Friday, May 18, 2012

First documents now available

The Digital Library of Georgia and the Hargrett Rare Book and Manuscript Library are pleased to announce that the first documents from the America's Turning Point project are now available. The twenty-four collections are part of the holdings of the Hargrett Library.

A.A. Echols Letter to Governor Emory Washburn, 1860 November 12
Letter from A.A. Echols, Savannah, Georgia, to Emory Washburn, former governor of Massachusetts dated November 12, 1860. This lengthy letter, prompted by Lincoln's election six days earlier, expresses early Southern reaction to that election, Civil War causes, and the southern course of action. Echols, apparently a long-time friend of Washburn, mildly criticizes him for joining the Republican Party, predicts that the effect of Lincoln's election will be peaceful secession, and proposes some commercial realignments between the North and South.
 
The collection consists of a letter  from Aurelius W. Gibson (Confederate Major with Company K of the 45th Georgia Infantry Regiment. Captured at Petersburg, Virginia, March 1865 he was held at Fort Delaware, Delaware until his pardon and release in July, 1865) to President Andrew Johnson, dated May 17, 1865, Fort Delaware, Delaware, from Major Aurelius W. Gibson. The letter states Gibson was formerly with the 45th Georgia Infantry Regiment, has taken the oath of allegiance to the United States, and requests a pardon. Attached to the letter is a completed form for the oath. 
 
The collection consists of a letter from Byron D. Paddock (Coldwater, Michigan soldier who served in Battery F, 1st Michigan Light Artillery, as quartermaster sergeant, second and first lieutenant, and captain, and was discharged April 6, 1865), dated 1864 from Atlanta, concerning military life in the Civil War, what he is doing, and where his unit (Battery F, 1st Michigan) is moving. While the intended recipient is vague, he appears to be writing a woman named Hattie. There is also an acquisition description of the letter in this collection. It provides a partial transcript of some of the letter.  
 
The collection consists of one letter from union soldier Charles H. Grogan dated February 15, 1862, from Warsaw Island, Georgia, to Lemuel J. Beardsley, Stratford, Connecticut in which Grogan writes of his unit moving from Hilton Head, South Carolina to attack Savannah, Georgia.

Document relating to the court martial of Private George Harris, 1865 June 8
The collection consists of a document dated June 8, 1865 relating to the court martial of Private George Harris (member of Company E of the 33rd United States Colored Infantry Regiment, stationed in Savannah, Georgia) for sleeping while on sentinel duty. The document states that the court found Private Harris guilty and sentenced him to hard labor and to wear a 24-pound ball for six months on any government fortification.

Dr. William Duncan papers, 1861-1873


The collection consists of correspondence, military appointments, receipts, orders of Dr. William Duncan (Confederate Assistant Surgeon with the 10th Georgia Infantry Regiment, stationed in Virginia from 1861-1862. Due to pressing business at his home in Savannah, he returned there in March 1862. But by December of that year, he had been reappointed Assistant Surgeon and served as a medical officer in the Savannah area) relating to his service in the 10th Georgia Infantry Regiment in Virginia (1861-1862) and later as a surgeon in the Savannah area. Of particular interest is a list of medicines and hospital stores received at Thunderbolt Battery, Dr. Duncan's Oath of Pardon, and a request for travel to Europe in 1865. Other items included in the collection are notes and orders signed by T.J. Charlton or George P. Harrison, Jr. and one letter from Michael L. Cass.

Edwin L.B. Estes letter to W.L.A. Estes, 1864 February 9
The collection consists of a letter from Edwin L.B. Estes and G.B. Reasons, soldiers in the Confederate Army stationed at a camp at Rome, Georgia, to Estes' father W.L.A. Estes on February 9, 1864. The letters discusses Reasons' reaction to the Emancipation Proclamation, his desire to get his wife out of Tennessee, treatment of female citizens by the Union Army, and his promotion possibilities.

F. McGilnery letter to Lieutenant Wiggin, 1864 March 12
The collection consists of a letter written by F. McGilnery from Augusta, dated 12 March 1864, to Confederate Lieutenant Wiggin talking of a plan between the two which is to be kept secret. McGilnery states he has received a letter from the Chief of Ordinance concerning an account. It may well be that McGilnery is acting as an intermediary securing critical supplies for the C.S.A. Army.

