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U.S. CIVIL WAR-RELATED COLLECTIONS

This list gives the collection name, date range and number of items in a collection followed by a very brief description of the contents of the collection. All of these collections are related to the Civil War fought in the United States, 1861-1865.

APPLEGATE MSS.

• DATE RANGE: 1863-1929
• ITEM COUNT: 225 items
• The Applegate mss. consist mainly of correspondence between John S. Applegate and his wife Elizabeth S. (Lynch) Applegate during his service in Company C of the 71st Indiana Infantry Regiment.

BARBER MSS.

• DATE RANGE: 1862-1864
• ITEM COUNT: 6 items
• The Barber mss. consist of the Civil War diary of Major Flavel C. Barber, C.S.A. The diary was written while Major Barber was a prisoner-of-war on Johnson's Island in Sandusky Bay, Ohio. Three smaller volumes continue his account and reports of the war until his death in 1864.

BANTA MSS.

• DATE RANGE: 1836-1888
• ITEM COUNT: 52 items
• Papers of James P. Banta, 1814-1873, Civil War soldier of Salem, Indiana, and his wife, Mrs. Jane P. Banta.Included are Banta's commission as captain in the 5th cavalry (90th regiment, Indiana volunteers); his war diary, August 16, 1862 - August 18, 1863

BLUCHER MSS.

• DATE RANGE: 1864-1874
• ITEM COUNT: 50 items
• The Blucher mss. consist of letters and documents relating to Brevet Major Gustav von Blucher, a captain with the 31st Battery, New York Light Artillery. The majority of the items are from the years 1869-1870.

BAYLOR MSS.

• DATE RANGE: 1860-1862
• ITEM COUNT: 5 items
• The Baylor mss. are photostats of correspondence of John Roy Baylor, 1821-1897, soldier, of Civil War operations in Arizona Territory and Texas. Photocopying of this collection is not allowed.

BEMENT MSS.

• DATE RANGE: 1843-1891
• ITEM COUNT: 112 items
• The Bement mss. are letters from relatives and friends to Isaac Bush, -1865, farmer of LaPorte County, Indiana, and his wife, Mrs. Sarah Ann (Bement) Bush, 1821?-  . The correspondence deals with news about family and friends, included are Civil War letters,1861-1865.

BLAIR MSS.

• DATE RANGE: 1843-1881
• ITEM COUNT: 64 items
• The Blair mss. consist of letters and papers of Montgomery Blair, 1813-1883, lawyer and postmaster general in President Lincoln's cabinet. Letters from 1860-1865 deal with the 1860 election, cabinet changes, the economic effects of the war, Lee's surrender, and Lincoln's assassination.

BRYAN MSS.

• DATE RANGE: 1849-1863
• ITEM COUNT: 14 items
• The Bryan mss. are chiefly the letters of George Washington Bryan, 1825-1893, physician, exchanged with his wife, Alice (Calhoun), Bryan, during his period of service in 1862-63 with the Union forces along the Mississippi River on various steamers.

CALDWELL MSS.

• DATE RANGE: 1862-1863
• ITEM COUNT: 6 items
• The Caldwell mss. 1862-1863, are Civil War letters to William Caldwell, and his wife, Sarah, from various relatives serving in the Civil War.

CATEY MSS.

• DATE RANGE: 1862-1865
• ITEM COUNT: 33 items
• Correspondence between six members of the Catey family serving in different Indiana regiments during the Civil War to the family members at home in Oxford, IN (Benton County).

CLARK, W.A. MSS.

• DATE RANGE: 1862-1918
• ITEM COUNT: 87 items
• The Clark, W.A. mss. consist primarily of letters from Hoosier soldier William Allen Clark to his parents in Rossville, Indiana, during his service in Company K of the 72nd Indiana Volunteer Infantry Regiment.

CRAVENS MSS.

