Abstract Letter books written in various hands containing official correspondence of A. A. Semmes while in command of U.S.S. Wamsutta, Portsmouth and U.S. Monitor Lehigh, and U.S. gunboat Tahoma in the service of the United States. In August 1864, he became commander of the USS Lehigh, participating in the bombardment of Fort Pringle and in the operations at Charleston until that city surrendered. He co-operated with Grant's army, fought the Howlett house batteries, and was present at the fall of...

Abstract Courtship letters of lawyer and Wisconsin statesman Gideon W. Allen and his future wife Annie Cox during the years of 1863-1865 in which they discuss current their political and religious beliefs, Allen's travels throughout Wisconsin while looking for work, and Cox's life as a woman in Madison, Wisconsin. Also an unfinished biography of renowned botanist Ruth F. Allen by Mabel Nebel, incoming correspondence of Ruth F. Allen, and other family correspondence, photographs, and personal materials...

Abstract Letters, genealogical information, and legal and financial documents of the Ames Family of Lake County, Illinois. Includes Civil War draft notices for stone mason Roderick D. Ames, and Civil War letters from his brother Joel W. Ames, who died in the Battle of Shiloh, Apr. 6, 1862.

Abstract Papers of A. B. Blackburn, A. W. Blackburn, W. H. Blackburn of North Carolina, and other family members. Consists of correspondence, journal account book, financial documents, deeds, wills, Civil War documents, and other miscellaneous items.

Abstract Extensive collection of letters, photographs, scrapbooks, diaries, writings, and genealogical research materials centering around Chicago lead manufacturer, Newberry Library founding trustee, and Christian social activist Eliphalet Wickes Blatchford, his wife Mary Williams Blatchford, their parents and grandparents, and the families of their children, especially son Paul Blatchford, but also daughter Amy Blatchford Bliss. Families represented most heavily include Blatchford, Williams, Bliss,...

Abstract Primarily correspondence (129 letters) of Illinois farmer and Civil War soldier Carlos W. Colby, written between 1862 and 1865, to his sisters, brother, brother-in-law, and niece, plus a dozen Civil War letters written by Colby’s future brother-in-law James Rowe. Also includes Colby’s reminiscences of his boyhood and his service in the 97th Illinois Volunteer Infantry Regiment, some family correspondence, genealogical material and a few photos.

Abstract Letter from Charles Milne to his nephew George Milne, who was serving with the 79th New York Infantry Regiment during the American Civil War. In the letter, Charles mentions the Battle of Bull Run and Union Army generals. Includes stamped envelope addressed to George Milne in Brooklyn.

Abstract Civil War military service documents of Charles S. Leonard, 31st Regiment, Massachusetts Volunteers, together with correspondence and forms relating to Leonard's efforts to correct his service record and obtain military pension and bounty payments. Also genealogical notes, possibly relating to Leonard's attempt to qualify for the Society of Mayflower Descendants, a deed for the sale of 160 acres in Norton County, Kan. and a few newspaper clippings.

Abstract Correspondence, certificates, vouchers, orders, muster rolls, and a diary belonging to Charles Saeltzer of Mansfield, Ohio, dated between 1846 and 1865, and documenting his training and certification as a teacher, both in Germany and Ohio, and his service as a member of the 10th Ohio Cavalry Regiment during the Civil War. Most of Saeltzer's early papers are his teacher certifications from the German government, dated between 1846 and 1853; similar certifications from the state of Ohio are dated...

Abstract Union soldier, third sergeant in the Ohio Infantry Regiment, 50th, Company G, Kruse enlisted in August of 1862, and served in the field in Ohio, Kentucky, Tennessee, and Georgia. He participated in the Union victory in Atlanta under General Sherman. Typescripts of letters, dated Aug. 24, 1862-April 18, 1865, from Kruse to his parents and brother and sister, describing his experiences in the Union Army. Beginning with his enlistment and first assignment to Camp Dennison, in Hamilton County,...

Abstract Letters home, 1862-1863, by Charles W. Gallentine of the 7th Illinois Cavalry, from Camp Butler, Springfield, Ill., Jacinto and Corinth, Miss., Memphis and LaGrange, Tenn., and Lawrence Co., Ala., regarding camp life, skirmishes, men killed and wounded, Southern guerillas, northern Copperheads and the draft, Southern plantations and slave attitudes, Union and Confederate prisoners, etc.

Abstract Correspondence and diary of Civil War soldier Chase Hall Dickinson (1838-1893), of the Illinois Chicago Mercantile Light Artillery Battery. Dickinson wrote home to his mother, father, and sister Louise from 1862-1864, and also kept a diary from 1863-1864. Portions of both the correspondence and the diary have been transcribed. Papers also include some confederate money and a photograph of Dickinson.

