Civil War Manuscripts ProjectAlphabetical Name List C | ||||
A-B || C || D || E-F || G-H || I-J || K-L || M-N || O-P || Q-R || S-T || U-V || W-X || Y-Z | ||||
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C | ||||
Letter, 3 pp., from Arlington Heights, VA, to his cousin Timothy L. Loomis. Camp, an unmarried bookbinder, enlisted 25 August 1862 and was mustered-in a Private on 20 September 1862. He was mustered-out with his nine-months unit on 7 July 1863. "Henry" proclaims himself for the Union and writes that he does not wish to return home to Connecticut if Thomas H. Seymour is elected Governor. | ||||
Carr, William Henry [?] (b.1837) Letter, 1 p., from New York City, to his sister: "Glorious News. Vicksburg is ours. Great Excitement in the Hall." Identification of writer is tentative and based on a signature very difficult to discern. This is a puzzling letter as the siege of Vicksburg was yet in its infancy. | ||||
Correspondence of the Carrington family. A series of two articles regarding the Marsh-Carrington correspondence by William Lamson Warren was published in the October 1977 (Volume 42, Number 4; pp.114-128) and January 1978 (Volume 43, Number 1; pp.22-32) issues of The Connecticut Historical Society Bulletin. Contact the CHS store for ordering information. Letter of 19 July 1863 to sister Louise contains a sketch of his quarters as well as the grounds of Arlington House, VA. Family letters occasionally mention Sergeant Hugh B. Brockway of Lyme, then serving in the 1st Connecticut Cavalry and a Mrs. Brewster, formerly of Goshen, who had a son serving in an unidentified unit as an officer. Letter of 6 October 1864 [?] speaks sympathetically of southerners who support the union and a letter dated only 23 July mentions the Christian Commission. Some of the letters written to Louise Carrington (Edward’s sister) by various friends note Connecticut regiments and their personnel as they were recruited, mustered, departed from and returned to the State; also mentioned is news of meetings and other efforts of the various soldiers’ welfare societies. Edward Carrington, an unmarried bookkeeper, enlisted 28 July 1862 and was mustered-in a Private on 11 September 1862. He was appointed Q. M. Sergeant on 7 March 1864 and was discharged on 7 July 1865. | ||||
Case, Anson Miles (b.1840) Diary of a cobbler and farmer who worked in Collinsville for the Collins Company during the winter months making army and cavalry "picks" and filing bayonets. Mr. Case gave violin lessons as well. He kept very careful track of general weather conditions, war news, local marriages and deaths and church services. Case was a staunch Democrat opposed to the policies of Governor Buckingham and to conscription. He was married in May 1862. On 1 January 1863, the day the Emancipation Proclamation went into effect, he wrote, "Go it Niggers now you are free . . ." The next day he noted, "The Emancipation Proclamation is out. Hurah for the Nigger." Those soldiers furloughed home to vote in the State elections Case referred to as "Buck Soldiers." He referred to soldiers in the service as "Woolies." On 6 May 1863 he notes, "Howard Hale . . . of the 25 is dead from wounds received in battle." Case involuntarily enrolled in the draft on 27 May 1863. On that date he wrote, "Hen. Hawley came & enrolled me today as 1 of Uncle Sams boys." Case celebrated his 23rd birthday on 31 May 1863. He gives a listing of local men who had been drafted on 21 August 1863 noting, " [they] did not draft me." On 31 October 1863 Case noted that he had "filed bayonets" that day. | ||||
Case, James Royal, author Typescript, 11 pp., "The Tercentenary of Connecticut Artillery." Case describes the use of artillery in the State of Connecticut from 1635 to 1935. He writes, "In 1865 the Connecticut National Guard first came into being as such. . ." In his essay he writes briefly of Connecticut’s three Civil War Light Batteries and the 1st and 2nd Connecticut Heavy Artillery Regiments. He notes, "[T]here were three light batteries from this state usually attached to Conn. brigades of infantry. . ." The author gives a more than cursory analysis of the 1st Connecticut Heavy Artillery writing, "The 4th Conn. Volunteer Inf. was organized as the first three years regiment, but was converted into the 1st Conn Heavy Art. under the command of Col. Robert O. Tyler. It expanded to a strength of about 1800 men and served in the first peninsular campaign of 1862, where their armament was made up of 71 pieces of different type heavy siege guns. It concluded its glorious career at the siege of Petersburg. On the grounds of the State Capitol at Hartford there has been mounted one of the 13 inch mortars used by this regiment and christened the 'Petersburg Express.'" Case also notes, "The 19th Conn Vol. Inf was also converted into artillery and served as the 2nd Heavies, but as the occasion required were used as infantry freely. This reg- was at Cold Harbor, Cedar Creek and Petersburg." | ||||
Letter from Camp Sheridan, MD, to his mother Amelia M. Root in Monson, MA, on Christian Commission letterhead. Following Chamberlin’s signature he writes "alias Root." In regard to his tentatively identified regimental affiliation, Chamberlin writes, "I belong to U. S. Regular Brigade of Horse Artillery no Corps or Division nor we dont belong to the Army of the Potomac." Collection also contains an IOU dated 6 March 1865. | ||||
Letter probably written to Samuel Bartlett [see entry for Bartlett] which yields little information as to its writer or his current situation. Champlin, an unmarried mechanic, enlisted 2 August 1862 and was mustered-in a Private on 24 August 1862. He was captured at Plymouth, NC, on 20 April 1864, was paroled on 10 December 1864, and subsequently drowned in the Potomac River on 20 April 1865. | ||||
Letters to his brother, Gilbert W. Chapin in Enfield, and mother, Amelia P. Chapin, at Warehouse Point (Enfield). Chapin, an unmarried farmer, enlisted on 25 July 1862 and was mustered-in a Private on 24 August 1862. He was transferred to the Third Regiment Veteran Reserve Corps, Company F, on 13 July 1863, but was transferred back to the 16th Connecticut on 30 August 1863. Chapin was captured at Plymouth, NC, on 20 April 1864 and died in Andersonville on 21 July 1864. Chapin is an articulate, often colorful writer; in his narrative, bullets become "pills" and "cards." On 14 February 1864 he wrote, "I am hungry for news [from home], a craving for something for my heart to feed upon." Also see following entry and entry for David Conklin.
