"Tales as told by one of the few remaining Ex Slaves in the South" from Liberty, Tennessee, in Cannon County. W. M. Organ Jr. worked with the Ford Motor Co., and Turner told Organ his story. 13 pages total. The old paper used was from an...
Letter from George Franklin Robinson to his wife, Elvira Jane Griffin, following the Battle of Gettysburg, July 18, 1863. Robinson draws a map of his unit's march from Fredericksburg, Virginia, to Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. In the letter, he says:...
Spencer carbine repeating firearm. It holds seven .52 caliber cartridges in a tubular magazine that is housed in the buttstock. It was a popular firearm for cavalrymen because they could fire several times without having to reload after each...
CSA cavalry sword and scabard that belonged to Jacob Cruse of Lincoln County, Tennessee. Cruse enlisted at George's Store on April 29, 1861. He served until April 27, 1862, and was discharged. Cruse re-enlisted on April 29, 1863, as a private in...
Long is writing "few lines which will bring sorrow and grief upon you and family the death of your Dear Companion J. E. Scott." He tells Mrs. Scott that her husband died on April 6 in an Atlanta hosspital. Long goes on to say that he is sending the...
This rifle was manufactured for the Confederate Army at the Pulaski Armory by W. N. Webb, N. B. Zuccarello and James McLean. While the barrel was new, some of the parts were repurposed from other weapons. "Pulaski C. S. A. 61" is engraved on the...
This page in Mitchener's POW diary from World War II includes a drawing of wooden barrack #170. Mitchener describes his quarters as including ten rooms, housing 8-14 men each. He writes,"Constructed of wood, plaster, and tarpaper - a few bolts - a...
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...
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 Joseph Gerald Branch in Davis Lake Plantation, Arkansas, to his wife Mary in Maury County, Tennessee. He writes about his plans to send her $15,000 in U.S. Treasury notes to invest in real estate to curb currency depreciation and insure...
Letter from Joseph Gerald Branch in Davis Lake Plantation, Arkansas, to his wife Mary in Maury County, Tennessee. He writes that he has not heard from his wife or children since August. He desires to know whether Mary has received the $15,000 in...
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...
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...
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 to his son George Carroll Harris of Nashville, Elisha W. Harris writes from his plantation Waco Place in Louisiana of attending a local political meeting. He details the zest the crowd displays for politics and the presidential...
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 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 A. C. Montgomery to G. R. Rutledge describing status of business in Maryville, local elections resulting in the election of "Union men," the outcomes of battles involving Sterling Price, the death of Benjamin McCulloch, and the status...
Letter from Gamble Rutledge to his father, G. R. Rutledge, concerning his brother Robert's regiment, his parents' desire to move to Georgia, his brigade's activities, his desire to change his position in the regiment, and the status of his wounded...