Francis Bickett letters to Isabella Bickett 1861-1865
The collection consists of fourteen letters written by Francis Bickett (1st Lieutenant in the 47th Ohio Infantry during the Civil War) to his wife Bell (Isabella) as he moved through Ohio, Virginia, Mississippi (Vicksburg), Alabama, Tennessee and Georgia during the Civil War. His regiment marched from Atlanta to Savannah where he describes leading the charge on Fort McAllister. Bickett's letters also tell of his love and concern for his wife and daughter, Bina. He apologizes for not having money to send to them, and describes his reenlistment and his wish for the war to be over so he can return home.

Giles Moore enlistment agreement in the Union army, 1863 August 19
The collection consists of a printed agreement (completed in manuscript) in which Giles Moore, previously a slave in the Cherokee Nation, enlists in the 2nd Regiment of Kansas Colored Volunteers. Moore was 35 years old and the document bears his "X" mark signature.

H.H. Davis letter to his parents 1863 August 20
The collection consists of a letter dated August 20, 1863, from H.H. Davis with the 20th Georgia Infantry Regiment to his parents in Cherokee County, Georgia. The letter was written while on the Rapidan River in Virginia and discusses activity among the Confederate and Union troops near the river.
 
Jenkins, J.H. letter, 1864 October 10
The collection consists of one soldier's letter from J. H. Jenkins to "My Dear Wife" [Sallie], dated October 10, 1864 from Mount Pleasant, South Carolina. The letters concerns yellow fever in Charleston [South Carolina], the possibility of her coming for a visit, what she should bring, etc. There is also a small printed map of the Andersonville, Georgia Prison. The two items in this collection were found in a volume of the Athens Southern Banner, 1866-1869, but there is no apparent connection between them.

John McIntosh Kell letters, 1861
The collection consists of two letters from John McIntosh Kell while serving in the Confederate Navy onboard the ship Savannah in 1861. The first letter, to his father-in-law N.C. Munroe dated March 22, 1861, discusses the actions of Commodore Josiah Tattnall and the removal of guns from Fort Clinch, Florida to Fort Pulaski, Georgia. The second letter, dated March 25, 1861, is addressed to his wife Blanche Munroe Kell and discusses coastal Georgia social news.

John R. Binion family letters, 1861-1864
The collection consists of letters between members of the Binion family of Hancock County from 1861-1864. Correspondents include John R. Binion; his wife, Frances L. Butts; James F. Binion, serving with Company F of the 10th Georgia Infantry Regiment; and Elizabeth A. Jones. The women write about typhoid and how it was treated, the community scare when an Irishman led negroes to kill whites, of making uniforms and sacks for soldiers, and crops. John R. Binion wrote of camp life, from Camp Satilla near Savannah and Governor Joseph Brown's calling up the militia in 1864.

Joseph E. Johnston telegram, 1865 March 27
The collection consists of a telegram sent to General Howell Cobb from General Joseph E. Johnston at Smithfield, Virginia, which instructs Cobb to "select the roads to furnish the iron for repairs of main routes through Georgia."

Joshua Breyfogle family papers 1864, 1903
The collection consists of a Civil War diary written by Joshua Breyfogle in 1864; a typescript of a letter written by Joshua Breyfogle to his children in 1903 in which he describes his Civil war experiences; a typed genealogy of the Breyfogle family; and six family photographs. The diary gives details of Joshua Breyfogle's participation in three Georgia battles- in Resaca, Atlanta, and Fort McAllister. The letter describes Joshua Breyfogle's moves through Ohio, West Virginia, Kentucky and Virginia with battles at Rich Mountain and Cheat Mountain, West Virginia, and White House Landing and Petersburg, Virginia. Breyfogle (b. 1848) from Delaware, Ohio, enlisted in the Army at approximately age 14. His father, Joshua D. Breyfogle (1806-1868), and his brothers, Roland (1842-1870) and William (1845-1865), had already enlisted in the 4th Ohio Infantry. Joshua was first in Company K of the 86th Ohio Infantry, then the 5th Ohio Independent Cavalry Battalion, and finally the 13th Ohio Cavalry.

Letter to Colonel D.E. Barrow, 1861 October 3
The collection consists of a letter from Fleming G. Grieve to Colonel D.E. Barrow dated October 3, 1861, Milledgeville, Georgia. The letter offers the company of Calhoun Greys for service for the coastal defense of Georgia and includes a list of officers and privates in the company.

