Monthly Archives: July 2011

31 July 1861: “Students who were with us at the opening of the present year are now to be found in arms under the banners of every State in the Confederacy…”

Item description: Circular letter, 31 July 1861, from UNC President David Swain to students discouraging them from enlisting in the Confederate Army.  Since 1795, he writes, nothing had occurred to cause the university to close, and he did not anticipate … Continue reading

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30 July 1861: “A resolution to dispose of donations made by certain Churches on the late Fast Day.”

Item description: Resolution (approved on 30 July 1861) concerning the disposition of financial donations made to the Confederate States of America by Southern churches, as published in “The Statutes at Large of the Provisional Government of the Confederate States of … Continue reading

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29 July 1861: “I enclose a photograph of my son, though very poorly taken. If dead it may be the means of designating his body.”

Item description: Letter, dated 29 July 1861, from David King, M.D., of Newport, R.I., to Col. William Porcher Miles, C.S.A., regarding the fate of his wounded son, Theodore Wheaton King, a private with Company F of the 1st Rhode Island … Continue reading

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28 July 1861: “My heart exults over the victory at Manassas.”

Item description: Letter from John Kimberly, Chapel Hill, N.C., to his wife Bettie in Nashville, Tenn. John Kimberly was a professor of chemistry and agriculture at the University of North Carolina, 1857-1864 and 1875-1876. It is unclear why Bettie Kimberly … Continue reading

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27 July 1861: “today I snatched time to ride with the two Generals and their staffs to look at and criticize the positions of the armies in the fight. The smell of the field was awful…”

Item description: Letter, 27 July 1861, from Edward Porter Alexander to his wife in which he addresses matters about which she had written him before, namely her missing trunk. Turning to matters of his own, he discusses his promotion to … Continue reading

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26 July 1861: “The ladies are all as busy as possible forming themselves into relief societies for the wounded soldiers…”

Item description: Entry, dated 26 July 1861, from the diary of Margaret Ann Meta Morris Grimball discussing the First Battle of Bull Run (First Manassas) and the formation of Confederate relief societies on the home front. Item citation: From the … Continue reading

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25 July 1861: “Our Col., Capt., and Gen. Richardson are trying their their best to get papers made out to hold us for two yrs.”

Item description: Letter, 25 July 1861, from William Ray Wells, private in the 12th New York Infantry Regiment (“Onondaga Regiment”), to his family. In his previous letter (23 July 1861), Wells described his separation from his regiment following the Battle … Continue reading

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24 July 1861: “We fear that the reported death of Col. Fisher, of the Sixth Regiment of North Carolina State Troops, is only too true.”

Item description: A selection of articles from The Daily Journal (Wilmington, North Carolina) reporting on news from the First Battle of Bull Run (Manassas). Topics covered include the death of Colonel Charles F. Fisher, news reports from Richmond, actions by … Continue reading

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23 July 1861: “The bushes seemed to be alive with the rebels (judging from their firing for we never saw one of them at any time we were there) their first volley was the most murderous to us.”

Item description: Letter, 23 July 1861, from William Ray Wells, private in the 12th New York Infantry Regiment (“Onondaga Regiment”). In this letter wells describes his involvement in fighting near Centreville, Va., as part of the larger Battle of Bull … Continue reading

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22 July 1861: “I have been in a great & bloody battle & am wounded. Do not be at all alarmed…”

Item description: This letter, dated 22 July 1861, was written by Charles Hutson to his mother and father following the battle of Manassas. Hutson, recuperating from the wound he received, gives a vivid description of the first major battle of … Continue reading

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