Manuscripts
Joseph M. Chambers letters, (bulk 1864-1865)
Image not available
You might also be interested in
Image not available
Joseph Whitaker letter
Manuscripts
In this letter, written from Beaver Dam, Wisconsin, to an unknown addressee, Joseph Whitaker describes the Native Americans in the area: "...not many deer now the Indians kill about all there is a few Indians about all the time they speak muskrats and fish on the ice in the winter the muskrats build a kind of house of pieces of old bog one of them is worth a shilling to them. The skins they sell for six pence and eat the rest they don't wash themselves once a month and when they have good luck they paint themselves with all kinds of paint...." Whitaker also talks briefly about his farming and hunting.
mssHM 82459
Image not available
1864-1865 January
Manuscripts
In the letters to his wife, John B. Burrud, shared his war experiences, political views, religious sentiments, and intense longing for his home and family. The letters, many written over two or three days, cover the regiment's organization in Auburn, New York in September 1862; training in New York City; the voyage to Louisiana; the 1863 campaigns in Louisiana and duty at Morgan City, Bayou Boeuf, and Pattersonville; Burrud's month-long stay in St. James Hospital in New Orleans; the Red River and the Shenandoah Valley Campaigns of 1864, including the battles of Pleasant Hill (April 9), the third Winchester (September 19), Fisher's Hill (September 22-23), and Cedar Creek (October 19); duty at Middletown and Winchester, Virginia (1864 October27-1865, April), and Washington, D.C. (1865 April-June); the Grand Review (1865 May 23-25); and duty at Savannah and Hawkinsville, Georgia (1865 June-November). In addition to the detailed accounts of the campaigns and battles and discussion of the commanding officers (Weitzel, Banks, Grant, Sheridan, and others), Burrud's letters contain descriptions of Louisiana, Virginia, Maryland, and Georgia countryside, especially historical sites (e.g. the remains of the Jamestown church; the place of John Brown's execution; Blakely, a farm near Charles Town, West Virginia that belonged to George Washington's family, museums, public building, and gardens of Washington, D.C., or a Creek Indian mounds in Pulaski County), and natural wonders and various species of wildlife. He also reports, often in elaborate detail, encounters with residents, particularly enslaved people, contrabands, and women ("Yaller Gals"), who flocked to the Union lines as well as members of freedmen's aid associations and Union sympathizers. Burrud shares his thoughts on a wide range of subjects: slavery ("most damnable man degrading, soul killing, God dishonoring Institution that ever was permitted to exist on the face of the earth"); the Union cause ("the good of Mankind and the world and the Maintenance of the best and the Only true form of Government of the face of the Earth"); the Confederate government ("Jeff Davis's Empire"); Copperheads ("Political Miscreants"), African American soldiers whom he considered superior to white soldiers from "9 month regiments" and substitutes; guerrilla warfare, and race relations. He also at length discusses personal concerns and troubles of "the Boys" in his company, including an outbreak of sexually transmitted diseases and an alarming rate of marital infidelity that seems to have affected most of soldiers' wives of Wayne County; the role of women in the war effort; news from home (including his profound disappointment in the lack of patriotism and respect for the Union uniform on the part of the people of his hometown); war and political news; recruiting and draft; home front, religious revival in Marion; etc. Burrud, a staunch Republican, avidly followed political news, especially the New York state elections of 1863 and the 1864 elections. The letters also contain news from the 111th Regiment of New York Infantry where his brother William G. Burrud and his brother-in-law, Joseph Newton served as privates. An accomplished musician, Burrud also at length discusses music and army bands. Three pocket diaries cover the years of 1863, 1864, and 1865; the entries contain accounts of campaign and battles, duties, detachments, and details; and war and political news.
mssHM 75115-75334
Image not available
Columbus C. Chambers reminiscences
Manuscripts
This handwritten reminiscences covers Chambers military service from his enlistment in the 11th Mississippi Infantry Regiment up to his wounding at the Wilderness and his time at a field hospital recovering. In it, he details his company's movements; his life in camp; watching his friends die; and their experiences in the following battles: Williamsburg, Seven Pines (Fair Oaks), Mechanicsville (Beaver Dam Creek), Malvern Hill, Sharpsburg (Antietam), Chancellorsville, Gettysburg, and the Wilderness. Chambers gives a nice, detailed narrative of the fight in the Wilderness including his getting shot in the shoulder, his time in a field hospital, and his furlough home to Mississippi. In his manuscript, Chambers often talks about the following officers: Robert E. Lee, Henry Heth, Joseph R. Davis, Joseph E. Johnston, John Bell Hood, William H. C. Whiting, and Stonewall Jackson (his death). The manuscript also includes handwritten copies of two orders received by Chambers and one newspaper clipping (in pages 94-95) regarding orders by General Lee, General Heth and General A. P. Hill .
mssHM 74857
Image not available
Joseph Campbell letter to "Dear Mr. Griffis,"
Manuscripts
This letter is chiefly about the Irish writer Joseph Campbell (1879-1944). Campbell does talk a little about some of his own publications and writing. Mr. Griffis had gotten the two authors confused. The letter was written in New York City.
mssHM 78349
Image not available
Joseph Hickox letter to Laurence D. Peabody
Manuscripts
This letter was written by Joseph Hickox to Laurence D. Peabody (a member of the U.S. Army who was stationed in Germany at the time). Laurence D. Peabody was the son of George W. Peabody, a friend of Hickox's. In the letter, Hickox talks about Albert Einstein's trip to Mt. Wilson in the 1930s. He talks in detail about conversations they had and how he and Einstein would play pool. He also states that he would demonstrate "a practical application of the Theory of Relativity when I rotated the 100 inch dome while he stood on the moving platform." He also talks about Einstein's interest in astronomy.
mssHM 80438
Image not available
Joseph S. Paxson diary
Manuscripts
This daily diary documents Paxson's struggle with business and gold mining. He discusses in detail his financial problems, his loneliness in the city, and his unhappiness with his living situation. Paxson also notes all the ships arriving in San Francisco and the actions of the vigilance committees. At the end of the diary is an 11-page essay about the murder of James King and the hanging of James P. Casey and Charles Cora in May. Accompanying the diary is an incomplete transcript only covering January 1 to July 14.
mssHM 68388