commander, Inspector of Ordnance, Navy Yard, New York.

GLC03959.03

13 August 1863

Thompson, Meriwether Jeff, 1826-1876

Autograph letter signed

Title: to Daniel Ruggles

Discusses recruitment and organization of the militia, transport of supplies, and communication with New Orleans,

GLC03960

30 April 1864

Murdock, A.C., fl. 1864

Document signed

Title: [North Carolina arrest warrant for slave stealing food]

Partially printed. Murdock signs as Justice of the Peace for an unspecified county in North Carolina on an order for the arrest of Herbert Jackson, a slave. On the oath of Betsy Lott, it is declared that Jackson, a slave owned by [Ty Whited or Whitehead], obtained bacon from another slave. Apparently, "stole a bit of curd bacon" was previously struck and replaced with "bought and received one piece of bacon from Nelson, a slave in the service of Julia Minor." Other details of the purchase are also struck. On verso, Murdock signs several statements. In one statement, Murdock appears to…

GLC03961

7 January 1849

Jackson, Thomas J. "Stonewall", 1824-1863

Autograph letter signed

Title: to Mrs. L. A. Arnold

"Stonewall" Jackson writes to his sister about his health, a foot injury, and a desire to return to the mountains. Mentions as Uncle Cummins in California. Would like to spend the summer with her. Addressed to Arnold in Beverly, Randolph County, Virginia.Written at Fort Hamilton

GLC03963

5 September 1799

Stoddert, Benjamin, 1751-1813

Printed document signed

Title: to Captain Lever

Stoddert, Secretary of the Navy, signs a circular outlining an Act of Congress passed 22 March 1794, "to prohibit the carrying on the Slave Trade from the United States to any foreign place or country..." The Act orders that no United States citizen or resident shall fit or prepare a ship for the purpose of engaging in the slave trade. In the same vein, no citizen is allowed to use a ship to procure inhabitants of a foreign country for sale in the slave trade abroad. Instructs Lever to inform the Department of the Navy of all vessels engaged in the slave trade.

GLC03964

9 October 1863

Deas, Zachariah Cantey, 1819-1882

Manuscript document signed

Title: to J. A. Wilson

Deas's retained copy with emendations by him. General Deas reports on the Battle of Chickamauga to Colonel Wilson, assistant adjutant general of Thomas C. Hindman's Division. Written from Headquarters of Deas's Brigade near Chattanooga, Tennessee. Report includes the names of some participating generals, including Hindman, Anderson (possibly James Patton Anderson), and Arthur M. Manigault among others, cites the names of lieutenants, captains, and surgeons who served gallantly as members of Deas's staff, and lists items captured during battle, including ambulances and artillery. Docket…

GLC03965

1852

Stowe, Harriet Beecher, 1811-1896

Book signed

Title: Uncle Tom's cabin; or, life among the lowly.

First edition inscribed. Original cloth. Inscribed by Stowe on the fly-leaf of volume 1 "Presented to [Jno?] Fleece by his friend and admirer Harriet Beecher Stowe. 1854." Boston, John P. Jewett & company; Cleveland, Ohio, Jewett, Proctor & Worthington. The identity of the inscribee is unknown.

GLC03969.01

4 October 1892

Stowe, Harriet Beecher, 1811-1896

Autograph quotation signed

Title: [Quotation from Uncle Tom's Cabin on Christ]

"Not one throb of anguish, not one tear of the oppressed is forgotten by the man of sorrows, the Lord of Glory - In his patient generous bosom He bears the anguish of a world." Quoted from Chapter 12.

GLC03969.02

15 November 1768

Blair, John, 1687-1771

Document signed

Title: [Announcement of amendment to law on slave trials for capital crimes]

Partially printed document signed by Blair as President of the Virginia Council and Commander in Chief of the colony to the justices of the peace of Buckingham County. Transmits amendments made to "An Act directing the Trial of Slaves committing Capital Crimes, and for the more effectual punishing Conspiracies and Insurrections of them, and for the better Government of Negroes, Mulattoes, and Indians, bound or free." Says the governor, and temporarily in Virginia the Commander in Chief, has the power to issue commissions of oyer and terminer to justices of each county empowering them "from…

GLC03970

1770

Great Britain. Acts.