• DATE RANGE: 1850-1872
• ITEM COUNT: 78 items
• The Cravens mss. consist of correspondence and papers of James Addison Cravens, 1818-1893, farmer, soldier, Indiana legislator, and U.S. congressman. Most letters are from 1861-1865, when Cravens was in Congress. The letters are from constituents, soldiers, and political figures and relate to national and state politics, the progress of the War, army hospitals, and prisoners of war.

CRIST MSS.

• DATE RANGE: 1861-1865
• ITEM COUNT: 55 items
• The Crist mss. consist of letters to Barbara Ellen Crist, chiefly from her brother, Milton C. Crist, and her future husband, John Erastus Lane, both of whom were soldiers with the Ohio Volunteer Infantry during the Civil War.

CRULL MSS.

• DATE RANGE: 1837-1887
• ITEM COUNT: 18 items
• The Crull mss. consist of letters and documents relating to the Crull family of Hamilton County, Indiana. Included are documents relating to Rufus Crull's Civil War service as lieutenant in Company "L" of the 8th Cavalry (39th) Regiment Indiana Volunteers.

CURRY, J.S. MSS.

• DATE RANGE: ca. 1941
• ITEM COUNT: 18 items
• The Curry, J.S. mss. are those watercolors of John Steuart Curry, illustrator, which he prepared for illustrating the Limited Editions Club volume of The Literary Works of Abraham Lincoln.

DAY, S. MSS.

• DATE RANGE: 1857-1895
• ITEM COUNT: 10 items
• The Day, S. mss. consist primarily of a diary and related papers of Civil War soldier Samuel Day, who served in the 8th Indiana Battery, Light Artillery.

FARMER MSS.

• DATE RANGE: 1818-1874
• ITEM COUNT: 11 items
• The Farmer mss. are the papers of Eli P. Farmer, 1794- 1881, clergyman, farmer, and politician. When the Civil War broke out, he helped to raise the 82nd Indiana Infantry Regiment and followed it into battle, assuming the duties of Chaplain.

FLANAGAN MSS.

• DATE RANGE: 1861-1962
• ITEM COUNT: 48 items
• The Flanagan mss. are the papers of Mrs. Emma Cecelia (Rector) Flanagan, (Mrs. Edward E. Flanagan), 1870- 1964. The papers consist primarily of personal correspondence with the Dreiser and Rose families. [There are Civil War letters from Elihu E. Rose, 1861- 1862, captain of the 21st regiment of the Indiana Volunteer Militia, 1861.]

FORWALTER MSS.

• DATE RANGE: 1642-1939
• ITEM COUNT: 28 items
• The Forwalter mss. contains some items relating to individuals involved in the Civil War.

GRAHAM, JOHN MSS.

• DATE RANGE: 1831-1878
• ITEM COUNT: 30 items
• The Graham, John mss. consist of letters and papers of the Graham and Howe families of Monroe County, Indiana. Included are Civil War letters of Edmund Graham.

HADLEY MSS.

• DATE RANGE: 1860-1869
• ITEM COUNT: 90 items
• The Hadley mss. are Civil War letters of John Vestal Hadley, 1842-1915, who served from 1861-1865 in the seventh regiment, Indiana infantry.

HAIR MSS.

• DATE RANGE: 1862-1865
• ITEM COUNT: 5 items
• The Hair mss. consist of the diaries of William Hair, musician in Company B of the 68th Indiana infantry regiment.

HANDLEY MSS.

• DATE RANGE: 1862-1908
• ITEM COUNT: 35 items
• The Handley mss. consist of the correspondence and papers of the Jesse Handley family of Oak Springs, Buckhorn Township, Brown County, Illinois. [Jesse's son, James served in the Civil War from 1862-1863 and there are letters home from him.]

HANNA MSS.

• DATE RANGE: 1853-1879
• ITEM COUNT: 59 items
• The Hanna mss. are papers of John Hanna, 1827-1882, congressman from Indiana from 1877 to 1879. From 1861 to 1869 he served as U.S. district attorney for the district of Indiana. Letters deal with politics, the presidential election of 1860, and purported Southern sympathizers.

HARDING MSS.

