Restrictions to Access

No restrictions. Open for research.

Restrictions to Use

No usage restrictions.

Copyright Notice

Copyright is retained by the authors of items in these papers, or their descendants, as stipulated by United States copyright law.

Preferred Citation

[Identification of item], in the Joseph Fernald Papers, #4280-z, Southern Historical Collection, The Wilson Library, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Alternate Form of Material

Typed transcriptions available.

Acquisitions Information

Purchase from Americana Mail Auction, Allentown, Pa., October 1980.

Additional Descriptive Resources

A copy of the original finding aid for this collection is filed in folder 1.

Sensitive Materials Statement

Manuscript collections and archival records may contain materials with sensitive or confidential information that is protected under federal or state right to privacy laws and regulations, the North Carolina Public Records Act (N.C.G.S. § 132 1 et seq.), and Article 7 of the North Carolina State Personnel Act (Privacy of State Employee Personnel Records, N.C.G.S. § 126-22 et seq.). Researchers are advised that the disclosure of certain information pertaining to identifiable living individuals represented in this collection without the consent of those individuals may have legal ramifications (e.g., a cause of action under common law for invasion of privacy may arise if facts concerning an individual's private life are published that would be deemed highly offensive to a reasonable person) for which the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill assumes no responsibility.

The following terms from Library of Congress Subject Headings suggest topics, persons, geography, etc. interspersed through the entire collection; the terms do not usually represent discrete and easily identifiable portions of the collection--such as folders or items.

Clicking on a subject heading below will take you into the University Library's online catalog.

• Britannia (Ship)
• Fernald, Joseph, b. 1830.
• Fernald, William, fl. 1863.
• Fort Caswell (N.C.)
• Fort Fisher (N.C.)
• Marine engineers--United States--History--Civil War, 1861-1865.
• North Carolina--History--Civil War, 1861-1865--Blockades.
• United States--History--Civil War, 1861-1865--Blockades.
• United States. Army. New Hampshire Infantry Regiment, 2nd (1861-1865)
• United States. Navy--Sea life.

Joseph Fernald (born 1830) served in the United States Navy during the Civil War and was involved in the federal blockade of the North Carolina Coast and also in seige, battle, and occupation of Fort Fisher, N.C. In August 1863, he was appointed second assistant engineer on the U.S.S. "Britannia."

The collection includes letters written by Joseph Fernald to his wife during the siege, battle, and occupation of Fort Fisher, N.C., December 1864-January 1865. The letters describe the conflict at Fort Fisher and a run by Fernald's ship to the Charleston bar with military dispatches, 13-18 January 1865. Also included are a letter fragment from this period on the back of which is a sketch of the scene around Fort Caswell, N.C.; a letter, August 1864, written on board one of the ships in the federal blockade of the North Carolina coast; and a letter, 1863, from Joseph Fernald's brother William, who was with Company G, 2nd New Hampshire Regiment. There are also typed transcription of the letters and photocopies of some documents pertaining to Fernald's military service.