Author Archives: hasmith

16 June 1862: “By landing above us they can have no difficulty in cutting us off. Of course this Should not be mentioned by you living where you do.”

Posted on 16 Jun ’12 by

Item description: Letter, 16 June 1862, from Francis Wilder Bird to his sister, Mrs. Patrick Henry Winston, concerning the Eleventh Regiment’s movement from Camp Davis to Camp Wyatt, the tolerable but ultimately inadequate fortifications at Fort Fisher, and enemy fire … Continue reading →

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26 May 1862: “I was in Wilmington a few nights ago, and saw the famous blind Tom of whom you have seen articles in the papers.”

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Item description: F. W. Bird, an uncle of lawyer and legislator Robert Winston, wrote to his sister about life at Camp Davis, his regiment, and most importantly about seeing enslaved black musician Blind Tom, who was an autistic musical savant … Continue reading →

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15 March 1862: “We hear daily from Genl Beauregard who is anxious for reinforcements from this army to assist him…”

Posted on 15 Mar ’12 by

Item description: Letter, 15 March 1862, from Jeremy Francis Gilmer to his wife Louisa Fredericka Alexander Gilmer. In this letter, Jeremy Gilmer writes to his wife about the difficulties with the weather and his living quarters in Alabama, as well as … Continue reading →

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3 December 1861: “he having received a Furlough from the 3rd day of Dec to the 1st day of January at which period he will rejoin his company at /near Centreville or wherever it is they may be or be considered a deserter”

Posted on 3 Dec ’11 by

Image description: Application for Furlough for H.E. Duncan, from Captain Boykin’s Independent Mounted Company of Rangers, 3 December 1861. Item citation: From the Boykin Family Papers, #78, Southern Historical Collection, Wilson Library, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Item … Continue reading →

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28 October 1861:”Since the commencement of the war of the Yankees and abolitionists on the Southern people, I have not been able to hear from you…”

Posted on 28 Oct ’11 by

Item description: Letter, 28 October 1861, from Joseph Bird, in Shanghai, China, to his sister, possibly in Bertie County, N.C. Bird was a United States Navy officer on a ship, believed to be the U.S.S. Saginaw. In the letter, Bird … Continue reading →

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15 September 1861: “I fear the result of the action of the K.Y. Leg. [Legislature] has damaged us very much, and that Tennessee now as a border state, will suffer severly, although the Confederate Army may & I believe will succeed in the end…”

Posted on 15 Sep ’11 by

Item Description: Letter,  A. Gardner to William S. Pettigrew, 15 September 1861. [Transcription available below images]   Item citation: From folder 246 in the Pettigrew Family Papers (#592), Southern Historical Collection, The Wilson Library, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. … Continue reading →

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12 September 1861: “The Commanding General has great satisfaction in making known the excellent conduct of Colonel J.E. Stewart, and of the officers, and men of his command, in the affair of Lewinsville…”

Posted on 12 Sep ’11 by

Item description: General Order No. 19, Laudatory of Col Stewart’s affair at Lewinsville, 12 September 1861 The Boykin family of Camden, S.C., included Alexander Hamilton Boykin (1815-1866), cotton planter, state legislator, and Confederate officer. During the Civil War, Hamilton Boykin … Continue reading →

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25 August 1861: “I love you with that adoration which a man gives to a lady whom he feels to be greater and better than himself, and my love, as I have frequently told you, is hardly distinguishable from religious feeling.”

Posted on 25 Aug ’11 by

Item description: Letter from Nathaniel Henry Rhodes Dawson (1829-1895) to his fiancee Elodie Todd (1844-1881). Nathaniel Henry Rhodes Dawson was a Selma, Ala., lawyer and politician, Confederate officer in the 4th Alabama Infantry Regiment, and United States commissioner of education. … Continue reading →

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15 August 1861: “Gen Magruder…carried about 7 or 8 thousand soldiers the other day from this place…down to Hampton and burned the entire place…”

Posted on 15 Aug ’11 by

Item Description: This letter, dated 15 August 1861, is from Francis W. Bird in Yorktown, Virginia to his sister, discussing sickness in his camp as well as the burning of Hampton, Va. Bird enlisted in the Confederate Army on 1 … Continue reading →

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7 August 1861: “the Yankees came down and crossed on our side then we knew that our men were giving way and we fell sad but our Col came by us and said Beauregard is with them boys that one sentance gave us confidance again and we knew if he was with them all would be right…”

Posted on 7 Aug ’11 by

Item description: James Keen Munnerlyn, Jr., was born in Georgetown, S.C., in 1840. He served, 1860-1862, in the Palmetto Guard, 2nd South Carolina Regiment, and sometime between 15 July 1862 and 8 September 1862, he was transferred to the Georgia … Continue reading →

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