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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Allen, Henry Watkins, 1820-1866. Letter and related photograph, 1864 July 6. 2 items. 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 from Allen to William F. Lockwood, keeper of machinery of the Louisiana State Penitentiary, authorizes Lockwood to loan penitentiary looms to cotton planters in eastern Louisiana and includes instructions for loaning the looms. Included is a photograph of Lockwood. For further information, see online catalog. Mss. 2867. |
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Allen, William M. Correspondence, 1858-1863. 22 items. Location: E:3. Farmer of Holmesville, Pike County, Mississippi. His sister, Letty, and her husband, John Houston, owned a farm in Minden, Webster Parish, Louisiana. William and his brother Felix were Confederate soldiers in the Mississippi Volunteers. Pre-Civil War letters from Houston discuss farming conditions, his advocacy of secession, and local social events. Civil War letters to Allen describe skirmishes in Kentucky and Louisiana, and war news such as the shelling of Port Hudson, Louisiana. Family affairs, illness and remedies, and attendance at the New Orleans School of Medicine are other topics in the letters. Available on microfilm 5735: University Publications of America Confederate Military Manuscripts Series B, Reel 1. For further information, see online catalog. Mss. 701, 2287. Referenced in Guides: New Orleans to 1861, New Orleans in the Civil War, Civil War, Education, Medicine
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Alley, Mary, Scrapbooks, 1843, 1862-1884, 1910.109 items, 3 vols. Location: Mss. Mf.:A. Baton Rouge native and wife of Charles Henry Jolly. Clippings from Baton Rouge papers on local and national issues at the end of the Civil War and early Reconstruction. Topics include politics, medicine, poetry, anecdotes, and deaths of Baton Rougeans. Other printed items include pamphlets on the dedication of St. Joseph's Cathedral and the history of the Catholic Church in Baton Rouge. For further information see online catalog. Mss. 3570. |
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Allgower, Charles F. Headquarters of Colonel William Wilson, commanding 1st Brigade Grovers, pencil drawing, 1863 Feb. 12. 1 item, Location: OS:A. Allgower was a soldier in Co. C, 6th New York Infantry (also known as Wilson's Zouaves), which was part of the 1st Brigade of Grover's Division, commanded by Colonel William Wilson, also of the 6th New York. Brigadier General Cuvier Grover commanded the 4th Division, 19th Corps, in the United States Army, Department of the Gulf. Known as Grover's Division, the force occupied Baton Rouge in December 1862 before participating in the campaign for Port Hudson in the summer of 1863. Pencil drawing on paper depicting the occupation of Baton Rouge and showing Wilson's federal encampment in Baton Rouge, with the Louisiana Deaf and Dumb Asylum in the background (and possibly the State Capitol). Mss. 4832. Referenced in Guides: Civil War, Baton Rouge
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Allyn, William B. Letter, 1862 Nov. 25. 1 item. Location: Misc:A. William B. Allyn was a Federal officer serving in Louisiana during the Civil War. Written from Camp Stevens, near Thibodaux, Lafourche Parish, Louisiana, Allyn's letter describes the surrounding countryside, the Federal policy toward captured Confederate sugar, and social relations with local planters. For further information, see online catalog. Mss. 2941. |
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Alsip, Thomas. Letters, 1861-1865. 6 items. Location: Misc:A. Resident of Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin, and a soldier in the Union army in Kansas during the Civil War. Letters describe Alsip's military service in Kansas, camp life at Fort Scott, and Confederate guerilla activities. For further information, see online catalog. Mss. 3019. Referenced in Guides: Civil War
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Amacker, Obadiah Pearson and family. Papers, 1861-1959 (bulk 1861-1865). 4 items, 1 volume. Location: U:118. Residents of the Florida parishes, Louisiana. Obadiah Amacker was an officer in the 3rd (Wingfield's) Regiment, Confederate cavalry. Papers include a Civil War diary of Abigail Amacker, and a list of the officers and men of the first company to leave St. Helena Parish as part of the 4th Louisiana Infantry. Confederate records transcribed from the State Library Commission document. A printed pamphlet contains genealogical records. Available on microfilm 5735: University Publications of America Confederate Military Manuscripts Series B, Reel 1. For further information, see online catalog. Mss. 1604. |
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Amite County Record Book, 1851-1864, 1879, 1895. 1 ms. Vol. Location: M:21. Records of the appointed trustees of the Common Schools for District No. 2 in Amite County, Mississippi. Reports from various schools list name of parents, name and age of scholar, and amounts drawn from the public fund. Some minutes are included. For further information online catalog. Mss. 6. |
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Anderson, Harrod C. (Harrod Clopton). Papers. 1849-1888 (bulk 1885-1887). 6 items, 3 volumes. Location: F:1, Misc:A. Planter of Magnolia, Haywood County, Tennessee. Papers include a cashbook, photoprints, and diaries which discuss opinions on philosophical, religious, political, and Civil War issues. Available (with some omissions) on microfilm 5322: University Publications of America Records of Ante-bellum Southern Plantations Series I, Part 2, Reel 20. For further information, see online catalog. Mss. 8, 490, 539. |
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Anderson, Henry. Letter, 1863. 1 item. Location: Misc.:A. Union soldier during the Civil War, probably from Indiana, stationed at New Madrid, Missouri. Letter to a friend expresses lack of interest in the cause of slavery and a personal revulsion to African AmericansFor further information, see online catalog. Mss. 1427. Referenced in Guides: Civil War, African Americans
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