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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.

While a member of Co. H of the nine-months' 26th Connecticut Infantry Regiment, James Lord carefully recorded his experiences in two small pocket diaries, including the assaults on Port Hudson, sharpshooting, and insubordination.

While a member of Co. H of the nine-months' 26th Connecticut Infantry Regiment, James A. Lord carefully recorded his experiences in two small pocket diaries, which together cover the entire period from the date of volunteering to the date he was reunited with his family. Lord was involved in only a single campaign, but a grueling and costly one, Port Hudson.

Having apparently received a strong education, Lord's writing displays a clarity lacking in many Civil War diaries, and is straightforward and engaging, if not quite eloquent. While the entries are usually brief, when the siege heats up, Lord lavishes greater attention and does not stint on the details. His accounts of each of the three major assaults at Port Hudson (May 27, June 13-14) are excellent, the last, when he was wounded, being truly outstanding. Equally worthwhile are his account of sharpshooting amid crawling rebels and heavy fire, afraid to shoot lest he reveal his position (May 31), and his version of defying his colonel's orders and the consequences that resulted is humorous and highly unusual.

Lord's original diaries were transcribed, probably in the 1960s of 1970s, and a penciled notation on the typescript indicates that the location of the originals has since been lost.

This collection consists of letters written by James K. Hale sent to his brother George Hale while serving in the 106th New York Volunteers during the Civil War. The letters document the movements and viewpoints of a soldier in this regiment.

This collection consists of 28 letters written by James K. Hale, which he sent to his brother George Hale while serving in the Union Army during the Civil War. The letters cover the entire existence of the 106th New York Volunteers and document the movements and viewpoints of a soldier in this regiment. Little personal information was offered outside of discussions of health and comments that he had received letters from Rosina.

In the letters, Hale openly discussed his superior officers, his interactions with other regiments, daily troop movements and battles, army life, and life in a field hospital. In a letter from October 1862, he mentioned that "Mulligan’s regiment are a hard lot of men." In December 1862, he described secondhand reports of a skirmish at Winchester, resulting in 7 prisoners and 12 Union deaths. In a particularly interesting letter from February 2, 1863, Hale expressed a bleak outlook for the outcome of the war, based on the Union's failures in the major battles thus far. Another item from August 1863 contains a vivid description of skirmishing at Manassas in late July 1863.

Hale wrote letters from November 22, 1863, and after from the Central Park Hospital in New York City, after he was shot with a musket ball in the ankle. He remained, however, in good spirits and health: "It is nothing but a flesh wound." While letters from this period record typical life in an army hospital, Hale noted some interesting details. For instance, in a December 28, 1863, letter, he described surgeons "putting on an artificial jaw on a man which is a great thing if they can make it work." He returned to his regiment in late March 1864. In his letter of June 19, 1863, Hale briefly commented on the siege of Petersburg happening in the background and ruminated on the merits of McClellan versus those of Grant. He praised the new Union leadership:

"…the men have great confidence in both Grant and Mead[.] They both keep close along in the front. I do not think Gen Butler has shown himself to be the greatest Gen. that ever was[.] I think he will do better for military Gov than he will for Gen. We have had three Brigade commanders wounded in our Brigade and our corps commander was killed[.] there has been a great many officers killed and wounded which is done by the sharpshooters in trees and other places" (June 19, 1864).

Hale wrote about other Union generals and discussed the merits and drawbacks of their battle strategies. In later letters, he described the progress of the 106th New York toward Richmond and looked forward to the end of the war. The last dated letter of May 21 [1865], briefly describes the reactions of soldiers to Lincoln’s assassination. "Even a greater portion of the South consider it an act beneath the dignity of any true man..."

This collection is primarily made up of typescripts of letters that Dr. James M. Holloway wrote to his wife Anne while serving as a Confederate Army surgeon during the Civil War. Additional materials include typescripts on 19th-century medicine and clippings including full-color illustrations, from The Philadelphia Inquirer (1959-1961).