• DATE RANGE: 1843-1930
• ITEM COUNT: 86 items
• The Harding mss. are papers of Stephen Selwyn Harding, 1808-1891, lawyer, governor of Utah Territory and chief justice of Colorado Territory. Some letters deal with incidents leading up to the Civil War and the War itself and slavery.

HARDING, J.L. MSS.

• DATE RANGE: 1861-1864
• ITEM COUNT: 83 items
• The Harding, J.L., mss. are Civil War letters of John Lucas Harding, 1841-1865, who served in the Indiana infantry, Seventh Regiment, Company I.

HILL MSS.

• DATE RANGE: 1851-1914
• ITEM COUNT: 226 items
• The Hill mss. consist mainly of letters and papers of James Nathaniel Hill, 1833-1902, farmer of Owen County, Indiana, and Civil War soldier.

HOLLAND MSS.

• DATE RANGE: 1781-1953
• ITEM COUNT: 2,164 mss., 8 copies
• The Holland mss. are letters and papers of three generations of physicians in the Holland family of Bloomington, Indiana. The Civil War material in this collection consists of letters of Philip Calphy Holland, 1840-1929, who served as a sergeant in the Civil War, Sept. 1861-Sept. 1864.

HOUSER MSS.

• DATE RANGE: 1855-1863
• ITEM COUNT: 14 items
• The Houser mss. 1855-1863, are letters of the family of Jacob Houser,   -1863, founder of Hope, Indiana. Principally letters, 1861-1863 from Francis Pidgeon Houser and Clave [Cleveland] Houser, sons of Jacob Houser, who both served in the Indiana infantry.

HOWARD MSS.

• DATE RANGE: 1861-1902
• ITEM COUNT: 30 items
• The Howard mss. contain Civil War letters of William Allen Howard, 1821-1881, cabinetmaker, to his wife, Mrs. Louisa Eliza (Roden) Howard, 1833-1893, of Fulton County, Kentucky. He was in the 33rd regiment, Tennessee Volunteers.

HUNTER MSS.

• DATE RANGE: 1862-1893
• ITEM COUNT: 6 items
• The Hunter mss. are documents of Morton Craig Hunter, 1825-1896, general and congressman, pertaining to the Civil War.

HUNTINGTON MSS.

• DATE RANGE: 1841-1862
• ITEM COUNT: 166 items
• The Huntington mss. are papers of Elisha Mills Huntington, 1806-1862, lawyer, judge. In addition to personal and family news the letters contain political news, both state and national, and news on the Civil War.

INDIANA HISTORY MSS.

• DATE RANGE: 1725-1983
• The Indiana History mss. includes diaries, letters and other material dealing with the Civil War and Indiana.

INGERSOLL MSS.

• DATE RANGE: 1861-1864
• ITEM COUNT: 86 items
• The Ingersoll mss. are letters of Frank Ingersoll, 1838?-   , soldier and sutler's clerk in the Civil War.

KIMBALL MSS.

• DATE RANGE: 1828-1908
• ITEM COUNT: 510 items
• The Kimball mss. are letters and papers of Nathan Kimball, 1823?-1898, physician and soldier. Kimball was in a company of volunteers which was part of the 14th Indiana Volunteer Infantry during the Civil War.

KIRKMAN MSS.

• DATE RANGE: 1836-1875
• ITEM COUNT: 50 item
• The Kirkman mss. are papers of Joseph J. Kirkman, 1809- 1879, farmer, businessman, sheriff of Gibson County, Indiana. Included are some Civil War letters dated from June 23, 1862 - November 2, 1864.

LAMB MSS.

• DATE RANGE: 1862-1901
• ITEM COUNT: 68 items
• The Lamb mss. consist of letters to Mrs. Mary Catherine (Hatten) Lamb, (Mrs. Lindsa Lamb), from relatives, most of whom were soldiers in the Union Army during the Civil War.

LANE, H.S. MSS.

