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...
Two-page letter from J. W. Maybin of Vicksburg, Mississippi, to John S. Brien. The letter requests legal advice from John S. Brien, "one of the first legal minds in the United States," regarding his legal options after having seen much of his...
Letter from Joseph Gerald Branch in Davis Lake Plantation, Arkansas, to his wife, Mary, in Maury County, Tennessee. He is concerned that his letters are not reaching her, and he observes, "What is property or anything else compared to one's...
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...
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...
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...
Four-page letter from Beck Wallace to her cousin, Samuel Latta, of the 13th Tennessee Infantry, CSA, makes reference to her war work, particularly a concert she has helped organize in Macon to benefit the Southern Mothers in Memphis. She writes of...
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...
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...
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...
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...
Order from Confederate General James Longstreet, issued by Assistant Adjutant General William Small, directing the men to maintain their fortitude while enduring reduced rations and other hardships of the field, and presenting a letter captured...
Broadside advertising a demonstration of "Edison's Talking Machine or Phonograph" at a cost of 25 cents for adults and 15 cents for children. It claims that the machine will repeat distinctly every word spoken for years after, and that "it is not...
Barbed wire; Torches; Sculpture; Heads (Anatomy); Reflections; Crowns; Fantasy
This page in Mitchener's POW diary from World War II includes a drawing of the Statue of Liberty. On the top of the page he has written,"Maybe not in reality - but in every dream - "Underneath this heading, he has drawn a picture of a man dreaming...
This page is a poem, "Bars, Inc." written by "Coyle" and dedicated to "Ivan - POW El Grande." The poem or song is about having a bar in every room of the house. Mitchener has drawn a small picture of a bar with a sign "Home Sweet Home" next to it....
Two-page letter from Arthur H. Harris of Monroe, Louisiana, to his brother George Carroll Harris of Nashville. He writes of his recruiting expedition and his rifle company, of recruits hankering for action, of George's desire for a chaplaincy, and...
