Manuscripts
Sidney W. Hardy journal
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Amos E. Hardy correspondence
Manuscripts
Letters that Hardy wrote to his parents during his Civil War service constitute the bulk of the collection. The letters describe the work on the defenses of Washington, D.C., including Forts Massachusetts (Stevens), DeRussey, Talbot, Ripley, Alexander, Franklin and Sumner; life in camp, particularly the food, healthcare, and various sports and amusements; the men of his regiment, including the hated regimental surgeon suspected of killing off "weak soldiers" and an "old Hypocrite" of a chaplain' encounters with fugitive slaves, slaveholders, Confederate prisoners, Union conscripts, etc. Hardy also discusses the affairs at home, (including the fate of his dog), and renders his opinion on war news and state and national politics, e.g. the draft and the Copperheads. Longing for a battle, he also shared various schemes that would allow him to be transferred to cavalry or the Navy. The letters also contain accounts of the beginning of Grant's Overland campaign and the battle of Poplar Springs where he lost his arm as well as descriptions of the Columbian Hospital in Washington, D.C. and the Beverly Hospital in New Jersey. The letter of Dec. 25, 1858 describes Christmas in Georgetown, Guyana and briefly recounts Hardy's impression of the West Indies. Also included are: Hardy's letter to his future employer, Mrs. Ames, written from Soldiers' Home in Bangor and detailing his Civil War service; his letters from Tillsonburg, Ont., discussing the town and Hardy's plans for the future; a letter from his son, Robert Samuel Hardy, with a detailed account of festivities in his Bangor, Me. school; a newspaper clipping with Amos E. Hardy's obituary, and an undated letter from G. Low to William Low of Castleton, Vt.
mssHM 81771-81832
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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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Sir William Sidney Smith papers
Manuscripts
A collection of correspondence and documents relating to the naval career of Sir William Sidney Smith; it includes the British capture and occupation of Cayenne (French Guiana); naval operations in the Mediterranean, including the capture of the French ship "Fortune" by the English ships "Tigre" and "Theseus" (1799) and the siege of Acre; Barbary affairs; and Smith family affairs. Some of the items in the collection are in French; it also includes a round medal in a wooden box.
mssHM 39809-39871
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Sir William Sidney Smith papers
Manuscripts
A collection of correspondence and documents relating to the naval career of Sir William Sidney Smith; it includes the British capture and occupation of Cayenne (French Guiana); naval operations in the Mediterranean, including the capture of the French ship "Fortune" by the English ships "Tigre" and "Theseus" (1799) and the siege of Acre; Barbary affairs; and Smith family affairs. Some of the items in the collection are in French; it also includes a round medal in a wooden box.
mssHM 39809-39871
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James W. Pope journal
Manuscripts
Indian War journal kept by James Worden Pope, who with a wagon train of supplies accompanied Major Eugene A. Carr's 5th Cavalry expedition to locate and bring provisions to Captain William H. Penrose's cavalry. The 5th Cavalry departed from Fort Lyon, Colorado, in November 1868 and spent the next month in Indian Territory in search of Penrose. Pope's journal provides a detailed account of the 5th Cavalry's movements and their initially futile attempts to locate Penrose. He recounts the many difficulties of the expedition, from cold weather and inadequate provisions to drunkenness among some of its men. Pope also writes of encountering dead horses that had belonged to Penrose's cavalry and of the starving conditions of Penrose's men (when the 5th Cavalry finally caught up to Penrose on December 19, Pope writes that their men had just received their last rations, although they did have a supply of buffalo meat). He writes of encounters with Mexican buffalo hunters and Buffalo Soldiers, although not Indians (Pope's party discovered only "deserted Indian wigwams"). He also gives detailed descriptions of terrain, mainly around Purgatory River, Cimarron River, and Two Buttes Creek, as well as writing of the large numbers of buffalo and of buffalo hunts. The last entries of the journal, made in January 1869, recount camp life after the 5th Cavalry had joined Penrose's party, including the story of a man killed by Indians. Most of Pope's entries recount facts and do not have much personal reflection, although in an entry from New Year's Eve 1868 he writes of staying up until midnight, when the old year "gave up the ghost; burying with him many pleasant associations and hopes and fear. How little did I expect at this time last year to be out in this desolate region with only a tent for shelter...an episode in the life of [a] soldier." Some mentions are made of Carr, Penrose, Wild Bill Hickok, and General Philip Sheridan. The last page has a light sketch of unidentified terrain and what appears to be a list of Pope's provisions.
mssHM 74606
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John W. Barrett bill of sale for ship Walter Scott
Manuscripts
This manuscript is a bill of sale for one half of the ship Walter Scott, sold to George B. Upton by John W. Barrett. The ship is registered at the port of Nantucket, and Cromwell Bunker it its current shipmaster. Printed form, filled in and signed by hand.
mssHM 4159