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

The Jefferson Davis collection contains political and military correspondence of Jefferson Davis, president of the Confederate States of America. Most of the letters are from congressmen, governors, cabinet officers, generals, and local politicians to Davis.

The Jefferson Davis collection (91 items) contains political correspondence of Jefferson Davis, president of the Confederate States of America. The collection consists of 10 letters written by Davis, including three to Robert E. Lee, and one document signed by Davis. The remaining 80 items are letters to Davis from congressmen, governors, cabinet officers, generals, and local politicians. They offer a variety of opinions and advice on the Confederacy and the war effort related to both political and strategic matters. Other topics discussed include military and political promotions and appointments, Southern public opinion of the war, intelligence and updates from the battlefield, prisons and prisoners, political support in Europe, and Confederate finances.

• January 17, 1861: Jefferson Davis to George Lunt, stating that secession was forced upon the South by Northern aggression and not caused by Lincoln's election
• September 3, 1861: Simon Bolivar Buckner to Davis recommending that they take decisive military action in Kentucky
• November 2, 1861: James B. Chesnut to Davis explaining his part in the planning of the battle at Manassas
• April 9, 1862: Stephen Russell Mallory to Davis concerning iron-clad ships
• September 3, 1862: Robert E. Lee to Davis recommending that his army invade Maryland
• October 8, 1862: Two letters to Davis concerning the suspension of habeas corpus
• April 6, 1763: Joseph Christmas Ives to Davis containing an inspection report on Vicksburg and other forts
• July 29, 1863: James Phelan to Davis on enforcing the Conscription Act
• July 21, August 3, 8, 14, 1863: Letters concerning calls to remove John C. Pemberton from office
• October 12, 1863: John H. Reagan to Davis advising that the army cut off Rosecrans in Tennessee and predicting Union gains if they fail
• November 18, 1863: George W.C. Lee to Davis recommending that Davis visit Robert E. Lee and his army
• June 11, 1864: Davis to the Confederate Senate concerning the destruction of the gunboat Cairo
• August 9, 1864: Herschel Johnson to Davis explaining that the Confederate army must defeat Sherman and protect Atlanta, Georgia
• February 2, 1865: Act written by Thomas Bocock and Alexander Hamilton Stephens to "regulate the pay…of certain female employees of the government," signed by Davis
• March 28, 1865: George A. Trenholm to Davis arguing for the Confederate government to purchase cotton

The Samuel May, Jr., collection contains letters and other items related to Samuel May, Jr., of Leicester, Massachusetts. Most items pertain to anti-slavery activists' Fourth of July celebrations in Framingham, Massachusetts, in 1857 and 1858.

This collection is comprised of 6 letters and 3 other items related to Samuel May, Jr., of Leicester, Massachusetts. Most items pertain to the Massachusetts Anti-Slavery Society's Fourth of July celebrations in Framingham, Massachusetts, in 1857 and 1858, including 5 letters from May to Ginery Twichell (1811-1883), president of the Boston and Worcester Railroad, and a clipping from The Liberator. The collection also includes a pamphlet about May's life. See the Detailed Box and Folder Listing for more information.

The Alexander T. Stewart collection contains around 300 letters that Stewart received from strangers requesting financial assistance, employment, and other means of support. Many commented on the Civil War's negative economic impact on their lives, particularly in the South.

The Alexander T. Stewart collection contains around 300 letters that Stewart received from strangers requesting financial assistance, employment, and other means of support. Many commented on the Civil War's negative economic impact on their lives, particularly in the South.

The majority of the letters are dated 1865-1876, including a large group (around 215 items) dated 1869-1870. Stewart's correspondents requested loans, donations, or employment; some wrote more than once. Writers include war widows, former soldiers, and others who had been affected by the war, particularly in the South. Many provided details of recent financial hardships, such as spouses' or parents' deaths, unemployment, and the effects of the Civil War, and some provided character witnesses or references. A soldier requested money for a camp stove (January 6, 1865); another man requested help after having difficulty collecting loans from southern borrowers (February 27, 1862); and a third writer mentioned displaced persons in South Carolina (March 9, 1867). Correspondents occasionally enclosed carte-de-visite portraits or newspaper clippings, and some pasted return postage onto their letters. The letters reveal the authors' views on wealth, social status, employment, and philanthropy in the Reconstruction-era United States.

