Manuscript Resources on The Civil War
This guide describes collections documenting the Civil War in the Lower Mississippi Valley, including the states of Louisiana, Mississippi, Arkansas, Tennessee, and Texas, in the Louisiana and Lower Mississippi Valley Collections (LLMVC) at LSU. The guide includes not only materials from the war years (1861-1865) themselves, but also materials from later periods containing manuscript sources for Civil War history. Thus such sources as post-war reminiscences and records of veterans' groups--materials dealing with the war as memory and experience--will be found alongside soldiers' and civilians' letters, diaries, and daybooks from the war itself. In addition, the guide includes collections of papers of Louisiana and other area soldiers who fought outside of the Lower Mississippi Valley.
LSU's holdings of Civil War manuscripts make LLMVC a rich treasure-trove for researchers. Many researchers are studying these documents from new perspectives, to see what they have to tell us about women's experiences on the home front and about Louisiana's African Americans, a significant number of whom fought for the Union. Louisiana played a central role in the war, with the fall of Port Hudson in July 1863 a critical event. Much of the state was long occupied by Union forces, and LLMVC contains the papers of numerous Union as well as Confederate soldiers. Other areas of strength include materials documenting the siege of Vicksburg, the Battle of Shiloh, and the Red River campaign.
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Adams, George D. Letter, 1864. 1 item (4 pages). Location: Misc:A. Federal soldier encamped at Morganza, Pointe Coupee Parish, Louisiana. Adams' letter to his brother describes the confiscation of United States mail by the Confederate navy and equipment left at Morganza by the Union army upon its departure for Little Rock, Arkansas. The letter also describes preparations made by the Union army at Morganza in anticipation of a Confederate attack. For further information, see online catalog. Mss. 1220. Referenced in Guides: Civil War
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Adams, Israel L., 1801-1860. Family Papers, 1813-1890 (bulk 1852-1866). 0.5 linear ft. (505 items, 1 ms. Vol.). Location: Y:83, Mss. Mf.:A, E:Imprints. Merchant and farmer of Natchez, Mississippi. Collection consists of correspondence, bills, receipts, and printed items. Letters of the Adams children and others describe the Civil War in Arkansas and Mississippi. Some letters describe experiences of an immigrant cotton farmer in Sao Paulo, Brazil; other papers relate to German immigrants. Some letters in German. Available (with some omissions) on microfilm 5735: University Publications of America Confederate Military Manuscripts Series B, Reel 1. For further information, see online catalog. Mss. 3637. |
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Adams, John Q. Letter, 1864 June 30. 1 item. Location: MISC:A. Captain of the 29th Maine Volunteers during the Civil War. Letter from Morganza, Louisiana, to Major General J. J. Reynolds, commanding U.S. forces in the field, requesting that a deserter be returned to his regiment with full pay. For further information, see online catalog. Mss. 2414. Referenced in Guides: Civil War
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Affleck, Thomas. Papers, 1807-1935 (bulk 1842-1868). 12 linear feet, 43 manuscript volumes, 6 printed volumes, 26 microfilm reels. Location: W:110-121, J:25, OS:A, MSS.MF:A. Native of Scotland who established one of the first commercial nurseries in the South and published widely on scientific and agricultural subjects. He also published the Southern Rural Almanac and Plantation Garden Calendar from 1845 to the 1860s. Early papers concern Affleck's family in Scotland. Papers from 1842 to 1859 pertain to the management of Affleck's wife's plantation near Natchez, Mississippi, his commercial nursery, and his service as agricultural editor of several newspapers. Civil War letters by Affleck's sons describe battles, camp life, and troop movements. Post-Civil War papers describe Affleck's agricultural and speculative enterprises. For further information, see online catalog. Mss. 3, 4, 1110, 1263, 1264. |
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Agenda commercial de la Louisiane pour l'année, 1858-1877. 1 item. Location: Misc:A. Printed French journal book (1858) contains notes on the progress of the Civil War and the 'Trent Affair', a diplomatic incident between the U.S. and Great Britain. Other topics include poetry; songs; partial plays in commedia dell'arte style; notes on Renaissance Italian history and notes on Daniel Deronda by George Eliot. Also included are listings for businesses and consulates in New Orleans, and public officials in Paris. Alternate title: Anonymous manuscript volume. For further information, see online catalog. Mss. 3545. Referenced in Guides: Politics, Performing arts, New Orleans in the Civil War, New Orleans 1866-, Civil War, French, Literature
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Alexander, Edward Porter, 1835-1910. Circular letter, 1866.1 item. Location: E:Imprints. Confederate Chief of Artillery, 1st Corps of the Army of Northern Virginia. He was the author of several books on the Civil War and railroads, including THE WILDERNESS CAMPAIGN and MILITARY MEMOIRS OF A CONFEDERATE. Printed circular letter, written from Columbia, South Carolina, requesting official reports, accounts of events and skirmishes, and similar materials related to General James Longstreet's command during the Civil War. Alexander wished to collect these materials for use in writing a history of Longstreet's military career. For further information, see online catalog. Mss. 917. Referenced in Guides: Civil War
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Allaire, Charles B. Letter, 1863 March 4. 1 item. Location: Misc:A. Soldier in the Union army who served in Louisiana during the Civil War. Allaire's letter to a professor, sent from an army camp at Lake Providence, Louisiana, includes a description of waterways in the area. For further information, see online catalog. Mss. 3271. Referenced in Guides: Civil War
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Allen, Henry Watkins, 1820-1866, Broadside. 1 item. Location: OS:L. Lawyer of Mississippi who served in both the Mississippi and Louisiana legislatures. Allen served in the 4th Louisiana Regiment during the Civil War and was Confederate governor of Louisiana in 1864. Broadside announcing public speaking by Colonel Henry Watkins Allen and Thomas C. W. Ellis at the East Feliciana Parish Court House in Clinton, Louisiana, on October 4, by order of the American Party Central Committee. Part of the Louisiana Broadside Collection. For further information online catalog. Mss. 3705. |
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Allen, Henry Watkins, 1820-1866, Portrait. 1 item. Location: OS:A. Lawyer of Mississippi who served in both the Mississippi and Louisiana legislatures. Allen served in the 4th Louisiana Regiment during the Civil War and was Confederate governor of Louisiana in 1864. Etched portrait of Allen by Charles B. Hall, published in his MILITARY RECORDS OF GENERAL OFFICERS OF THE CONFEDERATE STATES OF AMERICA (1898). For further information online catalog. Mss. 3620. |
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Allen, Henry Watkins, 1820-1866. Letter, 1863 June 13. 1 item [photocopy]. Location: Misc.:A. Lawyer of Mississippi who served in both the Mississippi and Louisiana legislatures. Allen served in the 4th Louisiana Regiment during the Civil War and was Confederate governor of Louisiana in 1864. Letter announces his departure for Bladen Springs, Alabama, to recuperate from leg injuries suffered in the burning of the Bowman house in Jackson. For further information, see online catalog. Mss. 3053. |