This collection (0.25 linear feet) is made up of typescripts related to Dr. James M. Holloway's service as a Confederate Army surgeon during the Civil War, typescripts related to 19th-century medicine, and illustrated newspaper clippings related to United States Army uniforms, national coats of arms, and Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, during the Civil War.

The bulk of the collection consists of Typescripts, including approximately 121 letters that Holloway wrote to his wife Anne on January 7, 1861, and from July 25, 1861-September 5, 1864. His earliest letters recount his experiences as a surgeon with the 18th Mississippi Infantry Regiment in Virginia, including his treatment of the wounded from the Battle of Ball's Bluff. Holloway, who took pride in his medical career, occasionally described specific patients, including amputees, a woman whose head had become detached from her body, and a dead soldier he dissected. He continued to write about his medical work after being promoted to the command of the hospitals of Richmond, Virginia, in 1862, and also discussed other aspects of his life there, such as the cost of food and other goods. Holloway expressed his devotion to the Confederate cause, and his early letters refer to his commitment to Christianity, which he maintained throughout the remainder of his correspondence. Some of Holloway's letters refer to the movements of Union and Confederate troops in Virginia and the western theater, the possibility of European intervention, specific battles, and the general progress of the war. By the fall of 1864, he feared that Richmond would be cut off from the rest of the Confederacy. In one late letter (written after the Emancipation Proclamation), he advised his wife to sell a female slave.

Holloway wrote 3 letters to his wife in May 1865, expressing his fear that the North would seek retribution from Southerners; he also reported that Beverly Tucker's home had been searched as a result of his suspected connection to the Lincoln assassination. In August and October 1865, Holloway wrote 3 letters to his wife from Louisville, Kentucky, primarily about local churches. Holloway's Civil War correspondence is followed by typescripts of his presidential address to the Tri-State Medical Society (or Mississippi Valley Medical Association) regarding current medical and surgical advancements and the increasing popularity of homeopathy (1882), a partial article about the history of medical education in the South (undated), and an obituary for Samuel Wilcox Warren (January 1878). He wrote 2 additional letters from Amsterdam, Netherlands, and Berlin, Germany, in September 1898, regarding his observations of local hospitals and medical procedures.

The Printed Items series (4 items) contains 3 full-color inserts from issues of The Philadelphia Inquirer, including photographs of toy soldiers wearing historical United States Army uniforms (July 5, 1959); a map of Civil War-era Philadelphia showing the locations of military camps and hospitals (July 5, 1959); a photograph of the coat of arms of the United Kingdom (February 7, 1960); and an editorial commemorating the centennial of the Star of the West incident (January 9, 1961).

The Jayne papers contain letters from Samuel Ferguson Jayne, during his service as a relief agent with the U.S. Sanitary Commission, to his fiancée Charlotte Elizabeth Jayne in the summer of 1864. He described his work at the U.S. Colored Hospital at City Point, Virginia, treating wounded soldiers from the battles at Spotsylvania, Cold Harbor, and the Battle of the Crater (Petersburg).

The Jayne papers consist of 17 letters from Samuel Ferguson Jayne, during his service as a relief agent with the U.S. Sanitary Commission, to his fiancée Charlotte Elizabeth Jayne in the summer of 1864. The letters, dated May 22-August 19, 1864, track his travels on the Mary Rapley steamboat and document his efforts at the U.S. Colored Hospital at City Point, Virginia. They discuss the numerous wounded soldiers coming from battles at Spotsylvania, Cold Harbor, and the Battle of the Crater (Petersburg), and include vivid details on the treatment of the men and the facilities of the hospitals. Jayne often notes the difficulties of getting the Union doctors to treat black troops. He wrote, "We have had to almost fight the doctors to get them to treat the colored men decently and to find them proper attention. When we came here most of the men were without beds. Now we have them upon, not only beds, but every man has also an iron bedstead, entirely covered by mosquito netting" (July 12). On August 9th, Jayne wrote that "There are very few agents here, who are adapted to such 'low' work as that of taking care of sick negroes" (August 9).