Family papers from Somers, Enfield, and Suffield, CT, and Newport, NH. Collection includes 12 photocopied letters from Leander Chapin, 1861 May 31-1863 October 4. See previous entry for Chapin’s record of service. On 7 February 1863 he wrote, "William was broke (reduced to the ranks)." Leander spends a great deal of his time trying to reassure his family of his good health. On 18 March 1863 he wrote his mother, "I know you exercise a Mother’s feelings but like Methodist ministers you overdo the thing entirely." He remarks that Colonel Beach is liked by the men but Lt. Colonel Burnham is not held in high esteem. In a letter from John Porter of Glastonbury to Chapin on 14 September 1863, Porter describes Leander’s brother Gilbert thus, ". . . he is a fine fellow more soul in his face than in most faces." | ||||
Collection consists of memorabilia of an Antietam veterans’ battlefield excursion in October 1894. This was a joint excursion of the 8th, 11th, 14th and 16th Connecticut Infantry arranged for the dedication of their various regimental monuments on the Antietam battlefield. The units also visited Gettysburg, Harper’s Ferry and Washington, DC. Cheney, an unmarried silk manufacturer, enlisted 15 August 1862 and was mustered-in Lieutenant Colonel on 24 August 1862. He was wounded in the left arm at the battle of Antietam on 17 September 1862 which forced his resignation on 24 December 1862. Collection includes a program of activities; an excursion ribbon, 16th Connecticut Infantry; pencil notations perhaps made in preparation for Cheney’s speech at the dedication ceremonies; pencil notations regarding various Corps badges; and pencil notations on the disposition of Confederate troops at the battle of First Bull Run, 21 July 1861, reportedly taken from General Beauregard’s official after-action report. The Museum of The Connecticut Historical Society owns Cheney's frock coat, trousers, shirt and kepi. | ||||
Cheney, Jane (1811-1885) Scrapbook containing letters, pencil sketches, swatches of fabric, printed materials (such as broadsides) and compositions (many completed for Christmas 1862) by Jane Cheney's young pupils at the Cheney School in Manchester. Topics included are Ednah Cheney's description of Harriet Tubman's role in the Underground Railroad, the Fugitive Slave Law, the Wide Awakes, the Civil War and Civil War era politics, Virginia, the temperance Band of Hope from Bolton, CT, manners and social activities. Also included are students' letters to soldiers, a list of battles or military engagements, and written material on the New York draft riots and Fort Sumter. Also relates visits to the School from soldiers and letters from the pupils to soldiers in the field. A letter from a schoolgirl dated 17 February 1864 to the brothers of a Mr. Black who had been through many battles reads, "Dear Soldier . . . Last Sat. I went to Hartford and saw many soldiers of the 12th Regt. . . . The ladies of S. M. [South Manchester] meet at the Cheney's Hall every Thursday afternoon and sew for the soldiers." | ||||
Civil War Covers Two boxes, approximately 1,700 items, of Civil War and Spanish-American War envelopes arranged in broad topical categories. The illustrated envelopes bear cartoons, caricatures, and patriotic and political vignettes and mottoes (such as a set of crossed American flags bearing the motto, "These Colors won't run"). Some of the topics covered are: Colonel Elmer Ellsworth, battle commemoratives, blockade, Great Britain, the Southern Confederacy, Confederate generals, politicians, and states, Connecticut, cotton, Union army and navy, Union generals, Virginia, Washington and women. The covers from both wars are interfiled. The collection also contains a Charles Lindbergh cover. | ||||
Hand-written account, 5 leaves, of the 27th Connecticut at the battle of Gettysburg. Clark, an unmarried farmer, enlisted on 10 September 1862, was mustered-in a Private on 4 October 1862, and was mustered-out with his nine-months unit on 27 July 1863. Of the action on 2 July 1863, Clark writes, "The 27th was stationed a little north of Little Round Top our Brigade [Brooks’s Fourth Brigade], being the left of the 2nd Corp. in the afternoon with the rest of the Brigade started for the wheatfield." The 27th Connecticut Infantry lost one-half its fighting force in its advanced position that day. Of 3 July 1863, with the 27th Connecticut then stationed on Cemetery Hill, Clark writes, "On the morning of the third we mustered but fifteen all told..." Clark was very proud to relate that, despite the devastating losses sustained, the 27th Connecticut Infantry still retained its regimental flag.
