Manuscripts
Harvey A. Marckres letters, (bulk 1864, June 3 - July 21)
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Civil War diaries of Harvey Henderson
Manuscripts
Six diaries that Harvey Henderson kept during his Civil War service covering the following periods: 1) 1861, Oct. 5 - 1862, Apr. 30; 2) 1862, May 1 - 1862, Dec. 31; 3) 1863, Jan. 1 - Nov. 30: 4) 1863, Dec. 1 - 1864, May 18; 5) 1864, May 19 - June 30; and 6) 1864, July 1 - 1865, Apr. 2.
mssHM 30481 (1-6)
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Civil War letters of Ransom Allen Perkins
Manuscripts
Letters that Perkins wrote home from Camp Harris, Md. (1861, Dec. 7), Hagerstown, Md. (1862, Aug. 27), Alexandria, Va. (1862, Sept. 28), Fairfax Court House, Va. (1863, Jan. 21), Stevensburg, Va. (1864, Apr. 24), Chancellorville, Va. (1864, May 14), and Bridgewater, Va. (1864, Oct. 2). The long, detailed letters describe the battles of Antietam and Spottsylvania Court House, recount news of the Union and Confederate military operations, discuss camp life, regimental news and recruiting, and depict tensions between the Union troops and local "secessionist citizens."
mssHM 36791-36792
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Vol. 6, Telegrams Received, Major Eckert, Nov. 8, 1864 to Jany 21, 1865
Manuscripts
400 pages; 28 x 22 cm. Title from spine label. Inside front cover: Vol. 6, Nov. 8 1864 to Jany. 21 1865. Also on the inside front cover is a modern annotation: 1864-5. Approximately 734 telegrams. Text is both horizontal and vertical.
EC 31
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Harvey W. Brown journal
Manuscripts
Diary kept by Harvey W. Brown while he traveled from Boston to San Francisco, and back again, in 1868. Brown left Boston on March 9, 1868, traveled to New York, and departed on board the Henry Chauncey on March 11. During the voyage Brown described his seasickness and the death and sea burial of a man from steerage, as well as making regular notes on weather conditions and distances traveled. On March 19 Brown arrived in Aspinwall (now Colón, Panama), traveled across the Isthmus by rail, and boarded the steamer Sacramento. On March 25 he described seeing "a volcano...on the mountain...it look[ed] like a grate of live coals." Writing on his 22nd birthday, April 1, 1868, Brown grew introspective, noting, "Little did I think last year at this time I should be here or that Aunty would be sleeping in the silent grave...How the things will change in a year." But his merriment returned when he got a piece of paper pinned to his jacket as an April Fool's joke. After a stop in Acapulco, the Sacramento arrived in San Francisco on April 2. Brown worked sporadically while in California as a painter (he worked briefly on the Mercantile Library) and applied for a job in cabinet making, but on April 17 he instead "hired a store" with his friend Ned at the cost of $25 a month. They attempted to sell corn, and while Ned did reasonably well Brown failed to sell anything. On May 6 Brown and Ned moved to new rooms when Brown got an unspecified job, but he "could not stand it...It made my arm so lame I could not work" (although he was well enough to go to the theatre that night). Brown seems to have been much more interested in amusement than work, and found the time to frequent the theatre, pay $20 in gold to join the Olympic Club, take multiple day trips, play nine pins and shooting, attend an Independent Order of Odd Fellows picnic, and carouse with his friends at places like the Bella Union, where he describes one of them as being "pretty drunk." By May 21 Brown had grown tired of San Francisco and bought tickets home for himself and a friend named Frank. They departed on the Sacramento on May 22, and had an uneventful voyage back across Panama and home, although Brown did not like their ship, the Rising Star. By June 16 they were back in Boston. Brown apparently worked as a carpenter, although the last entry in the diary, made August 31, 1868, notes that he "bought out A.Polson fish market [ in Fields Corners, Dorchester]." The front pages of the diary contain various sketches, including one of a ship. The back of the diary contains some accounting notes.
mssHM 78060
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Joseph M. Chambers letters, (bulk 1864-1865)
Manuscripts
Chambers, an accomplished letter writer and a keen observer, faithfully recounted his war experiences and political concerns (he was a bit skeptical about abolitionist sympathies of his friends back home and rather ambivalent about Abraham Lincoln's reelection, preferring a "peace candidate").The letters cover the period from July 2, 1864 to July 14, 1865.
mssHM 70889-70909
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Henry Edward Williams letters, (bulk 1862-1864)
Manuscripts
Letters of Henry Edward Williams of the 34th Massachusetts Infantry Regiment from Virginia and West Virginia to his family. In his letters, Williams discusses military operations including the raid on Harrisburg in December 1863, skirmishes outside of Charleston, South Carolina, and encounters with guerrillas. He also mentions his time in Libby Prison and military hospitals, Confederate deserters and prisoners, as well as fugitive slaves. In a letter dated 1864 August 28, Williams expressed his unhappiness about having shared a hospital room with wounded African American soldiers. Also included is a 1914 letter setting up a foundation to benefit the estate of Colonel George D. Wells, one of the commanders of Williams' regiment who died in 1864 after being wounded in battle, other regiment information, and biographies and obituaries of Williams.
mssWilliamsh