Monthly Archives: March 2013

31 March 1863: “A man in the 23rd NC deserted to the Yankees on picket…”

Item Description: Letter, of 31 March 1863, from F.J. Haywood Jr.  The letter is addressed to “My Dear Captain” and relates bits of camp gossip and chatter about the sighting of a “Yankee Balloon,” a desertion across enemy lines, and … Continue reading

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30 March 1863: “No charge for the corn am happy to have it in my power to accommodate you”

Item description: Letter, 30 March 1863, from R.C. Pearson, Morganton, N.C., to Thomas Ruffin, Graham, N.C. Item citation: From folder 454 in the Thomas Ruffin Papers #641 in the Southern Historical Collection, Wilson Library, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Item transcription: Morganton … Continue reading

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29 March 1863: Sketch….showing…..Siege of Washington, NC, March 29 to April 16, 1863

Item: “Sketch showing the position of the attacking and defending forces at the siege of Washington, N.C., March 29 to April 16, 1863” From: U.S. Congress. Joint Committee on the Conduct of the War. Supplemental report of the Joint Committee on … Continue reading

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28 March 1863: “I drop you a few lines to give you the sad news that brother Calvin is dead.”

Item Description: Letter, dated 28 March 1863, from Corporal William H. Proffit during his service in the Wilkes Valley Guards (Company B, 1st North Carolina Regiment).  In this letter Cpl. Proffit informs his family of the death of his brother, … Continue reading

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27 March 1863: “It has been charged by both the ignorant and the evil-disposed against the people of our faith, that the Israelite does not fight in the battles of his country!”

Item description: This pamphlet contains a sermon delivered by Reverend M. J. Michelbacher of the Beth Ahabah Synagogue in Richmond, Virginia. In it he refutes claims that the Jewish people of the South are not actively supporting the Confederate cause … Continue reading

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26 March 1863: “Ah what changes since then…”

Item description: In this diary entry, 26 March 1863, Daniel Coleman, of Athens, Ala., marked the second anniversary of his enlistment at Fort Morgan with a nod to the casualties. He was commissioned into the 33rd Alabama Infantry as a … Continue reading

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25 March 1863: “… I have full permission to marry from Mr. Castin I don’t like to have to beg but when I know it is my own owner from whom I am asking these favors it prompts me to do so…”

Item Description:  Letter, dated 25 March 1863, written by a slave named “Jimmey” working for the DeRosset family in an office in Wilmington, N.C., stating that his owner has given him permission to marry. “Jimmey” is James W. Telfair, Jr. (born … Continue reading

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24 March 1863: “To-day the lines have been open, and the women of the suburbs have been thronging into town to buy a little sugar, coffee, snuff, &c., especially snuff.”

Item description: Published letter, dated 24 March 1863, written by Corporal Zenas T. Haines, Company D, 44th Massachusetts Infantry Regiment. The letter is an excerpt from Haines’ account, Letters from the Forty-Fourth Regiment M.V.M.: A Record of the Experience of a Nine … Continue reading

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23 March 1863: “…I was very much pleased with Lieut. Flournoy, found him very agreeable, though his attentions were much confined to Julia.”

Item description: Entry, 23 March 1863, from the diary of Sarah Lois Wadley. More about Sarah Lois Wadley: Sarah Lois Wadley was born in 1844 in New Hampshire, the daughter of railroad superintendent William Morrill Wadley (1813-1882) and Rebecca Barnard Everingham … Continue reading

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22 March 1863: “The successful running the blocade has given a great deal of wealth to some people…”

Item Description: Entry, dated 22 March 1863, from Margaret Ann “Meta” Grimball’s diary describing the effect of blockade running on the local economy.  Grimball notes that her husband has sold his slaves, but remains in debt. From the Margaret Ann … Continue reading

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