Typescript essay, 8 pp., "The 27th regiment Connecticut Volunteers - from the time it started on the march to Gettysburg - from my diary." This is a more detailed account of the 27th Connecticut Infantry’s role in the battle of Gettysburg than the preceding entry [please refer to previous entry for Clark’s record of service]. On 1 July 1863 the 27th Connecticut was 3 to 4 miles from Gettysburg. By 2 July 1863 the regiment was stationed north of Little Round Top on Cemetery Ridge. Here, apparently paying little heed to timing or circumstance, the paymaster arrived to pay the regiment. At about 4 PM on 2 July 1863 the 27th Connecticut advanced to the wheatfield, experiencing heavy fighting there during which their regimental commander, Colonel Merwin, was killed. More than one-half of their fighting force was reportedly lost that day. On 3 July 1863, from Cemetery Hill, the 27th Connecticut witnessed the one-hour cannonade which preceded Pickett’s charge. Clark noted that General Hancock took advantage of a lull in the artillery barrage to inspect his lines: "when standing near us his attention was called to the remnant of the 27th, when he complimented us on the good work we had done the day before, and said to us, ‘Stand well to your duty now, and in a few days you will carry with you to your homes the honor of the greatest battle ever fought on this continent.’" | ||||
Photocopies of letters to his wife from Newport News, VA (1863), and Knoxville, TN (1864). Few details or insights are revealed in the letters except for the fact that the Clarks had two daughters. | ||||
Transcript of excerpts from letter, 5 pp., from Beaufort, SC. Clark was born 5 May 1840 and died 18 May 1895. At the time of the letter, Clark reported weighing 150 lbs. He also writes of having his hair cut into "what is termed here, 'a fighting cut': the hair on the head cut very close and my whiskers shaved all but a little on my chin. One of the fellows, as I went into the Hospital one day, remarked, 'How badly you are tanned.' My whiskers often occasion remarks." Salmon Clark, an unmarried machinist, enlisted on 21 August 1861 and was mustered-in on 5 September 1861. He was wounded at Fort Wagner, SC, on 11 July 1863 and was discharged on 12 September 1864. | ||||
Letters, documents and three diaries, 1863-1865. Among other topics, Clary discusses American politics, local news in Hartford and the treatment of African Americans in the south. Included in the collection is Clary’s military discharge. Dr. Clary, unmarried, enlisted 9 November 1861 and was mustered-in Assistant Surgeon on 18 February 1862. He was promoted to Surgeon on 31 July 1863 and was mustered-out on 25 April 1866. This is an extensive, interesting and detailed collection of materials. Dr. Clary receives high marks for bravery in a letter written by his Colonel, Henry W. Birge, on 3 July 1863 [See entry for Birge]. Clary’s letter of 9 February 1862 is written on illustrated "13th Regiment Connecticut Volunteers" letterhead. A typed transcription of many of Clary’s Civil War letters is included with the collection. A folder index is also available. The Mary Morris Scrapbooks, MS, Library of The Connecticut Historical Society, contain obituary information on Dr. Clary. | ||||
Collamer, Jacob (1792-1865) Letter, 1 p., to Secretary of War E. M. Stanton in Washington, DC. Collamer recommends Albert Clark, a lawyer, then serving with the 13th Vermont Infantry, for a field officer's commission in one of the proposed African American regiments. | ||||
Colt, Samuel (1814-1862) Correspondence and papers of the Connecticut inventor and arms manufacturer including a permit for passage to Berlin and St. Petersburg and letters pertaining to the presidential campaign of 1860. Also includes letters, prospectuses and circulars from headquarters of the Northern Ohio Sanitary Fair (to open 22 February 1864) in Cleveland to Mrs. Elizabeth Jarvis Colt requesting donations (11 items): circular from the Committee on War Memorials, Relics and Curiosities soliciting objects for exhibition; circular from the Committee on Machinery and Manufactures soliciting a contribution of items for either sale or exhibition; and a circular from the Committee on Produce soliciting contributions of flour, grain, horses, cattle, sheep, hogs, fruit, poultry, etc. The collection also contains four passports issued to Samuel Colt. | ||||
Colvin, Leslie, author Typescript photocopy, 39 leaves, "A Reminder in Brownstone: the Soldiers and Sailors Memorial Arch," a Trinity College, Hartford, Graduate-level paper. Describes the evolution, design and dedication of the Soldiers’ and Sailors’ Memorial Arch in Hartford and the public’s reaction to it. The Memorial's designer was George Keller and the paper contains a brief biography of this well-known Connecticut Architect. Upon his death, Keller's ashes were interred in the east tower of the Arch. Samuel Kitson executed the frieze on the north side of the Arch, while that on the south side was the work of Caspar Buberl. The Arch was dedicated on 17 September 1886. Colvin reports the first Civil War soldiers’ monument was that placed in the Congregational Churchyard in Kensington which honored sixteen volunteer soldiers from that parish. This monument was dedicated 28 July 1863. Author also mentions Horace Bushnell's oration, "Our Obligations to the Dead," [July 1865] and the monument at Crampton’s Gap, MD, dedicated to the memory of the Civil War’s news correspondents and artists on 23 September 1886. General Joseph R. Hawley was among those offering dedication speeches at this latter dedication and the 23 September 1886 issue of the Hartford Courant published the text of the speech. Colvin's paper contains a useful and interesting bibliography. | ||||