Letters to Nannie M. La Roque, 1862-1864
The collection consists of correspondence from John G. La Roque, of the 4th Georgia Infantry Regiment, mainly to his wife, Nannie M. La Roque, from 1862-1864. La Roque's letters discuss the death of his son, his health and that of his wife, the morale and health of the men in Company E, troop movements in Virginia, casualties and deaths, news of friends and family, the problems of obtaining clothing for soldiers, the battle of Spotsylvania, Virginia, and his capture and imprisonment at Ft. Delaware, Delaware. The collection also contains one letter from La Roque to F.A. Billingslea, dated April 27, 1863, asking Billingslea to collect money owed La Roque and describing the readiness and troop strengths under General Jackson.

Major W.S. Munday letters to Captain Isaac Shelby, 1863


The collection consists of two letters from Major W.S. Munday to Capt. Isaac Shelby, Jr. with the Buckner Corps, Army of Tennessee in 1863. The September 22, 1863 letter from Ringold, Georgia (at the close of the battle of Chickamauga) discusses not being able to find a courier to relay messages. The October 7, 1865 letter from Chattanooga, Tennessee, is regarding the distribution of cattle and moving his headquarters to Dalton, Georgia. Captain Isaac Shelby is the namesake and grandson of well known political figure, Colonel Isaac Shelby of the Revolutionary War period. Colonel Shelby took several forts in the Revolutionary War without firing a shot, fought in Pontiac's Rebellion, and helped defeat Cornwallis at King Mountain. He became Kentucky's first governor and fought the British in the War of 1812. His son was born in 1795 and married in 1817. He in turn had several children, including Isaac Jr. The writer of this letter, Isaac Shelby Jr., was born in 1832.

P.G.T. Beauregard telegram, 1865 January 2
The collection consists of a telegram sent to General Howell Cobb from General P. G. T. Beauregard at Charleston, South Carolina, which informs Cobb that Beauregard was leaving the city that day at eleven o'clock.
 
Robert T. Wood papers, 1863-1865, 1879 (bulk 1864)
The collection consists primarily of letters from Robert T. Wood (d. 1865, Confederate soldier in the Georgia Militia during the Civil War, resident of Washington County, Georgia) from May - August 1864 while serving in the Georgia Militia near Atlanta, to his wife and children in Washington County, Georgia. Also includes letters from a cousin, Fannie H. Rogers, Calhoun's Mills (S.C.); a letter from D.R. Childers (unit unknown), dated July 1963, Chattanooga, Tennessee, which mentions the Tullahoma campaign; and a social letter from W.D. Johnson dated 1879, from Liverpool, England to his sister, Missouri.

Thomas Ely Lee letters to Fannie Lee, 1862-1890 (bulk 1862-1863)
The collection primarily consists of letters from Thomas Ely Lee in the 49th Georgia Infantry Regiment, Company K while serving in Virginia, to his wife Fanny Lee from 1862-1863. He writes that he gets enough to eat but needs clothes. He states he went to Maryland and Pennsylvania, but believes the fighting at Petersburg may end the war. He mentions his commanders, Capt. Henry H. Whitfield and Lt. Capt. John Pate several times.

William C. Goggans Civil War letters, 1861-1865
The collection consists of letters, written mainly by William C. Goggans and family, during the Civil War from 1861-1865. The letters discuss army camp life, conditions and war news, and the wartime economy and psychology. Goggans of the 35th Georgia Infantry Regiment, wrote from camps in Richmond, Fredericksburg, James River, Cumberland Gap, Camp Jackson (Martinsburg), Smithfield, and Buryville in Virginia; Milledgeville and Augusta, Georgia; and Meridian, Mississippi. Also contained in the collection is a letter from J.B. Walton to the General Commander, U.S. Forces at Savannah, Georgia, and Confederate civilian letters. William C. Goggans, Lieutenant (later Captain) in the 35th Georgia Infantry Regiment, died at Richmond, Virginia, February 23, 1863.

William H. Maxey letters to Jeremiah Maxey, 1861-1862
The collection primarily consists of correspondence from William H. Maxey (d. March 15, 1862), a Confederate soldier with Company K of the 8th Georgia Infantry Regiment, to his father, Jeremiah Maxey, from June - December 1861. Maxey's letters, from Virginia, discuss his health, stays in the hospital, wounded friends, requests for clothes and blankets, rumors of troop movements, and asks for news of home. One letter, dated July 26, 1861, describes the death of Francis S. Bartow and the 1st Battle of Bull Run. Also contains an undated poem, THE DYING SOLDIER and correspondence to Jeremiah Maxey from other soldiers of the 8th Georgia Infantry Regiment. One letter, dated Richmond, Virginia, March 17, 1862 from Thomas Gilham, describes William Maxey's death.

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