Tag Archives: African Americans

30 December 1864: “Our expedition so far has been attended with the most complete success. The Rebels having lost Savannah…”

Item Description: Letter dated 30 December 1864 from Jonathan L. Whitaker to his wife Julia A. Wells Whitaker. Jonathan L. Whitaker was a physician from Orange County, N.Y. He served as a United States Army surgeon at a hospital at … Continue reading

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28 May 1864: “A negroe wedding”

Item description: Diary entry, 28 May 1864, written by Samuel Andrew Agnew. Agnew grew up and attended college and seminary in Due West, S.C. In 1852, he moved to Mississippi, and thereafter lived in the northeastern part of the state, chiefly … Continue reading

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27 March 1864: “They went for the purpose of burning the town of Swansboro…”

Item description: Letter, dated 27 March 1864, from James Gifford, a United States Navy paymaster steward, to his parents.  He write from aboard the U.S. Release while stationed off Beaufort, N.C., and describes a failed attempt to burn the town of Swansboro … Continue reading

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24 March 1863: “To-day the lines have been open, and the women of the suburbs have been thronging into town to buy a little sugar, coffee, snuff, &c., especially snuff.”

Item description: Published letter, dated 24 March 1863, written by Corporal Zenas T. Haines, Company D, 44th Massachusetts Infantry Regiment. The letter is an excerpt from Haines’ account, Letters from the Forty-Fourth Regiment M.V.M.: A Record of the Experience of a Nine … Continue reading

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21 March 1863: “Her bondage, if such it can be called, sits lightly upon her; but she has no sympathy for rebels…”

Item description: Published letter, dated 21 March 1863, written by Corporal Zenas T. Haines, Company D, 44th Massachusetts Infantry Regiment. The letter is an excerpt from Haines’ account, Letters from the Forty-Fourth Regiment M.V.M.: A Record of the Experience of a Nine … Continue reading

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19 March 1863: “It makes a man feel strong to know that he is all the world to somebody”

Item Description: Letter,19 March 1863, from Charles W. Hill, serving with the 5th Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry in New Bern, N.C., to his wife Martha Hill in West Medway, Mass. Letter mentions military movements of his regiment and brigade, dislike of a superior officer’s … Continue reading

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30 January 1863: “much of the County on the opposite side of the sound from us, is now guarded and held by armed negroes…”

Item description: Letter, dated 30 January 1863, from D.G. Cowand to William S. Pettigrew. Item citation: From the Pettigrew Family Papers #592, Southern Historical Collection, Wilson Library, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Item transcription: Hd. Qrs. 32nd Reg. N.C.T. Near Goldsboro … Continue reading

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26 January 1863: “…for my part I want them all free and I should like that the war was over for I would like to be at home…”

Item description: This letter, dated 26 January 1863, was written by Andrew Sproul to his wife in Ohio. Sproul, a private in the Union Army, describes activities near the mouth of the Yazoo River in Mississippi. Of particular interest are … Continue reading

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1 January 1863: “Today is the period fixed for Mr. Lincoln’s unwise and unconstitutional emancipation proclamation…Thousands of the Poor deluded Negroes have left their homes…”

Item Description: Rev. Overton Bernard depicts the impact of the Emancipation Proclamation on the enslaved African Americans. Item citation: From folder 2 of the Overton and Jesse Bernard Diaries #62-z,  Southern Historical Collection, Wilson Library, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Item transcription: … Continue reading

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21 November 1862: “Some of the citizens of Martin thought that they had carried off no less than 3000 negroes…”

Item description: Letter, 21 November 1862, from Robert D. Graham to his father William A. Graham. Robert writes about marching from North Carolina into Virginia, the destruction of property by Union soldiers, and African Americans leaving with the Union troops. … Continue reading

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