Commissions and Discharges Military documents. Box number 4 contains commissions bearing Civil War dates. An alphabetical list of those receiving commissions is available in Box number 1. Only Civil War military commissions (as opposed to Governor's Foot Guard, etc.) were examined. Those named therein are: Daniel G. Francis (Second Lieutenant, Company A, 1st Connecticut Infantry), 1 May 1861 and (Captain, Company A, 7th Connecticut Infantry), 10 September 1861; David F. Lane (Captain, Company D, 5th Connecticut Infantry), 3 July 1861 and (Major, 5th Connecticut Infantry), 27 February 1863; Charles Burton (Captain, Company K, 7th Connecticut Infantry), 10 September 1861; William H. Higgs (Corporal, Company A, 4th Connecticut Infantry, later the 1st Connecticut Heavy Artillery), 19 October 1861 and (Sergeant, Company A, 1st Connecticut Heavy Artillery), 1 April 1863 and discharge (Sergeant, Company A, 1st Connecticut Heavy Artillery), 25 November 1863 and (Second Lieutenant, 1st Connecticut Heavy Artillery), 7 June 1865 and discharge (Second Lieutenant, Company F, 1st Connecticut Heavy Artillery), 25 September 1865 and discharge (Sergeant, Company A, 1st Connecticut Heavy Artillery), 14 June 1865; Elisha H. Kellogg (Major, 1st Connecticut Heavy Artillery), 22 March 1862; Griffin A. Stedman, Jr. (Lieutenant Colonel, 11th Connecticut Infantry), 25 June 1862; George Kies (Second Lieutenant, 18th Connecticut Infantry), 19 August 1862 and (First Lieutenant, 18th Connecticut Infantry), 28 October 1862; John H. Wilson (Second Lieutenant, Company B, 7th Connecticut Infantry), 30 August 1862; William H. Wright (Sergeant, Company B, 21st Connecticut Infantry, 1 September 1862; John A. Rockwell (citizen resident of Connecticut), pass to visit the army, 2 November 1864; and Timothy Parker (Commissary Sergeant, 18th Connecticut Infantry), 26 February 1864 and (Corporal, Company A, 18th Connecticut Infantry), 27 February 1864. | ||||
Conklin, David Letter to Leander Chapin from Folly Island, SC. Little detail as to either military situation or personal circumstances is revealed. See also entry for Leander Chapin. | ||||
Confederate States of America Document. Requisition for forage for public animals in the service of the Government Salt Works for 12 days, 1-11 August 1863, at Vermillionville, [LA?]. This document was printed on the back of a sheet of wallpaper. | ||||
Connecticut Adjutant General Documents. Circulars, forms, and General and Special Orders (includes General Orders Numbers 103, 26 August 1862, and 99, 13 August 1862) to town selectmen and other authorities regarding bounties, draft and enrollment, town quotas, commutation tax, underage consent form, substitute consent form and a copy of the new Militia Law, approved 10 July 1862 and published 1 August 1862, regarding the enlistment of colored troops. A circular regarding Civil War widows’ pensions states that a widow claiming a pension under State of Connecticut Act of 27 June 1890 must provide evidence that her husband served as a Union soldier, sailor or marine, during the Civil War for a period of at least 90 days and that he was honorably discharged. | ||||
Papers. Collection includes muster rolls for Companies F and E, 1864 August 31-October 31; General Orders No. 102 from headquarters Department of the South dated 27 June 1864 which states that Captain William E. Morris, Company D, and others, were dismissed from service; disability certificate and pay account for Private Charles E. Gilbert, Company D, dated 6 February 1863; discharge certificate for Private Joseph Cranker, Company C, dated 17 March 1862; letter from Perry Tomlinson, Company E, dated 27 December 1864, claiming his wife was not receiving pecuniary assistance; voucher from Lt. E. M. Neville for pay, clothing, forage, and subsistence, dated 4 October 1864; arrears of pay and bounty certificate for Private William S. Painter, Company B, dated 5 September 1865; and voucher from Captain E. W. Whitaker, Company E, for pay, clothing, forage and subsistence, dated 5 August 1864. | ||||
Cover letter from Hartford to Sylvanus Franklin Cone (1814-1879) enclosing illuminated testimonial expressing the Association's gratitude for extending the free use of his grounds and grove for the Association's 7th Annual Reunion on 18 August 1874. Along with the certificate of appreciation, the letter also presents Case with a cloth reunion badge listing battles in which the 1st Connecticut Cavalry participated, dated 30 July 1874. Louis Nathaniel Middlebrook (1825-1908), George Simon Smith (b.1843) and William F. Clark sign the testimonial. Middlebrook, of Bridgeport, enlisted 2 October 1861 and was mustered in Captain, Company D, on 21 November 1862. Smith, of Norwich, enlisted and was mustered-in a Private, Company C, on 27 June 1863. He was promoted to Q. M. Sergeant on 23 November 1864 and was mustered-out on 2 August 1865. Clark, whose name sometimes appears as Clarke, of Hartford, enlisted on 17 September 1862 and was mustered-in a Private, Company A, on 30 September 1862. He was wounded at Reams' Station, VA, on 28 June 1864 and again the next day at Stoney Creek, VA. Clark was captured 30 June 1864 at Cabin Point, VA, and was reportedly shot 15 times by the enemy while an unarmed prisoner. He escaped on 3 July 1864 and was granted a disability discharge on 29 May 1865. | ||||
Connecticut Civil War Veterans Large folio register, possibly a record book belonging to an unidentified pension claims agent or attorney, noting veteran applicant's name, address, service, claim date, status of claim, certificate number, and record of fees. The volume contains approximately 200 names. | ||||
Papers. Manuscript copy, ca.40 pp., "Consolidated Report of operations of Grants campaign against Richmond and Petersburg, 1st Conn. Vol. Hvy Arty, Army of the Potomac," dated 1 December 1864 and signed by Walter F. Sage, Orderly Officer, Siege Artillery, who remarks, "The War Dept alone has a copy of this." Sage, of Berlin, enlisted and was mustered-in a Private, Company G, on 22 May 1861 and was mustered-out on 25 September 1865. Also included is the brevet Captain’s commission for William G. Fitch, Company A, dated 8 October 1868, "for gallant and meritorious services at the battle of Hanover Court House," to date from 13 March 1865. Collection also contains the official notice sent to Major L. G. Hemingway (of Hartford, enlisted 11 May 1861 and was mustered-in Captain, Company A, on 22 May 1861. He was promoted Major on 30 November 1861 and was discharged on 17 August 1864) from 3rd Brigade headquarters which states that Private Henry C. Locke, Independent Company Pennsylvania Engineers, had been sent to the convalescent camp, dated 26 August 1863. Finally, also included is a discharge certificate for Sergeant George W. Gorham, Company E, dated 7 January 1862, and his pay voucher dated 8 January 1862. This unit was originally designated the 4th Connecticut Infantry. | ||||