Jayne described in depth the types of wounds and afflictions the solders suffered. On August 4, he wrote "we are overcome with sick and wounded...I have found many who fought hand to hand with rebels, as their wounds are those made by the butts of muskets or clubs...We have twelve men digging graves today for our hospital alone." In a letter dated April 9th, he described a "terrible explosion" of an ammunition boat at City Point, Virginia, and its aftermath. Though the letters contain many details on his work managing the sick in the hospitals, they also include expressions of love for Charlotte, who Samuel was "compelled to write" in order "to keep [his] wits straight" (August 9, 1864). Jayne also commented on political and ethical issues of the war. For example, in the letter from August 19, 1864, he questioned the morality of paying black soldiers to fight in place of a drafted white soldier:

"I do not think it would be exactly fair to obtain a negro for a substitute. In the first place, in all modesty, they do not make as good soldiers as the whites, and at the present crisis of affairs, from all that I can learn from observation and report, one white man, even as insignificant as myself, is equal to two negroes for war purposes. Then, the negro fights under great disadvantages. If taken prisoner he is either murdered or sold into slavery--and I think that a government that permits its soldiers to be thus dealt with, without retaliating upon the enemy ought to go to perdition, or at least to a strongly seasoned purgatory. I would not ask a man to go as my substitute who would be murdered in cold blood because he was not of my race and color. Until we can procure the African some rights of civilized warfare, let the Anglo Saxon fight his own battles."

Jayne drew several sketches and commented on them. Of note is a picture of a ground plan of the U.S. Colored hospital, City Point, Virginia camp, annotated with the functions of many individual tents. It includes the positions of hospitals for the 5th, 6th, and 9th Corps. This plan accompanies the letter from July 15, 1864, in which Jayne provided additional details of the hospital camp.

• "Our pet lamb Molly," City Point Virginia, a pencil sketch of a young Black woman sitting in front of shelves of supplies (July 26, 1864).
• "Special Diet," a barefoot black man walking past army tents holding a mug and plate of fish (August 10, 1864).
• "For this are we Doctors," a black soldier with a bloody amputated arm (August 10, 1864).
• "Lizzie," a profile of a black woman sitting on a crate with her hands to her head (August 10, 1864).
• "Hospital bed" on the back: "This is a drawing of our hospital beds, with mosque-to netting. Made by Roberts, S. "(August 19, 1864).

John Pierson, from Pontiac, Michigan, accepted a commission in the 10th Michigan Infantry during the Civil War. His letters home record the experiences of an observant officer during his two years of duty in the Union occupation army in Tennessee, Mississippi, and Alabama, and later, as he is stationed at Fort Harrison the north bank of the James River in Virginia.

Capt. (later Lt.Col.) John Pierson's letters record the experiences of an observant officer during his two years of duty in the Union occupation army in Tennessee, Mississippi, and Alabama, and later, as he is stationed at Fort Harrison the north bank of the James River in Virginia. There are nine letters written while Pierson was in the 109th U.S. Colored Infantry and two after his military service had expired, otherwise the remainder of the collection consists of letters from Pierson to his wife, Joanna, and daughter, Emma, written while a Captain in the 10th Michigan Infantry.

Cynical, yet patriotic, Pierson writes superb descriptions of Southern towns and cities, and provides detailed information on the military engagements at Corinth, Murfreesboro, Chattanooga, Dalton, Ga. (February 28th, 1864), and elsewhere. Pierson's letters also contain excellent commentary on army hospital facilities and personnel during the periods after battles when they are flooded with casualties.

Other experiences of interest in the Pierson papers are letters describing his management of a Mississippi plantation after its owner murdered a man in H Company; a tour of the Hermitage guided by Andrew Jackson Donelson, and the Confederate burning of a mail train near Chattanooga. Also noteworthy are two letters from Pierson's daughter, Emma, while visiting her father in Nashville in May, 1863. Emma was aghast that so many churches had been turned into hospitals.

