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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Babin, Felix E. Letter, 1862 September 20 and 1915. 2 items. Location: Misc.:B. Letter from Vicksburg, September 20, 1862; and Chamber of Commerce of Quimper and Brest, France, 50 centimes note, 1915. For further information online catalog. Mss. 1876. |
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BADGER BULLETIN, 1862 June 14. 1 item [enlargement print, 4 pages]. Location: E:Imprints. Newspaper published by the 3rd Wisconsin Battery during a brief stay at Iuka, Mississippi, contains a history and roster of the battery and notes on Union and Confederate units in the area. For further information, see online catalog. Mss. 2022. Referenced in Guides: Civil War
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Bagby, Arthur P. Letter, 1905. 1 item. Location: Misc:B. Alabama native, general in Confederate 4th Texas Cavalry, and participant in the Red River Campaign in Louisiana. Letter recounts his military experiences. For further information, see online catalog. Mss. 3032. Referenced in Guides: Civil War
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Baines, Henry. Papers, 1796-1905. 184 items. Location: C:55, 65:, MSS.MF:LESTER, GEORGE M. Planter of Bains, West Feliciana Parish, Louisiana, and a member of London's Royal College of Surgeons. Baines was related to the McDermott and Maynard families. Collection contains papers and letters of the Baines, McDermott, and Maynard families related to the cotton trade, medical education, the Civil War, and financial dealings. Includes a Spanish land grant of West Feliciana Parish, Louisiana. Available (with some omissions) on microfilm 5735: University Publications of America Confederate Military Manuscripts Series B, Reel 1. Part of the George M. Lester Collection. For further information, see online catalog. Mss. 1209. |
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Baker, John Wesley. Diary. 1 item. Location:32:80. Mss. 3892. Referenced in Guides: Civil War
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Baker, Sarah. Oral history interview, 1974. 2 sound cassettes. Location: L:4700.2. Sarah Baker was born and raised on the Magee Plantation in Woodville, Wilkinson County, Mississippi, and was 113 years old at the time of the interview, which discusses plantation life and the end of the Civil War. For further information, see online catalog. Mss. 4700.2. |
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Banks, Nathaniel Prentiss, Orders of General Nathaniel Banks, 1864 July. Location: E:74. Orders of Major General Banks relayed by Colonel John P. Shertmore to Colonel Fearing, instructing him to inspect the mounted pickets on duty around the city of New Orleans and correct irregularities that currently exist. Part of the United States Army Collection. For further information, see online catalog. Mss. 3115. Referenced in Guides: Civil War
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Banks, Nathaniel Prentiss, 1816-1894. Letterpress copybook, 1863-1864. 1 vol. Location: B:12. Congressman, governor of Massachusetts, and general in command of the Union Gulf Department in the Civil War. Letterpress copybook of official letters written by Banks from his headquarters, Department of the Gulf, New Orleans, during fall 1863 and early winter 1864. Letters comment on civilian life in New Orleans, freed slaves, and the cotton trade. For further information, see online catalog. Mss. 2326. |
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Banks, Nathaniel Prentiss, 1816-1894. General order no. 105, 1864 Aug. 1. 1 item. Location: E:74. orders stipulate that all Black troops mustered into the U.S. Army will receive the same uniform, clothing, arms, rations, and other provisions alloted to other soldiers, and that Black volunteers will be granted the same amount of bounty as white volunteers. The order further decrees that Black soldiers who were free in 1861 and mustered into military service are entitled to any pay, bounty, and clothing allowed by law to free persons at the time of their enlistment. Part of the United States Army Collection. For further information, see online catalog. Mss. 3365. Referenced in Guides: Civil War, African Americans
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Banks, Nathaniel Prentiss, 1816-1894. Letter, 1866. 1 item. Location: Misc:B. Congressman, governor of Massachusetts, and general in command of the Union Gulf Department in the Civil War. The letter speculates on the outcome of a possible attack by Banks's forces on Port Hudson. For further information, see online catalog. Mss. 2771. Referenced in Guides: Civil War
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