Excerpts from a diary, 1834-1865, and memoir of early life, written by Jesse Cox (1793-1879), a Primitive Baptist minister and resident of Williamson County, Tennessee. He describes the hardships of life as an itinerant preacher, some religious...
Excerpts from the diary of William Luther Bigelow Lawrence. He details joining the Nashville Guards, the scarcity of provisions, and the surrender of Nashville. He proclaims the trampling of private rights by Federal soldiers, the fleeing of his...
Letter from Thomas Crutchfield Jr. to James R. Hood. Crutchfield makes an effort to prove his loyalty to the Union by recounting his opposition to secession, his informing the Federals of troop movements, his supplying of the Union army with...
Letter from Jane Smith Washington of Springfield, Tennessee, to her son, William L. Washington in Toronto, Canada, describing a confrontation with Federal troops. Mrs. Washington describes an extremely violent confrontation with Federal troops. In...
Letter from Arthur H. Harris to his brother George Carroll Harris in Nashville. He writes of the pervading excitement that has surrounded the 1860 presidential election in his area. Though he is glad the contest is over, he acknowledges the death...
This nine-page letter written from Arthur H. Harris in Monroe, Louisiana, to his brother George Carroll Harris in Nashville is a conscious political treatise. The author is advocating and justifiying the secession of Louisiana at the upcoming...
Five-page letter written from John S. Brien in Nashville, Tennessee, to R. M. C[ornin], Esq. in Cincinnati, Ohio. The author expresses his views on secession, the Union, and Southern Rights as well as his hope for compromise. Says Brien, " I...
Civil Wars; War; Slaves; Agriculture; Political issues; Cities & towns
Excerpts from the Robert H. Cartmell Diaries. They contain full commentaries on the nature of his farm operation, the weather, and the fluctuations of the cotton market. They contain thoughtful comments on politics and candidates for office and...
Letter from Robert Rutledge to G. R. Rutledge describing the state of his current encampment near his Uncle Sam and Aunt Elzira's property. He explains that due to pillaging by the army the local population now despises the Confederate army almost...
Two-page letter from Elisha W. Harris to his son George Carroll Harris of Nashville. He writes from his plantation Waco Place in Louisiana of the war being upon them with bloody consequence. He has abandoned his efforts to cling to the union and...
Excerpts from a small handwritten diary written by Nannie Haskins, a young girl of Clarksville, Tennessee. Provides an insight into the day to day activities of an observant young girl. Haskins was strongly in support of the Confederacy and loathed...
Four-page letter from Mary Guthrie Latta to her husband, Samuel, conveys her anxiety at not hearing from him and her disappointment both in his defeat for promotion to Lt. Colonel and in his inability to come home for Christmas. She also relates...
Four-page letter from Mary Guthrie Latta to her husband Samuel details news of their children and other family members. References are made to a scarcity of food and civilian transportation and rumors of battle. Mary proclaims her hope that her...
Letter ordering an officer to go with a guard of one non-commissioned officer and six men in order to take charge of a passenger train on the Rome Railroad; the letter includes additional instructions. An example of the form to be kept is...
Letter from Robert Rutledge to his father, G. R. Rutledge, explaining the strategic value of East Tennessee and the likelihood of a Union invasion. He implores his father to leave Cleveland, Tennessee, and flee south to Georgia before such a raid...
Correspondence; Mothers; Children; Families; Civil Wars; War
Correspondence from John G. Latta to his mother, Lucinda (Gilchrist). Letter is from her son in Boston and is dated August 17, 1861. He states that his family will leave Boston for Tennessee on September 3. He is very anxious to get home. He...
Correspondence; Children; Families; Mothers; Spouses; Civil Wars; War
Correspondence from Mary Guthrie Latta to her husband, Samuel R. Latta. This four-page letter provides information about the homelife of Mary Guthrie Latta since her husband's departure. She states that the family "is getting along as well and...
Correspondence; Fathers; Mothers; Campaigns & battles; Civil Wars; War
Letter from Mary Guthrie Latta to her husband, Samuel R. Latta, dated August 19, 1861. Although she has hoped that Samuel Latta's unit would be ordered into retreat in Tennessee, they have instead been ordered to New Madrid, Missouri.
Correspondence; Fathers; Children; Families; Mothers; Civil Wars; War
Correspondence from Mary Guthrie Latta to her husband, Samiel R. Latta. In this four-page letter, she expresses concern for the safety of her husband. She states that she is "beginning to feel the terrible realities of war in earnest now."
Letter from Robert A. Rutledge to his wife, Mary Minerva Rutledge, concerning his lodgings; his purchase of a trunk, a cot, and a quilt; his problems being appointed assistant surgeon; and the desire of the "Lincolnites" and "Bushwhackers" of...