Documents; mainly retained copies belonging to Lt. William L. Twiss, Companies B and F. Clothing allocation rosters for Company B, 1864 October 12, November 30, December 31 and for Company F, 1864 November 30 and December, and 1865 January; document relieving Lt. William L. Twiss, Company F, of accountability for ordnance and ordnance stores under his command, dated 16 June 1865; list of quartermaster's stores issued to Lt. Twiss, dated 1864 November 30 and December; monthly returns of clothing, camp and garrison equipage for Lt. Twiss, dated 1864 October, November and December; Special Order discharging First Sergeant William L. Twiss, dated 1864 May 1, enabling him to accept a commission; muster roll recording the promotion of Second Lieutenant Twiss, Company F, to First Lieutenant, Company F, replacing First Lieutenant Wilbur W. Birge, who was discharged, dated 1864 December 20; request for a twenty-days furlough for Corporal Thomas B. Spencer to return home to Colebrook, CT, submitted by Lt. Twiss to Lt. Col. James Hubbard, dated 1864 November 21; roll of 32 men of the 2nd Connecticut Heavy Artillery, listing name, rank, age, date and place of enlistment, and information on pay received, 1863-1864; roll of 89 men of the 2nd Connecticut Heavy Artillery relaying the same information, 1863-1864; and descriptive book of enlisted men of Company F, May 1864, listing name, rank, hair and eye color, complexion, height, place of birth, occupation, when, where and by whom enrolled, when, where and by whom mustered, date last paid, bounty, and enlistment period. | ||||
Papers. Collection includes pay voucher for Private Lewis N. Cone, Company F, dated 21 March 1862 and discharge certificate dated 16 February 1862; voucher for clothing, pay and subsistence from Lt. James Stewart dated 18 March 1865; discharge certificate for Private Lafayette Johnson, Company F, dated 26 December 1861; final statement of accounts for Sergeant Samuel Hoyt, Company E, dated June 28, 1865; and pension papers from the widow of Major David F. Lane dated 1894. | ||||
Papers. Collection includes muster roll for Company A, 1863 June 30-August 31 and discharge certificate for Paulus Ernst, Company H, dated 24 December 1861.
Records, 435 items. Collection contains retained copies of regimental papers kept by Quartermaster William H. H. Wooster (b.1841). Wooster enlisted 23 August 1861 and was mustered-in as First Lieutenant, Company E, on 4 September 1861. He resigned on 23 March 1862. He was re-mustered a Private, Company E, on 28 February 1864 and was promoted to Second Lieutenant on 8 April 1864. He was appointed Regimental Quartermaster on 31 October 1864 and was mustered-out on 21 August 1865. The collection also contains approximately a dozen personal papers and commissions belonging to Wooster. A folder index is available with the collection. | ||||
Pay voucher for wagoner John R. Fisher, Company A, dated 30 December 1862.
Collection includes record book of reunions; also contains tabulated statistics of the regiment; roster of Company A, its engagements, honorary members, history of the regiment and necrology with index. Included in the collection is a 15 November 1862 issue of The new [sic] South (Volume 1, Number 13) reporting on the Pocotaligo expedition; maps of Fort Pulaski (1862), of the defenses of Charleston city and harbor (1863) and of the battlegrounds of Pocotaligo and Coosawatchie (undated). The record book was kept by Stephen Walkley from 1873 to 1912. Also included is a letter, 2 pp., from General Joseph Roswell Hawley (1826-1905) then residing at Woodmont (Milford) dated 9 July 1896 to Stephen Walkley in Southington. Hawley regrets that he will be unable to attend the reunion of the Seventh Connecticut Infantry (Item 2, Folder 2). A letter is also enclosed from Edith Hawley, dated 17 July 1904, stating that it is better for Hawley’s comrades to remember their commander in his strength and power. Stephen Walkley enlisted on 21 August 1861 and was mustered-in on 5 September 1861. He was discharged on 12 September 1864. This collection contains much personal history of the members of Company A and a letter from Walkley to A. P. Sloan (Corporal, Company A), 7 July 1914, which describes the role of Col. Strawbridge, 76th Pennsylvania Infantry, in the failure of the assault on Ft. Wagner, SC. | ||||
Papers. Discharge certificate for Private John Hallso, Company E, dated 9 January 1863 and pay voucher dated 12 January 1863 (Hallso was British); pay voucher for Private William H. Hawley, Company I, dated 12 January 1863; pay voucher for Private Theodore Smith, Company A, dated 4 February 1863 and his discharge certificate dated 3 February 1863; pay, clothing, food and subsistence voucher for Colonel John E. Ward dated 24 February 1865; and final statement and pay voucher for Sergeant Heber Ives, Company K, dated 28 October 1864. | ||||
Pay, clothing, food and subsistence voucher for Captain S. W. Sawyer, Company H, dated 10 July 1863. The 9th Connecticut Infantry was composed primarily of Irish recruits. | ||||
Papers. Muster roll, Company H, 1863 June 30-August 31, and a roster of the original members of Company A, a post-war manuscript document. | ||||
Papers. Discharge certificate for teamster Sylvanus Wight, Company H, dated 8 January 1863; pay voucher for musician Henry Irving, Company F, dated 1 May 1862; pay voucher for Private D. D. Greggs, Company I, dated 24 June 1862; and pay voucher for wagoner John B. Willard, Company D, dated 9 February 1864. | ||||
Papers. Ordnance return for the fourth quarter of 1861; Special Orders No. 164 declaring Captain James E. Smith was relieved from duty as Provost Marshal, Sub-district of Ogeechee, Savannah, GA, and was to return to his regiment, dated 8 August 1865; ordnance receipt dated 30 July 1865 and signed by Captain James E. Smith and Lt. Henry Gibbons; and pay, clothing, subsistence and food voucher for Lt. Henry J. Fletcher dated 28 October 1864.
