Tag Archives: First Battle of Manassas

23 March 1862: Hand drawn map of the First Battle of Kernstown

Posted on 23 Mar ’12 by

Item description: Hand drawn map, dated 23 March 1862, of the First Battle of Kernstown, reportedly sketched by two officers on Thomas J. “Stonewall” Jackson’s staff: Major Jedediah (Jed) Hotchkiss and Major R.L. Dabney. The battle is considered the opening … Continue reading →

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16 August 1861: “At the suggestion of Genl. Longstreet I enclose herewith a cypher found on the battle field of the 21st.”

Posted on 16 Aug ’11 by

Item description: Letter, 16 August 1861, from William Mumford, Lt. Col., 17th Regiment, to Edward Porter Alexander, enclosing a captured “cypher” letter. According to Mumford, the letter was found on the battlefield at First Bull Run (First Manassas), the author … 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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5 August 1861: “I have deciphered & read two letters that were brought in, but am stuck on a note book picked up on the field of battle…it was written by a confoundedly smart fellow.”

Posted on 5 Aug ’11 by

Item description: Letter, 5 August 1861, from Edward Porter Alexander to his wife in which Alexander describes some of the cryptanalysis that he has been doing for the Confederate Army. Item citation: From folder 8 of the Edward Porter Alexander … Continue reading →

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4 August 1861: “…we may date our trouble from the time when we allowed Party to place in the chair a President, entirely disregarding his worth, ability, or capacity for it…”

Posted on 4 Aug ’11 by

Item description: Letter from Elodie Todd (1844-1881) to her fiance Nathaniel Henry Rhodes Dawson (1829-1895). Elodie Todd, of Selma, Ala., was the sister of Mary Todd Lincoln (the wife of Abraham Lincoln). At the time of this letter, Nathaniel Henry … Continue reading →

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3 August 1861: “When I return safely, and we are married, I will want you to give the company an oyster supper and I will be so proud to introduce them to such a bride.”

Posted on 3 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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29 July 1861: “I enclose a photograph of my son, though very poorly taken. If dead it may be the means of designating his body.”

Posted on 29 Jul ’11 by

Item description: Letter, dated 29 July 1861, from David King, M.D., of Newport, R.I., to Col. William Porcher Miles, C.S.A., regarding the fate of his wounded son, Theodore Wheaton King, a private with Company F of the 1st Rhode Island … Continue reading →

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28 July 1861: “My heart exults over the victory at Manassas.”

Posted on 28 Jul ’11 by

Item description: Letter from John Kimberly, Chapel Hill, N.C., to his wife Bettie in Nashville, Tenn. John Kimberly was a professor of chemistry and agriculture at the University of North Carolina, 1857-1864 and 1875-1876. It is unclear why Bettie Kimberly … Continue reading →

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26 July 1861: “The ladies are all as busy as possible forming themselves into relief societies for the wounded soldiers…”

Posted on 26 Jul ’11 by

Item description: Entry, dated 26 July 1861, from the diary of Margaret Ann Meta Morris Grimball discussing the First Battle of Bull Run (First Manassas) and the formation of Confederate relief societies on the home front. Item citation: From the … Continue reading →

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25 July 1861: “Our Col., Capt., and Gen. Richardson are trying their their best to get papers made out to hold us for two yrs.”

Posted on 25 Jul ’11 by

Item description: Letter, 25 July 1861, from William Ray Wells, private in the 12th New York Infantry Regiment (“Onondaga Regiment”), to his family. In his previous letter (23 July 1861), Wells described his separation from his regiment following the Battle … Continue reading →

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