Category Archives: Southern Historical Collection

6 April 1863: “I do not think it would be agreeable to military etiquette to call on a Col’s. wife and therefore, though I much desire her acquaintance, I think I must defer the pleasure until freed from my uniform.”

Item Description: Letter, 6 April 1863, from a Union solder named Carl, written in camp, New Bern, N.C., discussing the Confederate blockade of the river and the Union occupation of the town. The letter also mentions the free time the soldier had … Continue reading

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4 April 1863: “Paid Mrs Suky midwifes fees…”

Item description: Receipt, dated 4 April 1863, presumably signed by Edmund Wilcox Hubard (E.W. Hubard), for midwifery services performed by “Mrs. Suky.” [Item transcription available below images.] From folder #185 in the Hubard Family Papers, Southern Historical Collection, Wilson Library, … Continue reading

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3 April 1863: “The house servant that you wanted to buy, when down, I have not seen one that is for sale that I thought would suit.”

Item description: Note, 3 April 1863, to Ann McNeely of Salisbury, N.C., from W.T. Gilmore about the sale of cotton and the purchase of a house servant. Item citation: From folder 6 of the Macay and McNeely Family Papers #447, Southern … Continue reading

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1 April 1863: “…and there obtain from Lt. Col. Logan a sufficient force of negroes …”

Item description: Letter, 1 April 1863, concerning slaves who were being impresssed into Confederate service at Fort Beauregard, La.                                           … Continue reading

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31 March 1863: “A man in the 23rd NC deserted to the Yankees on picket…”

Item Description: Letter, of 31 March 1863, from F.J. Haywood Jr.  The letter is addressed to “My Dear Captain” and relates bits of camp gossip and chatter about the sighting of a “Yankee Balloon,” a desertion across enemy lines, and … Continue reading

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30 March 1863: “No charge for the corn am happy to have it in my power to accommodate you”

Item description: Letter, 30 March 1863, from R.C. Pearson, Morganton, N.C., to Thomas Ruffin, Graham, N.C. Item citation: From folder 454 in the Thomas Ruffin Papers #641 in the Southern Historical Collection, Wilson Library, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Item transcription: Morganton … Continue reading

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28 March 1863: “I drop you a few lines to give you the sad news that brother Calvin is dead.”

Item Description: Letter, dated 28 March 1863, from Corporal William H. Proffit during his service in the Wilkes Valley Guards (Company B, 1st North Carolina Regiment).  In this letter Cpl. Proffit informs his family of the death of his brother, … Continue reading

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26 March 1863: “Ah what changes since then…”

Item description: In this diary entry, 26 March 1863, Daniel Coleman, of Athens, Ala., marked the second anniversary of his enlistment at Fort Morgan with a nod to the casualties. He was commissioned into the 33rd Alabama Infantry as a … Continue reading

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25 March 1863: “… I have full permission to marry from Mr. Castin I don’t like to have to beg but when I know it is my own owner from whom I am asking these favors it prompts me to do so…”

Item Description:  Letter, dated 25 March 1863, written by a slave named “Jimmey” working for the DeRosset family in an office in Wilmington, N.C., stating that his owner has given him permission to marry. ”Jimmey” is James W. Telfair, Jr. (born … Continue reading

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23 March 1863: “…I was very much pleased with Lieut. Flournoy, found him very agreeable, though his attentions were much confined to Julia.”

Item description: Entry, 23 March 1863, from the diary of Sarah Lois Wadley. More about Sarah Lois Wadley: Sarah Lois Wadley was born in 1844 in New Hampshire, the daughter of railroad superintendent William Morrill Wadley (1813-1882) and Rebecca Barnard Everingham … Continue reading

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