• DATE RANGE: 1828-1909
• ITEM COUNT: 791 items
• The Lane, H.S., mss. consist of letters and papers of Henry Smith Lane, 1811-1881, governor of Indiana, member of the U.S. House of Representatives and U.S. senator. Almost half of the collection falls within the years 1861-1867, when Lane was a member of the U.S. Senate. The letters relate to national and Indiana state politics.

LANE, J. MSS.

• DATE RANGE: 1835-1906
• ITEM COUNT: 3,248 items
• The Lane, J., mss. consist of correspondence and papers of Joseph Lane, 1801-1881, first territorial governor of Oregon. The collection deals largely with Oregon affairs but there is some Civil War material.

LINCOLN MSS.

• DATE RANGE: 1798-1959
• ITEM COUNT: 352 items
• The Lincoln mss. include mss. of Abraham Lincoln, members of his family, members of his cabinet, other persons closely connected with him, and writings about Lincoln.

MARTIN, T.H. MSS.

• DATE RANGE: 1862-1929
• ITEM COUNT: 48 items
• The Martin, T.H. mss. consist of correspondence and military documents of Civil War soldier Thomas H. Martin, who served in Company E of the 63rd Indiana Volunteers and Company H of the 123rd Regiment.

MCCULLOCH MSS.

• DATE RANGE: 1766-1914
• ITEM COUNT: 15,749 items
• The McCulloch mss. consist of letters and papers of Hugh McCulloch, 1808-1895, U.S. Comptroller of currency, Secretary of treasury and partner in the London banking house of Jay Cooke, McCulloch, & Company. There is some material from the Civil War era.

MCDONALD MSS.

• DATE RANGE: 1854-1891
• ITEM COUNT: 11 items
• The McDonald mss. are papers of Joseph Ewing McDonald, 1819-1891, U.S. senator. Of particular interest are seven scrapbooks of newspaper clippings, speeches, and other political papers, 1854-1891.

MCDONALD, A.H., MSS.

• DATE RANGE: 1832-1907
• ITEM COUNT: 1,056 items
• The McDonald, A.H., mss. are papers of Archibald Henderson Spencer McDonald, 1836-1900, Civil War soldier and printer. The collection consists primarily of McDonald's official military papers, 1861-March 6, 1866, these are mainly General orders, Special orders and Circulars.

MESSING MSS.

• DATE RANGE: 1864-1917
• ITEM COUNT: 85 items
• The Messing mss. consist of letters, documents, and memorabilia relating to the military career of Captain Henry J. Messing in the 179th Regiment, Co. G, New York Volunteer Infantry and his participation in the encampments of the Grand Army of the Republic.
• Letters, documents, and memorabilia relating to the military career of Captain Henry J. Messing, 1844- , to the 179th Regiment, Co. G, New York Volunteer Infantry with which he served, and to his participation in the encampments of the Grand Army of the Republic.

MONROE COUNTY, INDIANA HISTORY MSS.

• DATE RANGE: 1812-1959
• The Monroe County, Indiana History mss. include some items relating to the Civil War.

MORRIS, M. MSS.

• DATE RANGE: 1856-1903
• ITEM COUNT: 22 items
• The Morris, M. mss. consist of correspondence and documents relating to Civil War soldier Mark M. Morris, who served in Company A, 57th regiment of the Indiana Infantry Volunteers.

NEELY MSS.

• DATE RANGE: 1839-1924
• ITEM COUNT: 109 items
• The Neely mss. consist primarily of letters written to Sarah Ann (Prosser) Neely, 1846-1896, during the Civil War.

NICKERSON MSS.

• DATE RANGE: 1863-1884
• ITEM COUNT: 3 items
• The Nickerson mss. include a Civil War diary of James B. Nickerson, 1832-   , educator, company B, 40th regiment, Ohio infantry.

NILES MSS.

• DATE RANGE: 1765-1916
• ITEM COUNT: 32,438 items
• The Niles mss. are papers of John Barron Niles, 1808- 1879, lawyer of LaPorte, Indiana. There is family correspondence of William Niles, son of John Barron Niles. William was a member of Company B, 138th regiment, Indiana Volunteers, from May to September 1864. There are also letters from Relief Janette Niles (known as Jenny) who was an Army nurse during the Civil War.