Manuscript notes in several unidentified hands regarding the 12th Connecticut, many of which seem to have been elicited from the Connecticut War Record (monthly; J. M. Morris, ed. New Haven: Peck, White & Peck, 1863-1865) and History of Battle Flag Day, September 17, 1879 (Hartford: Lockwood & Merritt, 1880). Topics include the history of the unit, 1863-1865; the siege of Port Hudson (42 days) and list of casualties; the capture of the gunboat Cotton in January 1863; engagements at Donaldsonville and New Iberia, LA; a record of long marches; loyal Louisiana men enlisting in the regiment including the regimental bandleader, James Heartman, who hailed from New Orleans; and abstracts of speeches delivered in Hartford and New Haven upon the regiment’s return to Connecticut. | ||||
Papers. Discharge certificate for Private John Carpenter, Company C, dated 31 May 1864; final statement for Sergeant Herbert Baldwin, Company C, dated 11 January 1865; final statement for Sergeant Charles H. Gaylord dated 11 January 1865; final statement for Sergeant Samuel Taylor, Company B, dated 10 January 1865; and final statement for Sergeant William B. Tooker, Company B, dated 10 January 1865. | ||||
Papers and photograph. Pay voucher for Private Joseph A. Leete, Company I, dated 10 January 1863 and final statement dated 9 January 1863; final statement for Corporal George J. Hall, Company I, dated 13 December 1862 and pay voucher dated 15 December 1862; pay voucher and final statement for musician Luther E. Higby, Company I, dated 6 February 1863. Collection also includes a photograph of an identification tag belonging to Sgt. William A. Rice, Company C, which was apparently found by a relic hunter on the battlefield in May 1961. Rice was killed at the battle of the Wilderness, 6 May 1864. The fate of the tag itself is unknown. | ||||
Final statement for Private William H. Allen, Company A, dated 16 December 1862 and pay voucher dated 17 December 1862; final statement for Sergeant Major Charles F. Harwood dated 31 December 1864; final statement for Sergeant Henry G. Marshall, Company C, dated 10 February 1864; and final statement for Private Daniel Schmidt, Company E, dated 1 January 1865.
Papers relating to the 15th Connecticut including regimental correspondence, most of which is directed to Colonel Dexter R. Wright, and a copy of the official after-action report by Lt. Colonel Samuel Tolles describing the 15th’s part in the battle of Fredericksburg dated 17 December 1862 and including names of casualties. | ||||
Final statement for Private William H. Lee, Company B, dated 13 December 1862 and pay voucher dated 15 December 1862; final statement for Private Marshall E. Sherman, Company C, dated 24 December 1862; final statement for Private George Long, Company D, dated 8 December 1862; muster-in roll for Company I dated 24 August 1862. | ||||
Pay voucher for Private Zachariah Whitehead, Company K, dated 14 January 1863 and final statement for Private Joseph N. Taylor, Company H, dated 28 February 1864. | ||||
Document. Discharge for Private John Steiner, Company A. Steiner, who was born in Germany, was a twenty-three-year-old farmer. | ||||
Discharge for Private John D. Smith, Company H, dated 31 August 1863. | ||||
Papers. Special Orders No. 16, headquarters Department of the Gulf, New Orleans, dated 16 January 1863, states that the following resignations had been tendered and accepted: Lt. Edward Pinney, Company E; Lt. B. E. Buck, Company H; and Lt. Colonel D. H. Stevens; pay, clothing, food and subsistence voucher for Second Lt. Edward Pinney, Company E, dated 11 February 1863; descriptive list for Pinney dated 27 January 1863. | ||||
Pay, clothing, food and subsistence voucher for Assistant Surgeon N. H. Wright dated 8 July 1863 and muster roll fragments for the period December 1862-June 1863. | ||||
Final statement for Private William W. Church, Company C, dated 29 December 1862 and pay voucher dated 30 December 1862. | ||||
Muster roll, Company A, 1864 October 31-December 31 and clothing statement for Company A, dated September 4, 1864 [?]. | ||||
Connecticut Militia Orderly book. The book contains Governor William Buckingham’s General Orders No. 227, dated 17 January 1861, urging the militia to fill their ranks, inspect their equipment and arms and to drill and discipline their men due to the recent "Spirit of disloyalty to our National Union..." Also contains muster rolls and company orders for the period January-July 1861. It appears this company was not mustered-in as a cohesive unit, though many of the individuals served in other Connecticut regiments. This militia unit underwent several pre-war evolutions in designation over time, apparently identified at various periods as 1st Company, 1st Battery, Light Artillery and as 2nd Company, 1st Regiment, Light Artillery. | ||||
Connecticut Paymaster General Correspondence with the State Comptroller regarding the payment of bounties for volunteers. One item, August 1863, and three items, February 1864. | ||||
Connecticut Soldiers’ Relief Association Circular Number 2 explains the Association’s objectives and organizational structure and also lists articles needed for the soldiers. On the reverse of the circular is a letter dated 5 December 1862, from Willards Hotel, Washington, DC, to "Dear Folks," describing a visit to the White House, the Capitol, the Patent Office, etc. The signature may read R. D. H. Allen. | ||||