Stewart received letters from correspondents in states including Alabama, California, Connecticut, Delaware, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Texas, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, and Wisconsin. The few items that are not begging letters include a letter that Alexander T. Stewart wrote about his business affairs with P. Whitin & Sons (September 30, 1861) and a letter offering Stewart medical advice (April 7, 1873).

The collection contains 4 printed items: a ticket to a charity festival at the Astor House (February 22, 1855), 2 newspaper articles relating to Alexander T. Stewart, and a printed advertisement for A.T. Stewart & Co.'s store (September 23, 1871).

This collection is primarily made up of Benson J. Lossing's incoming and outgoing correspondence concerning his writings about and interest in numerous subjects in American history. Essays, newspaper clippings, and ephemera are also included.

This collection is primarily made up of Benson J. Lossing's incoming and outgoing correspondence (179 items, 1850-1904) concerning his writings about and interest in numerous subjects in American history. Essays, newspaper clippings, and ephemera are also included (18 items, 1849- ca. 1884).

The Correspondence series (179 items) mostly contains incoming letters to Lossing about his career as a historian. Some writers thanked Lossing for sending them copies of his books or otherwise commented on his works, such as his Pictorial Field-Book of the War of 1812. Others offered biographical details on historical figures, notes on family genealogies, and information about historical events. Some older correspondents provided firsthand accounts of events, and other writers shared information about potential primary source material. The American Revolutionary era and War of 1812 were common topics, though at least one letter was written during the Civil War. Historical figures discussed included John André and Oliver Hazard Perry; one man wrote about busts of George Washington at Mount Vernon. Some authors enclosed newspaper clippings in their letters, and two made drawings: one of an unidentified building (June 2, 1851) and one of the grave of James Ross (May 11, 1852). One letter from a publisher postdates Lossing's death.

Benson Lossing wrote occasional letters about his work, and at least one of his letters contains a printed form letter requesting historical information.

The Writings and Biographical Sketches (8 items) are brief essays about historical topics, mostly in Benson J. Lossing's handwriting. Subjects include copied inscriptions from a monument marking the Battle of Red Bank and biographies of Colonel Anthony White, William H. Winder, and Alexander Lillington. One item is a copied "Parole of Honor," with Lossing's added notes on some of its signers. Two signed manuscript drafts of articles include "The British Flag and the American Sailor Boy," which was later published as "Anna Van Antwerp and John Van Arsdale" in the Christian Union, and "Mr. Lincoln A Statesman," which appeared in Osborn H. Oldroyd's The Lincoln Memorial: Album-Immortelles. An essay about William H. Winder is attributed to Mrs. A. W. Townsend of Oyster Bay, New York.

The Printed Items series (10 items) is comprised of programs, newspaper clippings, obituaries, a chapter in a published volume, and engravings. One clipping is a reprint of an article written by Benson J. Lossing.

This collection contains 18 items related to Horace Greely, including 11 outgoing letters, 2 incoming letters, 1 receipt for a subscription to the Weekly Tribune, 1 telegram, 1 postcard, and a 2-page offprint from Harper's New Monthly Magazine. The material concerns Greeley's lectures, public appearances, interest in politics and charitable efforts, and his legacy.

This collection contains 18 items related to Horace Greely, including 11 outgoing letters, 2 incoming letters, 1 letter discussing Greeley, 1 receipt for a subscription to the Weekly Tribune, 1 telegram, 1 postcard, and a 2-page offprint from Harper's New Monthly Magazine. The material concerns Greeley's public appearances, lectures, interest in politics and charitable efforts, and his legacy.

Included are 11 letters Greeley wrote between 1838 and 1872, concerning his travel and speaking engagements, and personal advice. He received 2 letters about Irish affairs (February 23, 1847) and a request for his attendance at a Fourth of July celebration (June 6, 1853). The receipt was for a subscription to the Weekly Tribune (May 1, 1858). Other items include a telegram about Greeley's presidential nomination (October 1872); a letter from George A. Beach to his parents, in which he mentions Greeley's charitable pursuits (December 10, 1875); a 2-page offprint from Harper's New Monthly Magazine entitled "Greeley's Handwriting," an editorial by Hayden Carruth, in which he shares an anecdote about Greeley's notoriously illegible handwriting (Volume XC, December 1894- May 1895); and a postcard illustrating Greeley's birthplace (undated). For more information, please see the inventory in the Detailed Box and Folder Listing.