This memoir, tentatively attributed to John W. Burke, documents one man's Civil War service. The writing style vividly conveys the emotions of the battlefield, the sights and smells of death, and the trivia of daily life in camp.

The Civil War memoir/journal attributed to John W. Burke is unsigned and of uncertain provenance. The author provides innumerable clues to his identity: he was from Sag Harbor, had served previously in the 16th and 71st State Militias (the latter in the three months' service), had mustered in on December 19th, when Capt. John Raulston appointed him clerk of Co. H and Col. Rose named him "his private Secratary to take charge of the regimental mail with a promise of promotion to rank of Lieut. at the first vacancy" (p. 6). At one point, the author mentioned as well that he had "sold my surgeon's sash," though he appears to have been neither surgeon nor assistant surgeon to the regiment.

The author is very tentatively identified as John W. Burke, who came with the Sag Harbor contingent and was mustered into Co. H as a private on December 19th, later becoming Sergeant and Lieutenant (shortly after the end of this diary). On balance, internal references in the memoir seem to indicate that the author might have been a sergeant in Co. H, however Burke's presence in the 71st Militia has not been confirmed. It remains a possibility that the author may have been assistant surgeon Carrington MacFarlane (who published an unavailable memoir of his experiences); although the author treated wounded and appears to have been somewhat knowledgeable about doing so, there are no indications that medical care was part of his regular duties. An even less likely possibility for the author's identity is found in an enclosed petition sent to Col. John T. Sprague, requesting that the position vacated by the discharge of Lt. George W. Steadman be filled by Sgt. Drayson Fordred. Fordred also died at Cold Harbor, but served in the 7th Militia (not 71st), while Steadman was a member of Co. I, not H.

Although the problem of identity remains unresolved, the memoir stands as an outstanding document of one man's Civil War service. It was clearly written after the events described, though apparently from notes or a diary made at the time, and if the author were truly Burke, it must have been written prior his death at Cold Harbor in June, 1864. Whoever he was, the author was a proficient writer, able to convey the emotions of the battlefield, the sights and smells of death, and the trivia of daily life in camp with a pleasing vibrancy and intelligence. The author's comments on the Peninsular Campaign, and particularly the period from the Battle of Williamsburg through the end of the Battles of Fair Oaks and Seven Pines, are of particular interest. Although severely ill at Fair Oaks and Seven Pines, the author had the unusual liberty to roam around from the front to the rear -- with the front sometimes overtaking him -- seeing the battle develop from several different perspectives. He was pressed into service to treat the wounded, came under intense enfilading fire himself on more than one occasion, and was able calmly, almost dispassionately, to view the artillery batteries attached to the brigade perform their work on Johnston's charging rebels.

The memoir also provides very good accounts of Burke's semi-disoriented perambulations around the Peninsula in the day before the Battle of Williamsburg, the carnage following the battle, and the morale and slowly deflating siege at Yorktown. He provides some wonderful vignettes of miscellaneous facets of a soldier's life, from keeping pets, to visiting friends, interacting with devastated Virginia citizens, to an interesting story of an Irish-American soldier's wife (also Irish) who had followed the regiment.

Family papers, photographic images, promotion papers, and medical writings of Joseph Rowe Smith, Jr., letters to/from his brother, Henry Smith, military and medical papers of Joseph Rowe Smith, Sr., and miscellaneous family materials.

The papers of Joseph Rowe Smith, Sr., 1823-1859, and undated, document his diary of his military career, 1823-1835, which traces his traveling, survey work in Florida, illnesses, births, and deaths of children, his affection for his wife, and conversion to Christianity following exposure to several severe cholera epidemics are particularly interesting. His faith comforted him through the loss of two babies. Also of interest are medical reports on his injured elbow, and estate papers.