ORR MSS.

• DATE RANGE: 1809-1871
• ITEM COUNT: 472 items
• The Orr mss. are the papers of the Orr family who emigrated from County Tyrone, Ireland, to Monroe County, West Virginia in 1821. Three of the sons in the family served in the Civil War. Family correspondence describes battles and other topics related to the Civil War and politics.

OCHSNER MSS.

• DATE RANGE: 1862
• ITEM COUNT: 5 items
• The Ochsner mss. consist of letters from Eduard Ochsner, who served in the First Cavalry of Wisconsin, to his brother Henry. The letters are written in German.

OWEN MSS.

• DATE RANGE: 1821-1911
• ITEM COUNT: 163 items
• The Owen mss. are letters and papers of Richard Owen, 1810-1890, son of Robert Owen, professor at Indiana University, and first president of Purdue University. [There are some items which pertain to the Civil War.]

PETMECKY MSS.

• DATE RANGE: 1861-1862 and 1949
• ITEM COUNT: 6 items
• The Petmecky mss. consist of letters, 1861-1862, of Karl Petmecky, 1835?-   , to his father, T.A. Petmecky, his sisters, and brothers in Weisbaden, Germany. A German immigrant, Petmecky joined the service in 1861 and served until 1864. His letters relate his life in America and his army service.

PIMPER MSS.

• DATE RANGE: 1861-1865
• ITEM COUNT: 79 items
• The Pimper mss. are Civil War letters of Fredrick E. Pimper, a private in Company H, 39th regiment, Ohio infantry, written to Sarah Parrott King, Farmers Station, Clinton county, Ohio.

POTTER MSS.

• DATE RANGE: 1862-1865
• ITEM COUNT: 218 items
• One roll of negative microfilm of letters of Private Merritt Emory Potter, Company B, 75th Indiana Infantry, to his wife, Mrs. Ellen E. Potter.

REMLEY MSS.

• DATE RANGE: 1857-1907
• ITEM COUNT: 199 items
• The Remley mss. are primarily Civil War letters from Ambrose Remley, 1836-   , farmer, who served in Company E, 72nd regiment, Indiana infantry, from 1862-1865, to members of his family and friends.

ROGERS MSS.

• DATE RANGE: 1851-1878
• ITEM COUNT: 6 items
• The Rogers mss. consist of the papers of Joseph Goodwin Rogers, 1841-1908, Indiana physician. Rogers was an Acting Assistant Surgeon, U.S. Army, 1864-1865. Included is a case book, July 3, 1864-1878, containing a record of medical cases of Civil War soldiers.

SCOTT MSS.

• DATE RANGE: 1817-1937
• ITEM COUNT: 65,166 items
• The Scott mss. are papers of Emmet Hoyt Scott, 1842- 1924, railroadman, lumberman, manufacturer, and mayor of LaPorte, Indiana, and his father, Wiley Huntington Scott, 1796-1872, farmer and hotelkeeper of Nineveh, New York. Two brothers of Emmet Hoyt Scott were in the service during the Civil War and the papers contain letters from them on camp activities, 1861-1865.

SMITH, J.A., MSS.

• DATE RANGE: 1864-1865
• ITEM COUNT: 3 items
• The Smith, J.A., mss. are Civil War papers of John Archibald Smith, 1845-1922, who was a member of the 3rd regiment of the Confederate army, 1864-1865.

STRAIGHT MSS.

• DATE RANGE: 1864-1881
• ITEM COUNT: 32 items
• Documents and papers relating to Captain David Evander Straight, 1832-1902, and the 100th Regiment, United States Colored Infantry, in the Civil War.

THOMPSON MSS.

• DATE RANGE: 1837-1899
• ITEM COUNT: 375 items
• The Thompson mss. are letters and papers of Richard Wigginton Thompson, 1809-1900, lawyer, judge, Indiana state legislator, U.S. congressman, U.S. secretary of navy. There are letters from December 29, 1860-March 6, 1864, relating to the Civil War.

