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The Historical Society of Pennsylvania collection of Civil War papers
The Civil War papers contain several different types of materials including muster rolls, daily reports, order books, official government documents, personal and official correspondence, and other Civil War ephemera. The bulk of this collection is contained within Series One, which contains document...
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| Collection: | The Historical Society of Pennsylvania Collection of Civil War Papers |
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| Collection Number: | 1546 |
| Format: | Manuscript |
| Language: | English |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | Link to finding aid |
| Item Description: |
Materials Separated from the Resource: One box containing materials from the Citizens' Bounty Fund Committee was removed from this collection and transferred to the Citizens' Bounty Fund Committee records (Collection 1558) at The Historical Society of Pennsylvania. Processing Information: This collection was processed using guidelines set out in the "More Product, Less Process" approach to archival processing. One folder of materials that predate the Civil War were arranged at the end of the collection (Box 6, Folder 16). These items may be separated from the collection at a later date. |
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| Physical Description: |
4.1 Linear feet 8 boxes, 15 volumes, 4 flat files |
| Summary: |
The Civil War papers contain several different types of materials including muster rolls, daily reports, order books, official government documents, personal and official correspondence, and other Civil War ephemera. The bulk of this collection is contained within Series One, which contains documents generated by the military. These provide a glimpse into the logistical planning and book-keeping which the business of war required. Also represented are several civilian organizations and individual persons. The Civil War papers is an artificial collection, which was created from several different sources over time. The span of the collection is from 1861-1902, with the bulk dating from 1861-1865. The collection has been arranged in four series: military, organizations, correspondence and miscellaneous. The folders are arranged alphabetically within each series. Series One is a mixture of documents and records generated by several military regiments. Mostly represented are regiments from northern states, though there is one folder from a Confederate regiment from Tennessee. These materials provide a look into the routines of these regiments. The muster/enlistment lists, clothing account ledgers, and official orders contain detailed and specific information about the operation of each unit. The twelve volumes included in this series contain information from the 6th and 7th regiments of the Pennsylvania volunteers and the Matthew Hastings Independent Keystone Battery. Series Two includes civilian organizations that were in operation during and just after the war. Much of the records come from the Office for the Relief of Families of Philadelphia Volunteers and the Philadelphia Sixth Ward Bounty Fund. The records for these two groups are incomplete within this collection, but they do serve to highlight what civilians and civilian organizations were doing during the war. Series Three contains correspondence; of note in this series is correspondence between Major General Robert Patterson, major general of Pennsylvania volunteers and commander of the Army of the Shenandoah, and Winfield Scott, general-in-chief of the Union Army. There is also correspondence from Patterson to a Colonel E. D. Townsend. Series Four contains everything within the collection that did not fit into the first three series. Particularly interesting here are manuscripts of the reminiscences of Louis J. Boos, a member of the 6th Regiment of the Pennsylvania Calvary, and Clara F. Jones, a civilian. Other items of interest include a cased photograph of a soldier named Edward McLaughlin and a fractional currency shield. |