The papers of Joseph Rowe Smith, Jr., 1848-1910, and undated, include his promotion papers, photographic images, and his medical writings. Also found in Box 1 are letters from Henry Smith to his brother Joseph R. Smith, Sr., and a journal, 1870-1878, and several folders of miscellaneous materials of Horace Smith, 1870, 1920.

Miscellaneous family papers and photographic materials, mostly undated, complete the collection. Item-level index cards are also found in Box 3. Note: The Clarke also has two portraits of Smith: one is a small. framed, damaged water color portrait probably from his West Point graduation, circa 1823;the second is an oversized, framed, painted portrait of Smith in uniform with his arm in a sling, undated. For more information about the portraits, please refer to the Framed Art Inventory binder.

A letter Smith wrote on November 13, 1862 to President Abraham Lincoln recommending Rev. S. T. Carpenter of Polo, Illinois for chaplain at the Washington Park Hospital in Cincinnati. Note by Surgeon General W. A. Hammond concurring is housed in the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum. A link to the finding aid describing the letter is found at https://illinois.as.atlas-sys.com/repositories/2/resources/2557.

The diary of Confederate Private Joshua Johnson, Jr., covers his service in the 13th Virginia Volunteer Infantry Regiment between January 1 and May 18, 1862. The diary discusses treatment received at the hospital located within the converted Culpeper Court House in January 1862, picket duty near Sangster's Station, participation in the Skirmish at Sangster's Station (March 9, 1862), and encampment near the Rappahannock River. The volume also contains personal accounts dating between 1859 and 1861, a library book list, a crossed out sketch of a woman's portrait, and a quoted passage from James Kent's Commentaries on American Law. Laid into the front cover is a two-page letter, dated March 11, 1861, regarding border states, secession, and politics.

The diary of Confederate Private Joshua Johnson, Jr., covers his service in the 13th Virginia Volunteer Infantry Regiment between January 1 and May 18, 1862. The diary discusses treatment received at the hospital located within the converted Culpeper Court House in January 1862, picket duty near Sangster's Station, participation in the Skirmish at Sangster's Station (March 9, 1862), and encampment near the Rappahannock River. The volume also contains personal accounts dating between 1859 and 1861, a library book list, a crossed out sketch of a woman's portrait, and a quoted passage from James Kent's Commentaries on American Law. Laid into the front cover is a two-page letter, dated March 11, 1861, regarding border states, secession, and politics.

Serving in the 28th Pennsylvania Infantry and then in the 147th, Josiah King witnessed some of the most memorable events of the war, including Gettysburg, Atlanta, and the March to the Sea. His letters home contain observations and asides, particularly on the Presidential election of 1864, as well as itemized lists of goods to be sent from home.

Josiah Edmond King served in two of the most active and "efficient" regiments from the state of Pennsylvania, although his first letters home contain few details about combat. Like many soldiers, he was preoccupied with the rigors of marches and camp life, and with requests for funds and packages of food and other essentials. His itemized lists for goods to be forwarded from home are excellent and unusually specific.

Beginning in July, 1863, the quality of King's correspondence noticeably improves, and his letters become increasingly detailed and peppered with keen observations. King witnessed some of the most memorable events of the war, including Gettysburg, Atlanta, and the March to the Sea, and although his letters provide little actual description of the engagements, they are full of thought-provoking -- and occasionally poignant -- asides. King was a particularly interesting, staunchly Republican commentator on the Presidential election of 1864, and thereafter it appears that his political leanings veered ever more into the Radical camp. An interesting motif in his letters is King's experimentation with handwriting styles, doubtless brought about by his heavy load of paperwork for the Army.

Three of the letters in the collection were written by Dr. Richard C. Halsey, surgeon with the 142nd Pennsylvania between August 4, 1862, to March 29, 1863. His two letters from before, during, and after the Battle of Fredericksburg are exceptional from the medical view. Halsey's casual style exhibits an interesting blend of sincere patriotism and cynicism. His letter of March 10, 1863 in which he reports excellent health and no plans to be home for some time to come, is interesting in light of the fact that he was discharged nineteen days later.