The Abraham Lincoln collection contains 15 letters and documents written by Lincoln and 11 letters concerning Lincoln or the Lincoln family.

The Abraham Lincoln collection contains 26 items by or pertaining to Abraham Lincoln, and spanning [ca. 1845] to 1865, with the bulk of materials concentrated in the years 1856 to 1865. See the "Detailed Box and Folder Listing" for an inventory of the items.

The United States War with Mexico Collection contains miscellaneous letters and documents related to the war between the United States and Mexico, 1846-1848. Topics covered by the collection include army strategy and logistics; the battles of Buena Vista, National Bridge, Vera Cruz, and Cerro Gordo; guerilla warfare; efforts to restore peace; American impressions of Mexico and its inhabitants; and many others.

The United States War with Mexico Ccollection spans March 19, 1845, to [after 1894], with the bulk concentrated around 1846 to 1848. Topics covered by the collection include army strategy and logistics; the battles of Buena Vista, National Bridge, Vera Cruz, and Cerro Gordo; guerilla warfare; efforts to restore peace; and American impressions of Mexico and its inhabitants. See the "Detailed Box and Folder Listing" for an item-level inventory of the collection.

The Charles Sumner collection contains correspondence, a manuscript speech, and printed materials by or related to United States Senator Charles Sumner (1811-1874). Included are 10 of Sumner's outgoing personal letters and items related to a memorial speech that Elliot C. Cowdin delivered in honor of the late senator on December 14, 1874.

The Charles Sumner collection is made up of 26 items: 14 letters, a manuscript speech, 2 printed pamphlets, and 9 newspaper clippings related to United States Senator Charles Sumner.

The Correspondence series (14 items) contains 10 outgoing letters written by Charles Sumner, 2 letters by George Sumner, 1 letter to Charles Sumner, and 1 letter to Elliot C. Cowdin. Sumner's outgoing correspondence consists primarily of personal letters. He discussed political issues, such as his opinions about Edward Everett (April 21, 1854) and his intention to return to Congress after being attacked by Rep. Preston Brooks (December 11, 1856). In other letters, he mentioned his travels in Europe. Sumner received a copy of a statement praising his character after his return to the Senate, dated from Paris, May 13, 1857.

George Sumner wrote 2 letters to Elliot C. Cowdin about Charles Sumner's lectures (undated), and Edwin Percy Whipple wrote one letter praising Cowdin's memorial speech on Sumner (December 16, 1874).

The Speech is a 30-page manuscript draft of Elliot C. Cowdin's memorial speech about the life of Charles Sumner, which Cowdin delivered before the New England Society in New York City on December 14, 1874. He reflected on the senator's political contributions, including his support of emancipation.

The Printed Items series includes a black-bordered program for the music played at Charles Sumner's funeral (March 16, 1874); a printed copy of Elliot C. Cowdin's memorial speech about Sumner (December 14, 1874); and 9 newspaper clippings printed after Sumner's death in March 1874. The clippings originated from different papers, and several refer to Elliot C. Cowdin's memorial speech about Sumner.

The Lydia Maria Child papers consist of ninety mostly personal letters by Lydia Child; the bulk of them were written to her wealthy abolitionist and philanthropic friends in Boston, the Lorings.

The collection consists of ninety mostly personal and often playfully provocative letters dating from approximately 1835 to 1877. Most of them are from Lydia Maria Child to her wealthy Boston abolitionist and philanthropic friends, the Lorings, and date from 1839 to 1859. They thus concentrate on the period of Maria Child's distress with the institutional politics of antislavery, her editorship of the Standard, her growing attachment to New York Bohemia, and the publication of Letters From New York. Many of the letters deal simply with her day to day finances, friends, and family.

