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Collection Number: 04256-z

Collection Title: Edward Augustus Wild Papers, 1861-1864.

This is a finding aid. It is a description of archival material held in the Wilson Library at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Unless otherwise noted, the materials described below are physically available in our reading room, and not digitally available through the World Wide Web. See the FAQ section for more information.

This collection was rehoused and a summary created with support from the National Endowment for the Humanities; this finding aid was created with support from NC ECHO.

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Size 31 items
Abstract Edward Augustus Wild (1825-1891) of Brookline, Mass., was a federal officer with the 1st Massachusetts Infantry, 1861-1862; 35th Massachusetts Infantry, 1862-1863; and with the African Brigade (1863-1865), a brigade formed from the 55th Massachusetts Regiment (colored) and the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd North Carolina (colored) regiments. The collection includes correspondence, lists, and a military directive relating to African-American federal troops and Confederate guerillas in northeastern North Carolina, 1863-1864, and miscellaneous material relating to Company A, 1st Massachusetts Infantry. Union Brigadier General Edward Augustus Wild is the central figure in the papers.
Creator Wild, Edward Augustus, 1825-1891.
Language English
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expand/collapse Expand/collapse Information For Users

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 Edward Augustus Wild Papers, #4256-z, Southern Historical Collection, The Wilson Library, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Acquisitions Information
Purchased December 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.
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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.

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expand/collapse Expand/collapse Biographical Information

Edward Augustus Wild (1825-1891) of Brookline, Mass., was a federal officer with the 1st Massachusetts Infantry, 1861-1862; 35th Massachusetts Infantry, 1862-1863; and with the African Brigade (1863-1865), a brigade formed from the 55th Massachusetts Regiment (colored) and the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd North Carolina (colored) regiments.

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expand/collapse Expand/collapse Scope and Content

The collection includes correspondence, lists, and a military directive relating to African-American federal troops and Confederate guerillas in northeastern North Carolina, 1863-1864, and miscellaneous material relating to Company A, 1st Massachusetts Infantry. Union Brigadier General Edward Augustus Wild is the central figure in the papers.

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Contents list

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expand/collapse Expand/collapse Series 1. Correspondence, 1863-1864.

10 items.

Letters and notices, mostly from Wild, reporting skirmishes with guerrillas, burnings of their camps, and handling of hostages and a prisoner; and a directive from Wild to his troops about executing guerillas. These activities centered in Camden, Perquimans, and Pasquotank counties, North Carolina.

Folder 1

Original finding aid #04256-z, Series: "1. Correspondence, 1863-1864." Folder 1

Correspondence #04256-z, Series: "1. Correspondence, 1863-1864." Folder 1

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expand/collapse Expand/collapse Series 2. Writings, 1863-1864.

2 items.

An eighteen-page report by Wild about a late 1863 raid by his troops against guerrillas (at least some of whom were known as "N.C. Defenders"), about the military situation at the time in northeastern North Carolina, and about the inhabitants of the region; and a transcription of an article from the New York World entitled "A Wild General."

Folder 2

Writings #04256-z, Series: "2. Writings, 1863-1864." Folder 2

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expand/collapse Expand/collapse Series 3. Lists, 1861-1864.

18 items.

A variety of lists of military personnel. There are eight lists of "N.C. Defenders," made for a number of purposes. There are also six muster rolls of Wild's Massachusetts troops, noting physical descriptions, places of birth, occupations, dates of enlistment, assignments, and eventual military fates. Also included are registers of deaths, deserters, and discharges of these troops.

Folder 3

Lists #04256-z, Series: "3. Lists, 1861-1864." Folder 3

Oversize Paper Folder OPF-4256/1

Muster rolls, Massachussetts troops, 1861-1862 #04256-z, Series: "3. Lists, 1861-1864." OPF-4256/1

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Processing Information

Processed by: SHC Staff

Encoded by: Noah Huffman, December 2007

Updated by: Kate Stratton and Jodi Berkowitz, April 2009

This collection was rehoused and a summary created with support from the National Endowment for the Humanities.

This finding aid was created with support from NC ECHO.

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