Abstract Mounted albumen prints and stereographs primarily of western Indians and scenes, ca. 1865-1881, taken by Alexander Gardner, John K. Hillers, William H. Jackson, William Soule and a few other photographers, plus three large lithographic prints of Mexican War military scenes. Also, a box containing a stereoscopic viewer.

Abstract United States army officer, 1843 to 1885. Correspondence, printed and manuscript military orders and reports, letter-books, a miscellany of accounts and receipts, clippings, memorabilia and maps, mainly documenting Augur's military activities and commands before and during the Civil War, and post-war service in the Pacific Northwest, Texas and the Gulf.

Abstract Ten carte-de-visite photographs of Union soldiers, camps, and buildings in Chattanooga, Tennessee and Atlanta, Georgia.

Abstract New England and Chicago Protestant missionary family. Includes letters and family documents from John A. Cole, a civil engineer, active in the U.S. Christian Commission during the Civil War. After the war he worked with and educated freedmen, women, and children in Washington D.C. through the Lincoln Industrial Mission and the recently established Howard University. He met his wife, Julia A. Cole (née Alvord) through his work with the Lincoln Industrial Mission and Howard University, who worked...

Abstract Daniel S. Dickinson was a prominent Civil War politician from New York, a conservative Democrat who worked toward compromise before the war began. During the war, he sought to quash Union internal political disagreement and after the war he remained in politics. He was commended by the public and politicians on both sides of the conflict for his oratorical skills and genial manner. This collection is mainly composed of correspondence to that effect, as well as some letters on the subjects of...

Abstract A collection of Civil War material donated by Dr. David W. Cugell. Materials include a printed form deed, completed in manuscript, from New Orleans, Louisiana, dated April 8, 1862, authorizing Marx Kaufman's sale of Lucy Anne, a 17-year old enslaved girl, to Henry Levy. The collection also includes paper money (11 Confederate bills and 2 United States bills) and a U.S. Treasury check made out to the Zeltner Bros. for the sum of 10 cents, dated July 27, 1884.

Abstract 27 letters addressed to Nancy Eastman Delano and her son Benjamin Eastman Delano, of Strong, Maine, written by relatives and friends just before, during and immediately after the Civil War, including one which describes an army camp in Port Royal, Virginia. Most letters reflect domestic life, frequent illnesses and deaths, and religious thought in Maine and Missouri during this period. There are two letters from Nancy's erstwhile son-in-law Nathan D. Stanwood, which describe his postwar working...

Abstract Research notes and other materials concerning the firm of Root & Cady, a Chicago based music publishing firm that operated from 1858-1871, collected by Dena Epstein. Also includes information on other 19th century music publishers and composers.

Abstract Correspondence, writings, and official military documents of 1st Lieutenant Edgar McLean. McLean fought for the Union in the Civil War with the 122nd Illinois Regiment, and then became a Lieutenant in the 110th U.S. Colored Infantry. Most correspondence was written by Edgar McLean’s mother and other relatives to him during his service.

Abstract Lieutenant, 2nd Florida Regiment (C.S.A.). Correspondence and telegrams regarding Humphries' July 2, 1862, death in the Seven Days battle near Richmond, Va. Also a letter of Humphries to his wife in Alabama, Dec. 2, 1861, and a family Bible with entries for Humphries and his immediate family.

Abstract Correspondence of Edward W. Curtis of Massachusetts, a private in the 88th Illinois Infantry during the Civil War. Also includes clippings relating to battles, the life of Federal soldiers, and hospital listings near Nashville, Tennessee.

Abstract The collection includes a letter from Capron's sister to her mother, a letter to Capron from his parents and one letter from Henry C. Barrett to Nannie and Cyrus Fairley, Camp Cleveland, Ohio, 29 December 1863. Written from Fort Kearney and Cottonwood Springs, Nebraska Territory. Also includes 12 envelopes and a daguerreotype portrait of Capron.

Abstract Six personal diaries and one diary fragment kept by Elvira Cecelia Sheridan Badger of Kentucky and Illinois, spanning the years 1859 through 1903. Also popular antebellum piano music compiled and bound for Badger before her marriage. Facsimile of notebook kept by Alpheus Shreve Badger about his move to Chicago and the subsequent freedom of his slaves in 1852. Diary entries concern the daily lives of a well-to-do family, including their 1861 move to Chicago, Illinois. Sentiment in Kentucky...