TUTTLE MSS.

• DATE RANGE: 1838-1912
• ITEM COUNT: 119 items
• The Tuttle mss., 1838-1912, are papers of Elizabeth A. Tuttle, 1823?-1896, nurse and teacher of Colebrook, Ohio, and of Ira Norris Noland, 1844?-   , physician, who married Hattie Tuttle, niece of Elizabeth A.
• Tuttle. Elizabeth Tuttle volunteered as an army nurse in the Civil War and there are a few Civil War letters, 1863-1865, from her to Hattie Tuttle. Civil War material of Ira Norris Noland consists of a diary and some letters.

U.S. HISTORY MSS.

• DATE RANGE: 1612-
• The U.S. History mss. includes letters and diaries from the Civil War era.

WASHINGTON TERRITORY INFANTRY MSS.

• DATE RANGE: 1861-1866
• ITEM COUNT: 164 items
• The Washington Territory Infantry mss. consist of muster rolls.

WEAVER MSS.

• DATE RANGE: 1862-1920
• ITEM COUNT: 12 items
• The Weaver mss. are papers of Samuel S. Weaver, 1837?-   , soldier in the Civil War.

WEBB, A.S. MSS.

• DATE RANGE: 1862-1898
• ITEM COUNT: 4 items
• Letters and papers of soldier and educator Alexander Stewart Webb, 1835- 1911, relating primarily to the Battle of Gettysburg.

WEEKS MSS.

• DATE RANGE: 1862-1879
• ITEM COUNT: 126 items
• The Weeks mss. are Civil War and post-Civil War letters and papers of William C. Weeks of Allegan, Michigan, soldier, his brother, Harrison Samuel Weeks,   -1892, army officer stationed at a number of forts in the West; and other relatives and friends.

WILDER MSS.

• DATE RANGE: 1860-1868
• ITEM COUNT: 39 items
• The Wilder mss. consist of letters to Edson Adelman Wilder, 1845-1927, hardware merchant of Orland, Indiana, from his friends and relatives serving in the 100th regiment, Co., B., of the Indiana Infantry.

WILLIAMS, K.P. MSS.

• DATE RANGE: 1820-1958
• ITEM COUNT: 3,646 items
• The Williams, K.P., mss. consist of letters and papers of Kenneth Powers Williams, 1887-1958, professor of mathematics at Indiana University and author of Lincoln Finds A General. The correspondence is concerned mainly with Lincoln Finds A General.

WILLIAMS, R. MSS.

• DATE RANGE: 1862-1866
• ITEM COUNT: 117 items
• The Williams, R., mss. are Civil War letters to and from Rudolph Williams, 1844?-   , and William H. Rudulph, 1840?-   , both of whom served in Company K, 111th regiment, Ohio infantry.

WILLIAMS, SAMUEL MSS.

• DATE RANGE: 1796-1919
• ITEM COUNT: 3,948 items
• The Samuel Williams mss. contain a few items pertaining to the Civil War including songs.

WILLETT MSS.

• DATE RANGE: 1863-1875
• ITEM COUNT: 25 items
• Letters and documents of the George Willett family of Quincy and Walpole, Massachusetts. Most of the letters were written by William H. H. Willett (b.1840), a soldier in Company B of the 60th Massachusetts regiment, to his father George Willett (b. 1816), during August through November 1864.

WOOLEY MSS.

• DATE RANGE: 1862-1865
• ITEM COUNT: 42 items
• The Wooley mss. comprise a collection of Civil War letters; a diary, January 1-July 11, 1865, and the discharge, July 5, 1865, of Cary A. Wooley, 1839?-   .

FOR MORE INFORMATION REGARDING CIVIL WAR MANUSCRIPTS IN INDIANA, SEE GUIDE TO INDIANA CIVIL WAR MANUSCRIPTS BY ANN TURNER, INDIANAPOLIS: INDIANA CIVIL WAR CENTENNIAL COMMISSION, 1965.