These letters chart Maria Child's loss of "pleasure" in "anti Slavery" until the martyrdom of John Brown renewed her "youth and strength." They witness her antagonism to the aggressive tactics of elements of the American Anti-Slavery Society and her defense of the "Old Organization." It is in terms of intra-organizational criticism that she justifies her job at the Standard despite reservations. Later, however, the letters witness her declining commitment to pacifism. They describe a remarkable fearlessness to the danger of the mobs in New York, and they note the challenges that the Standard faced. They speak of Maria Child's withdrawal from cliques of reformers and antislavery organizations, though clearly her hermitage was constantly broken by meetings with the likes of Catherine Beecher and Margaret Fuller. Throughout, she declares a radical social egalitarianism while demonstrating a contemporary racial paternalism and liberalism. Of particular interest concerning antislavery and race are:

• (1) To George Kimball, Jan 1835, on Texas and the freemen plantation in Mexico
• (3) To Louisa L., April 1839, concerning the discord within the movement
• (6) To "Nonny", Dec 1840, of a story about "our colored man... our retainers"
• (8) To Ellis L., May 1841, about guilt for accepting money for editing the Standard
• (9) To Ellis L., June 1841, where she insinuates the A.A.S.S. with proslavery form
• (13) To Ellis L., May 1842, about the Boston and Philadelphia cliques and N.Y. mobs
• (17) To Louisa L., May 1843, about the New York Letters and Angelina Grimké
• (48) To Ellis L., December 1852, with reference to Charles Sumner and Catherine Beecher
• (57) To Louisa L., October 1856, about Kansas and Frémont
• (69) To Oliver Johnson (A.A.S.), Dec. 1859, on John Brown's execution
• (70) To William Cutler, July 1862, on the questions of wage slavery and social equality
• (72) To Anna L., Oct (1871?), on a "mulatto girl" asking for handouts.

More peripherally the letters are witness to the homosocial support networks of Victorian America despite their author's exceptional ability to transcend the limitations imposed on her sex. Of the latter she was painfully aware, complaining here of the impropriety of a "young lady" staying at the Globe Hotel, determining to "always avoid belonging to any association of men" because of her "experience," noting how her critics preferred to attack her as a woman rather than deal with the facts, how some were shocked to meet a woman like her, and complaining about her gendered financial liabilities despite her disfranchisement. Indeed, she detaches gender stereotypes from biological sex as she writes repeatedly of the "small female minds of both sexes." Writing domestic guides for women and attending Emerson's lectures on domestic life never reconciled Maria Child to domestic work, of which she often complains here. On the other hand, she seemed to relish romance and also writes of her caring for a "wild Irish girl," and her poor niece Maria, and her taking in of Dolores, a poor Spanish woman, as her companion. Particularly relevant are her letters: (67) To Louisa L., December 1857, a story of two babies engaged in the struggle of the sexes; (71) To Anna L., July 1871, on suffrage for societal efficiency and female education.

Lydia Maria Child's letters also chart her critical attitude to religious and social injustice in general. This is born out in accounts of specific incidents of charity to orphans abandoned in the Tombs. Calling Angelina Grimké a "flaming Millerite," Maria Child also makes fun of her patron Isaac T. Hopper's Quakerism, claims to prefer the "Lord Pope" to the "Lord Presbyters," and "shocked... Christian piety by saying if Mendelssohn were a Jew, I hoped I should get into the Jew's Quarter in heaven." Her "dislike to respectable Puritanical character" crops up repeatedly in these letters. In one letter she jokingly claims her "right to be damned." She praises Plato as a forefather of "modern socialists" and writes of the world of the spirits and of her "bigotted Swedenborgian[ism]." In terms of her pacifism she recounts an argument she had with Samuel Colt over "his battery." Her letters moreover present a consistent picture of her preference for the soul-inspired music of the underdog against anything machine-like, or tainted by the "diseased ambition of wealth and show... and respectability." She criticizes the "ruffianly Forrest" and the Astor Place Riots for demagoguery and violence while repeatedly noting the blindness of aristocracy and arguing for a world in which "all ranks, and sexes, and sects, and barriers of all sorts," would be ignored. In an elusive search for freedom she claims pleasure in acting "contrary to statutes made and provided."