Document

Title: Act to continue...an act...for the better payment of the army and their quarters

The Quartering Act, which modified previous acts dealing with punishing munity and desertion, better pay, and quartering for the army. Printed by Charles Eyre and William Strahan. Paginated 315-316 + unpaginated title page.

GLC03971

1868

Header Record

Title: Greenback Party: pieces of campaign ephemera including Br, circulars & "money" [Decimalized .01- .21]

Also, numerous handbills in the form of currency, many quite humorous. Some items are second copies.

GLC03972

1861-1863

Worcester, John H., 1839-1863

Header Record

Title: [Collection of John H. Worcester, H company, 7th regiment, New Hampshire, infantry] [Decimalized .01- .41]

The collection includes documents and letters written to the Worcester family, especially the father, John, from Lieutenant John H. Worcester and his younger brother Charles H. Worcester. John was wounded at Fort Wagner, South Carolina, and taken prisoner. He was later exchanged and died from gangrene while aboard a hospital steamer. Charles survived Fort Wagner because he had been sick in hospital during the battle. Most of the war letters are written from St. Augustine, Florida or Follys Island, South Carolina. The collection includes a manuscript map of St. Augustine, Florida; a…

GLC03974

1 April 1864

Logan, John Alexander, 1826-1886

Autograph letter signed

Title: to Elizabeth Jenkins Logan

General Logan writes to his mother. Writes, "I have longed to have a letter form you, but have all the time been disappointed. I know that you do not feel opposed to writing to me but perhaps feel as tho' you ought not... I feel as Tho' I was lost and forgotten to the family, you Tho' are my mother and feel toward you as I ever have respect and love you and ever will and hope that you will write to me, and write me all about matters at home... this campaign will be a long and hard one but I hope to survive it" (possibly referring to the upcoming Atlanta campaign). Accompanied by an…

GLC03975.01

4 July 1862

Leggett, Mortimer Dormer, 1821-1896

Autograph letter signed

Title: to John Alexander Logan

Marked private at the top of page one. Written in pencil. Colonel Leggett writes, "For Heavens sake get us out of this, if you can. Gen Hurlbut is doing all in his power to get us permanintly attached to his command- & I would sooner my regiment would fall into the hands of the devil, for the devil has brains at least. As for me, he can't have me, for I'll quit the service 'in disgust' first... Half of the time he is a poor, drunken, brazen faced fool, & the other half, as timid as an unfledged gosling afraid of his own shadow." Claims that few officers from the 30th Illinois or…

GLC03976

9 January 1865

Trenholm, George Alfred, 1806-1876

Manuscript document signed

Title: to Thomas S. Bocock

Report of the Confederate Treasury Department to the Confederate Congress. Trenholm signs as Confederate Secretary of State. Addressed to Bocock as the Speaker of the House of Representatives. Discusses finances, debts owed by the War Department to individuals for supplies, and increasing taxes to make up the deficit. Provides a detailed accounting of appropriations and expenditures to explain why the November 1864 estimate of $114 million as the "arrear of indebtedness" was too low. Says postponing payment will create the danger of "seriously embarrassing the operations of the War…

GLC03977

7 April 1779

Schuyler, Philip John, 1733-1804

Autograph letter

Title: to Goose Van Schaick

Detailed draft of General Schuyler's instructions to Colonel Van Schaick for a raid against the Onondaga Indians. Asks Van Schaick to exclude Indian allies from the expedition and to take measures to prevent the rape of any women taken captive. Van Schaick covered 180 miles in less than a week, severely punishing the Onondagas. The expedition was a retaliation for Indian attacks in 1778 and was executed in conjunction with the Sullivan Campaign.

GLC03982

1776-1791

Larrabee, Benjamin, 1740-1829

Autograph manuscript

Title: [Revolutionary war journal of Captain Benjamin Larrabee]

Written at various locations; the fist location recorded is Scarborough, Maine. Records details regarding the weather, marching, and reporting to Colonel Reuben Fogg. Includes various lists of soldiers and drafted men. Contains financial records of sums paid and received for various purposes, including the purchase of goods and the payment of wages. Contains a 1791 account record for expenses pertaining to a school house. Dates are not listed chronologically within this journal. Housed with, but not bound within, original leather cover.

GLC03983.01