Restrictions to Access

No restrictions. Open for research.

Restrictions to Use

Photocopying in Series 1 is restricted as follows: Volumes 1-3 (Folders 2-4) may not be copied.

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 Cary Whitaker Papers #767, Southern Historical Collection, The Wilson Library, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Alternate Form of Material

Microfilm copy of original deposit available.

• Reel 1: Series 1, Diary, 7 May-12 July 1864
• Reel 2: Series 1, Notebook, 1865
• Reel 3: Series 1, Papers, 1798-1930

Acquisitions Information

Received from Susie, Elizabeth, and Lulie Whitaker of Enfield, N.C., in March 1945, and from Margaret B. Tobin in August 2006 (Acc. 100478).

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.

• African Americans--Legal status, laws, etc.--North Carolina--History--19th century.
• Confederate States of America. Army--Military life.
• Confederate States of America. Army--Officers--Diaries.
• Confederate States of America. Army. North Carolina Infantry Regiment, 43rd.
• Diaries.
• Free African Americans--North Carolina.
• Halifax County (N.C.)--Economic conditions.
• Halifax County (N.C.)--History.
• Halifax County (N.C.)--Social life and customs.
• Lawyers--North Carolina--History--19th century.
• North Carolina--History--Civil War, 1861-1865.
• Slavery--North Carolina.
• Slaves--Legal status, laws, etc.--North Carolina.
• United States--History--Civil War, 1861-1865--Hospitals.
• Virginia--History--Civil War, 1861-1865.
• Whitaker family.
• Whitaker, Cary, 1832-1865.

• Matthew Cary Whitaker Papers (#768)
• Spier Whitaker Papers (#769)
• Absalom Benton Whitaker Papers (#1124)
• Whitaker and Meade Family Papers (#1132)
• George Whitaker Wills Letters(#2269)

Cary Whitaker was born on 1 January 1832 in Halifax County, N.C. He was a student at the University of North Carolina, 1850-1852; a teacher, 1852-1857; and a lawyer, 1857-1861. During the Civil War, he was captain and then acting colonel of the 43rd North Carolina Infantry Regiment, C.S.A. He was judge advocate, C.S.A., 1864-1865. He died 20 April 1865 as a result of wounds received in battle.

Papers of Cary Whitaker include personal and business letters, the bulk from 1845 to 1872; a few deeds, including one from 1798 from John Branch of Halifax County, N.C., to the trustees of the University of North Carolina; receipts; estate papers concerning the property of J. S. and Cary Whitaker, after the latter's death; two North Carolina law licenses, 1857 and 1858; and a Phi Society (UNC) diploma, 1851.

The three volumes include one diary and two notebooks. One notebook, 1859, contains lawyer's definitions with model statements for indictments or convictions for crimes, most involving slaves or free blacks. The second notebook, 1865, contains an inventory of J. S. and Cary Whitaker's property after the latter's death. The diary, 7 May-12 July 1864, describes camp life, battles, and hospital experiences while Cary Whitaker served as captain of the 43rd North Carolina Infantry Regiment. during the Civil War.

The August 2006 addition includes five documents relating to Whitaker's Civil War experiences: a morning report roster from the Petersburg, Va., area, 1 May 1862; a permission to go on leave, 15 December 1863; a descriptive list and account of pay and clothing, 3 September 1864; a certificate to be given a soldier at the time of his discharge; and a list of Company D, 43rd North Carolina Infantry Regiment, undated.

• Oversize papers (OPF-767/1)