Collections : [University of Michigan William L. Clements Library]

The Henry Grimes Marshall papers consist of letters written by Marshall to his family while serving with the Union Army, including time spent as an officer in the 29th Connecticut Infantry Regiment (Colored). Marshall's letters describe the events taking place around him as well as his thoughts about African American regiments, women's roles in war, and his reactions to the war.

Henry Marshall is among those writers whose letters provide insight into the workings of the mind, but also the workings of the heart. As a result, his surviving correspondence ranks among the outstanding collections in the Schoff Civil War Collections, providing a sensitive and deeply introspective view into the experience of a white officer in a "colored" regiment. An exquisite writer, Marshall was also among the most punctual of correspondents, rarely allowing a week to pass without sending something to his family at home. As a result of this fidelity and his meticulous eye for detail, it is possible to reconstruct nearly every day of Marshall's life under arms, the swings in his emotions, and the sudden changes in fortune that marked his career.

The high point of the collection is a remarkable series of letters written while Marshall was captain of Co. E, 29th Connecticut Infantry (Colored). Unlike the vast majority of white Americans, Marshall saw African-Americans as capable soldiers, brave and willing, and though afflicted with an unrelenting paternalism and sense of his own racial superiority, he generally refrained from swinging to the romantic extremes of many white abolitionists or the vicious extremes of his more racist compatriots. Marshall provides good accounts of daily life in camp, the inevitable rumors circulating among the soldiers, and opinions of officers. Of particular value are the ruminations on African American troops and their officers, living conditions while on duty guarding plantations in South Carolina or in the trenches before Petersburg, and the heavy labor while working at construction of the Dutch Gap Canal.

Among the military engagements described by Marshall are Fredericksburg, the sieges of Suffolk and Petersburg (particularly the battles of New Market, Darbytown Road and the Darbytown and New Market Roads), and the capture of Richmond. Furthermore, Marshall was involved in a number of minor skirmishes, many of which are exceptionally well documented. Overall, the best accounts are those for New Market Heights, where African American troops again distinguished themselves, and for a smaller, but significant skirmish during the Petersburg Campaign on October 12 and 13, 1864.

Marshall's letters are made more valuable in that his observational scope extends beyond the military, to report on such things as contraband children's schools (April 30, 1863), "shouts" and religious services (1864 July 5), and the local civilianry. An educated man with a keen interest in botany, he frequently sent home lengthy descriptions of southern flowers, often enclosing samples and seeds, and he left a rare record of the reading material available to a soldier. Marshall was also a keen observer of the religious life in his regiment, writing scathing attacks on his regiment's chaplain, whom Marshall felt was suspect of character.

In February, 1864, Andrew S. Parsons left his farm to become a recruit in a veteran regiment, the 33rd Wisconsin Infantry for the duration of the Civil War. His letters to his wife Louisa give detailed accounts of battles and campaigns, and provide glimpses into his home life and relationships with his wife and children.

The Andrew S. Parsons papers document the life of a recruit added to the rolls of a veteran regiment of the western theatre. The 47 letters written by Andrew Parsons to his wife, Louisa, comprise the bulk of the collection, along with two letters to his children and one to a temperance society of which he was a member. In addition, there are two letters from Parsons' nephew Charles Spencer to Louisa Parsons, and one letter from a friend named Laura to Andrew Parsons. Well written and eventful, Andrew Parsons' letters have many strong points. Among the letters are detailed accounts of skirmishes in northern Mississippi, the battles of Blair's Landing, Franklin and Nashville, and Spanish Fort, as well as the Red River, Tupelo, Missouri, Franklin and Nashville and Mobile Campaigns.

Equally interesting are the glimpses that emerge through Parsons' letters of his home life and his relationships with his wife and children. His letters are laced with a fine sense of humor, and convey a sense of concern for the well being of his home and family. The occasional hint of jealousy that peers subtlely through some letters is leavened by his advice to Louisa on managing the farm, caring for the children, and seeing to the family finances. He seemingly accepts the trying circumstances of a wartime separation, and tries to make the best of the situation, all the while eager to return home.