Cook, Doris E., author "Chaplain Jacob Eaton and Mrs. Hawley: a Civil War Episode," 5 pp., typescript. Recounts Harriet Ward Foote Hawley’s (1831-1886) request to Chaplain Jacob Eaton (d.1865) to deliver a Testament to John Rowley (d.1864), a Private in the 7th Connecticut, who was to be hung in September of 1864 for murdering a comrade, Jerome Dupoy, during the battle of Olustee, FL. Harriet Hawley was the wife of General Joseph R. Hawley. Chaplain Eaton, of Meriden, had seen prior service with the 8th Connecticut Infantry. He was wounded at the battle of Antietam and resigned on 27 October 1862. He enlisted in the 7th Connecticut on 29 March 1864 and was mustered-in on 20 May 1864. He died 20 March 1865. John Rowley, a substitute from Ridgefield, was mustered-in 2 November 1863 and was executed 3 September 1864 by sentence of General Court Martial at Petersburg, VA. Apparently while in action at the battle of Olustee (20 February 1864), Rowley intentionally shot Dupoy, also a substitute, in the head. Harriet Hawley, of Guilford, was often with her husband during his service with the 7th Connecticut. She played an active role in the health, education and spiritual well-being of the soldiers of the regiment. Also see entry for Harriet Hawley. | ||||
Cooper, A. Text, 17 pp., of a speech, "The war & our duty in reference to it," delivered by Rev. Dr. A. Cooper at Jordan (a section of Waterford). A part of the speech was written 16 July [1862?]. Cooper writes, "The principles therefore of this belligerent [sic] party are the results of the system of slavery. They fatten today upon this system . . . . This is a war of extermination, not of races, but of principles. . . . When the sacrifice is not your money & your blood only, but the Constitution of your fathers." The speech appears in an account book, 1802-1829, once owned by Elisha Beckwith (b.1761). | ||||
Correspondence and miscellaneous family papers, 1741-1900. Corban enlisted 4 August 1862 and was mustered-in on 11 September 1862. He was captured at Snicker’s Gap, VA, on 24 July 1864 and was paroled on 21 February 1865. He received a disability discharge on 11 May 1865. Corban’s unit was originally formed as the 19th Connecticut Infantry. Corban, a farmer, writes frequently to his wife Lydia, his daughter Julia E. and his son George W. Corban. | ||||
The collection consists of correspondence, two received while Corliss served with the Refugees and Freedmen's Service Bureau in Mississippi, two circulars about veterans' organizations in New York, and the remainder of letters discussing his Medal of Honor, which was awarded for his bravery at the Battle of Cedar Mountain. Also includes biographical data including what appear to be his recollections. Corliss was ready to attend Yale when the Civil War started. At his own expense, he raised a company of infantry, which became Company C of the 5th Connecticut Volunteer Infantry. Corliss was promoted to Captain and Commander of the company. He was captured and sent to Libby Prison but was released after a short time. He was wounded at Cedar Mountain. He served with the Mississippi Refugees and Freedman's Bureau until 1869 when he returned to New York City where he was an insurance broker. The museum also acquired his presentation sword and scabbard, his Congressional Medal, his coat of arms, and his carte de visite. | ||||
Letter, 4 pp., to "Lottie," from a hospital near Falmouth, VA. The recovering soldier mentions Guilford and, it would seem, had lost his wife shortly before the war. He may have later been appointed Chaplain in this or in another unit. His personal experience of battle, disease, death, long marches, inclement weather, boredom, drill and discipline is obvious in the following quotation: "I know something of soldiering in most of its phases. I can assure you it takes a ‘heap’of patriotism to carry one through." | ||||
Letter from near Portsmouth, VA. Creighton, a married weaver, enlisted 29 July 1862 and was mustered-in on 24 August 1862. He was wounded in the side at the battle of Antietam, 17 September 1862 and was later captured at Plymouth, NC, on 20 April 1864. The official Adjutant General’s report states that Creighton was paroled on 11 December 1864 and that no further record of this soldier exists. His granddaughter writes that he died in Andersonville. From the evidence that exists, it seems likely that rather than being paroled on 11 December 1864, Creighton actually died on that date. The letter contains little information as to military situation or personal circumstances. Creighton left behind at least two daughters, Mary and Ellen. | ||||
Typescript transcription, 56 pp., "A Connecticut Yankee as a Civil War Prisoner in Texas, 1863-1864," written by Burton Lape Crofut in 1982, based on the 1863 June 19-November 22 diary of Crofut. According to the transcriber, Crofut’s diary becomes illegible after 22 November 1863. Crofut, a married hatter, enlisted on 2 September 1862 and was mustered-in on 14 November 1862. He was captured at Brashear City, LA, on 23 June 1863 and was released on 22 July 1864. Crofut was discharged on 9 August 1864. Collection also contains a photocopied photograph of Captain Crofut. | ||||
Crofut, Sidney Winter (d.1935) Scrapbooks containing clippings of vignettes and portraits from patriotic stationery; for example, "Remember Ellsworth!" Sidney Crofut compiled four volumes in 1862 and G. Clement Crofut compiled one volume of like material in 1869. Collection also includes two Civil War covers or envelopes with color depictions of the battle of New Bern, NC, and of the siege and capture of Fort Donelson. | ||||
Letters written to his wife, Abby J. Crosby; discharge and muster papers; several later documents, 1863-1885, including minutes of a meeting of the 24th Connecticut veterans in New Haven in 1868 and documents regarding his wife’s attempts to secure a widow’s pension, 1882-1883. Crosby enlisted on 8 September 1862 and was mustered-in as First Sergeant, Company D, on 18 November 1862. He was promoted to Second Lieutenant, Company H, on 6 April 1863 and mustered-out with his nine-months unit on 30 September 1863. At the time of his enlistment, Crosby was a 38-year-old barber. Lt. Crosby wrote very detailed and interesting letters. | ||||
