Manuscripts
Israel Putnam letter to Captain Proctor
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Payroll for Israel Putnam's company in the 4th Connecticut Regiment
Manuscripts
mssHM 8178
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Elizabeth Whitney Putnam letter to J.D. Whitney, Sr
Manuscripts
Typescript of a letter from Elizabeth Whitney Putnam to her father J.D. Whitney, Sr., written shortly after the arrival of Elizabeth and her daughter Katharine in San Francisco. In the letter Elizabeth describes the difficulties of ocean travel, her voyage from the east coast to Panama on board the Georgia, her experiences crossing the Isthmus of Panama on foot and riding mules, a detailed firsthand account of the wreck of the Tennessee in the Pacific Ocean, and her final arrival in San Francisco aboard the Goliath, which also hit rocks off the California coast.
mssHM 73686
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Israel Mitchell manuscripts
Manuscripts
Four of these five manuscripts were written by Israel Mitchell. These include a speech about agriculture, a manuscript on religion, science and astronomy and two items about slavery. Of the latter two items, the first is a poem written circa 1860 against the institution of slavery, which mentions the abolitionist John Brown. The other is a handwritten copy of a speech Mitchell gave before the Oregon legislature in 1857 regarding both slavery and the Oregon constitution; Mitchell is arguing that Oregon should enter the United States as a free state. He also talks about abolitionists and the United States constitution. The fifth item is a group of notes on Mitchell family genealogy (with mention of Mitchell's grand-uncle Daniel Boone).
mssHM 70712-70716
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Israel N. Prince letters to Elizabeth E. Hodsdon
Manuscripts
Series of letters written by Israel N. Prince to his sister Elizabeth E. Hodsdon in Falmouth, Maine. Prince's first letter traces his journey by boat from Boston to Charleston in 1850. The next several letters provide a detailed look at the hardships of frontier life in the Nebraska Territory, where Prince lives humbly ("our dogs have a more comfortable house," he writes), holds low a low opinion of many of his neighbors ("the character [of frontier people] is not what I could wish it might be," he laments), works briefly on the Burlington Railroad (which ended with "considerable loss"), and is disinterested in in the California and Kansas "excitement," although he later thought about moving to California or Oregon. Prince also urges Elizabeth and her family to come west, answers her questions about when he will return home by saying "when I came into the western country it was my determination not to go back till I had done something," writes of his many uncertainties ("I seem to myself to be peculiar in some respects," he noted, "At times I hardly know what to make of myself"), and shamefully admits his failures ("I hated to tell you that I was too poor to own a farm of any description"). Beginning in 1861 the letters describe "the great war feeling around" and Prince's enlistment in Company "C" of the 1st Nebraska Volunteers in June 1861. He was initially stationed at Pilot Knob, Missouri, and guarded bridges on the Iron Mountain Railroad, and writes of a difficult march to Springfield and an enemy raid at Georgetown, Missouri. Most of his time was spent near the Tennessee/Mississippi border between Savannah and Danville. Prince writes of his participation in the Battle of Shiloh and of the Army of Southeastern Missouri, which in early 1863 had just finished "one of the hardest campaigns of the war" (probably part of Grant's Central Mississippi Campaign). He alludes to "daily skirmishes," although also notes that his sister probably knows better than he what is happening since he has little access to newspapers or outside information. In addition to chronicling the movements of his regiment, Prince outlines the difficulties of army life, including long "forced marches," the shortness of supplies, his many illnesses, the possibility of his death, and the unpopularity of the men in command. In his last letter Prince writes that there is little hope for a promotion since "I don't believe I am a great favorite with some of the officers." Specific references are made to General John Davidson, Secretary of War Simon Cameron, General John C. Frémont, and General Justus McKinstry.
mssHM 75851-75872
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Israel Shipman Pelton Lord letter to M.N. Lord
Manuscripts
In this letter to his brother, Israel Lord describes his journey from the Missouri River to California. He writes "Let nobody come the Overland route. It is a long dismal weary way which no money can pay for traveling over." He describes the process of digging for gold as most arduous. Typescript from original howned by Fanny V.W. Boos.
mssHM 53640