This collection of six Japanese manuscripts from the 19th century provides insight into important cultural encounters between Japan and the West. The manuscripts include an illustrated book of costumes of the world, an account of the famous John Manjiro's travels to America, instructions for receiving the first American envoy to Japan, and a diary kept by a member of the first Japanese embassy to the United States.

This collection contains five Japanese manuscripts and one watercolor illustration documenting important encounters between Japanese and Western cultures in the 19th century.

The first manuscript, Bankoku ichiyō, is a popular publication from the late Edo period (1600-1868) that depicts people from around the world in native costumes. Of the 67 pages of watercolor illustrations, over half bear a strong resemblance to the figures accompanying the Shōhō Map or one of its subsequent copies. The poses and broad outlines of the costumes are recognizably the same, although details of dress and features have been altered. The popularity of such publications during the Tokugawa seclusion period reflects the Japanese populace's curiosity about foreign cultures at that time. The brightly colored illustrations show figures with the clothing and weapons of their cultures, including Asian, European, American, and African peoples. Also included are the mythical giants of South America and pygmies of Northern Europe.

Hyokyaku danki, the second manuscript of the collection, contains an account of Manjiro and his companions, who were shipwrecked in 1841. Their testimony upon returning to Japan in 1851 was widely copied and circulated because of great public interest. Especially after Commodore Perry's arrival in 1853 and the signing of the first treaty with the United States, people were eager to learn more about America, and Manjiro's account greatly shaped their perceptions. This handwritten manuscript appears to be an abridged version of the official account, reproduced for popular consumption. It is complete with watercolor illustrations including a map of Manjiro's travels, a train, a steam boat, a sailing ship, furniture, and American clothing. Another section provides a basic dictionary, with kanji accompanied by approximate English pronunciations rendered in katakana. On one page, the English alphabet and numerals are reproduced in stylized cursive, probably based upon Manjiro's handwriting.

The third manuscript is not yet cataloged. Research is being conducted to provide description for this item.

The collection's large watercolor illustration may be by Bunsen Takagawa and bears the transliterated title [Amerika Senchū Shokan Utamai No Zu]. The artwork depicts the largely blackface Ethiopian Minstrels on stage, dancing before stagelights. These minstrels traveled to Japan and performed aboard Matthew Perry's flagship, the U.S. Ship Powhatan, in 1854. Research is being conducted to provide improved description for this item.

The fourth manuscript, Amerika kokusho jisan no ken no ofuredome, was written by Matsumae-Ke, a Japanese nobleman, and provides a series of instructions regarding the first reception of the American ambassador Townsend Harris by the shogun. This historic meeting was an important encounter between Japan and a representative of the United States, without precedent in Japanese history. To ensure that all would go smoothly and that protocol would be observed, these instructions were sent out to various officials to prepare the way. For example, superintendent officers were directed to clean the roads and keep spectators orderly as the mission traveled to Edo. A detailed program for the ceremony itself includes the seating order and exact series of events that were to occur. This manuscript is accompanied by a partial English translation. From the resemblance of this translation to another publication, it appears that these or similar documents were also translated in 1879 and published in the Congressional Serial Set as "Visit of the American Ambassador to the Castle of Yedo in the 10th month of the 4th year of Ansei (1857)," U.S. Congress, Foreign Relations, 1878 (46-2, H. Exdoc. 1/2; Serial Set 1902), pp. 20-636.

Kōbei Nichiroku, the fifth manuscript, is a seven-volume diary kept by a member of the first Japanese mission to the United States. Approximately 40 such travelogues were written by members of the embassy. This appears to be a copy of a diary kept by Tamamushi Sadayū Yasushige, the chief ambassador’s manservant. Volumes 1 and 2 describe the voyage from Japan, including Hawaii and California. Volumes 3, 4, and 5 describe the trip from San Francisco and events in Washington and New York. Volumes 6 and 7 describe the return voyage. Tamamushi, a gifted scholar born to a low-ranking samurai family, was known for the honesty and insight revealed in his diary. During the course of his journey to America, he kept an open mind to new experiences and underwent a reexamination of his beliefs as he encountered foreign ideas. Upon his return to Japan, his diary was widely copied and distributed.