Letter to his mother from "Bloody Creek," PA. Cross, an unmarried mason, enlisted 6 August 1862 and was mustered-in a Private on 18 August 1862. He was promoted Corporal on 20 May 1864 and was mustered-out on 27 June 1865. Cross gives an interesting account of the battle of Winchester, 13-15 June 1863, and his escape on horseback. | ||||
Letters from an African American soldier to his wife, Abby Simons Cross. Cross enlisted on 31 December 1863 and was mustered-in a Private on 8 March 1864. He was promoted Corporal on 30 April 1864 and to Sergeant on 1 January 1865. He was mustered-out on 24 October 1865. This very rare collection of letters, along with a brief biography of Cross, was recently published in The Connecticut Historical Society Bulletin, Vol. 60, Nos. 3-4. Contact the CHS store for ordering information. | ||||
Crowley, Ella Roseada Wilcox (1872-1957) Record book containing postcards and newspaper clippings as well as notes made during an auto trip with her son Lisle from Connecticut to Virginia and North Carolina in September 1929. Crowley describes her drive through the Shenandoah Valley and visits to historic sites of the Civil War and includes several references to the social conditions of African Americans in the south. Her grandfather, Horace H. Messenger, was a soldier in Company I, 7th Connecticut Infantry (see entry for Horace Messenger). Included are postcards and/or ephemera from Gettysburg National Cemetery, a tunnel at Harper's Ferry, the Barbara Fritchie House and Museum and the "Last Capitol of the Confederacy," in Danville, VA. On 17 September she writes, "Arriving in Gettysburg we were beseiged [sic] by men in uniform wanting to shew us the sights for only $1.50." Crowley and her son skillfully evade these guides. She continues, "Wishing to take away a souvenir I picked up a small stone of redish hue and have since been told it was petrified flesh?" They also visit Frederick, MD, Harper's Ferry, WV, and Winchester, Staunton, Lexington, Groveton and Manassas, VA. Also included is a photograph of the Fisk Jubilee Singers. On the same page, other African Americans are depicted with Crowley's note, "Some of the younger generation are almost good looking." At Martinsville, NC, "We ran into a Coon wedding all in gorgeous array." Scrapbook holds a clipping regarding Charles Lockwood, reportedly the last survivor of the 1st Minnesota Infantry, dated 22 July 1930. | ||||
The collection consists of letters written by Cummings to his aunt and uncle in Waterbury, Connecticut, while he served with the 1st Connecticut Heavy Artillery Regiment during the Civil War. A person who noticed details, Cummings described the destruction he found at various battlefields and related the sights and sounds of several of his own barrages. His unit was nicknamed Double Quick because of their penchant for long, hard marches, which he proudly described. Recurring themes in his letters were a need for money because the soldiers have not been paid, getting photographs made and receiving photographs from home, and instructions for selling some of his clothing in order to get cash. In a letter dated September 22, 1861, he informed his relatives that he would finally be getting a United States uniform and a rifle. He also made several comments about General George McClellan, whom he considered a great general. The final letter in this grouping is from Major A.F. Booker informing Uncle William Cummings of Joseph's death (Booker calls him Howard) after a brief illness. Accompanying the letters are a cased photograph and a small albumen print of Cummings in his state militia uniform and his U.S. uniform, respectively. These are stored in the graphics collection (Accession 2010.241.1,2). | ||||
Curtin, Andrew Gregg (1817-1894) Letter, 1 p., from Harrisburg, PA, to Edwin M. Stanton, Secretary of War, Washington, DC. Curtin recommends Capt. Espington [?], 7th Pennsylvania Cavalry, to raise a regiment of African American soldiers. | ||||
Curtis, George William Letter to Secretary of War Edwin M. Stanton in Washington, DC, recommending Sergeant John Habberton, 1st New York Mounted Rifles, for a commission in an African American regiment. George Curtis was the brother-in-law of Colonel Robert Gould Shaw, 54th Massachusetts Infantry (Colored). | ||||
Curtis, Samuel Ryan (1805-1866) Letter, 1 p., from Fort Leavenworth, Headquarters, Department of Kansas, to Major General Winfield Scott Hancock, Washington, DC, recommending Captain H. G. Loring for a position in Hancock's Corps. | ||||
Curtiss, Joseph B. Document. Receipt (Certificate Number 123) for $50.00 from the Bridgeport Committee of Citizens for the Relief of Drafted Men. The payment entitled Curtiss, should he be drafted, to the benefits of the Committee’s funds. | ||||
Letters and papers; printed poem, "When the Sixteenth Marched Away," by "a Daughter of the Regiment;" circulars for various Antietam reunions (1909, 1910, 1926); printed poem, "The Song of Union Prisoners, From Dixie’s Sunny Land," to be sung to the air, "Twenty Years Ago;" clippings of various advertisements and articles from The Review of Reviews; manuscript music and lyrics to "Yankee Doodle Dandy Oh!"; notes compiled by Cuzner’s daughter, Jennie Cuzner Sperry, from her father’s letters and papers and a transcription of Cuzner’s Civil War letters also by Mrs. Sperry; and various genealogical notes regarding the Cuzner family. John Cuzner was an 18-year-old mechanic when he enlisted on 15 August 1862. He was mustered-in on 24 August 1862 and was captured at Plymouth, NC, on 20 April 1864. He was paroled on 16 December 1864, weighing 80 pounds, and received his discharge on 19 June 1865. His letters provide excellent descriptions of Andersonville and the various sufferings of its inhabitants. His flirtatious letters to his fiancee, Ellen (whom he would later marry), are quite charming. Following his parole, Cuzner spent the rest of his term of service at Camp Parole in Annapolis. | ||||
Camp, Charles Henry (1839?-)
Carrington, Edward F. (1838?-)