Arts and Humanities Commons^™

Madden, Cornelius J., 1842-1903 (Sc 3494), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

MSS Finding Aids

Finding aid and typescript of letter (Click on "Additional Files" below) for Manuscripts Small Collection 3494. Letter, 17 November 1862, to his mother from Cornelius Madden, serving with the 102nd Ohio Infantry at Bowling Green, Kentucky. He describes an increase in patrols and fortifications precipitated by rumors of guerrilla leader John Hunt Morgan’s presence in the area. Anticipating an encampment for the winter, he suggests his mother and other “widows” send a box of provisions, prepaid in order to save expense. He reports hearing nothing of his father, also in military service, who he believes to be at Nashville, Tennessee. …

The Guns Of Fort Monroe, Chris Fox

Student Posters: GIS Day

The objective of this research project is to analyze the interlocking fields of fire from the field artillery positions around the Bastion known as Fort Monroe located in Hampton Virginia. The research project will allow for the visualization of the artillery positions around the fort in one overview, as well as line of sight analysis from each artillery position within the moat. An analysis and line of sight for the artillery positions outside of the fort was also conducted. The 12 Inch M1895 and M1900 disappearing guns were the largest guns used at the fort and fired a projectile that …

Gray, John H. (Sc 3483), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

MSS Finding Aids

Finding aid and full-text scan of typescript (Click on "Additional Files" below) for Manuscripts Small Collection 3483. Letter, 15 October 1862, to his family from John H. Gray, serving with the 101st Indiana Infantry. He describes his experiences en route to Perryville, Kentucky in the wake of the recent battle there: the lack of rations that required improvisation when preparing meals, the prevalence of diarrhea (“the quick step”) among the troops, and his hospitalization at Perryville, where he sees the decaying body of a Confederate soldier, houses and hospitals full of suffering wounded, piles of spent ammunition, and destruction of …

Warr, Joseph W., 1836-1864 (Sc 3482), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

MSS Finding Aids

Finding aid and typescript (Click on “Additional Files” below for Manuscripts Small Collection 3482. Letter, 11 February 1862, to his mother and siblings from Joseph Warr, Company A, 2nd Minnesota Volunteers. From Somerset, Kentucky, he writes of troop movements toward Bowling Green, Kentucky, where he expects a victorious battle. He describes a recent encounter with Confederate forces crossing the Cumberland River and the severe wounds of those taken prisoner, but declares that the enemy would otherwise have shown no mercy. He notes the long knives of the Confederates (“Mississippi toothpicks”) and the homemade quality of their uniforms. He also urges …

Arming Of The U.S. Army During War 1861, Jessica Colfer

Lesson Plans

Grade Level: 9-12

Lesson Length: 60 minutes

Learning Objectives:

• The student will be able to identify the armament of the Union army at the beginning of the Civil War.
• The student will consider the preparedness of the Union and Confederate armies.
• The student compare and contrast prior knowledge about the Civil War to interpret historical documents.
• The student will be able to analyze and interpret a primary document.

The Election Of 1860 And The Secession Of The South, Jessica Colfer

Lesson Plans

Grade Level: 9-12

Lesson Length: 80 minutes

Learning Objectives:

• Students will be able to analyze primary documents and identify the relation between student attendance and the political and societal context of the time.
• Students will be able to analyze and apply their prior knowledge to interpret the perspectives of those during the outbreak of the Civil War.
• Students will be able to identify the primary causes of South Carolina’s secession from the Union.

Hardesty, Isaac Ellis, 1841-1917 (Sc 3464), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

MSS Finding Aids

Finding aid and typescripts (Click on "Additional Files" below) for Manuscripts Small Collection 3464. Letters, 11 September 1862 and 4 April 1863, to his family from Isaac Hardesty, serving with the 99th Ohio Volunteer Infantry. From camp near Covington, Kentucky, he reports on his health and his efforts to have his clothing shipped home; he also describes his fortified camp, the sounds of battle nearby, the dangers posed to pickets, and his pleasure at glimpsing his home state from the nearby hills. From Louisville, Kentucky, he writes of his painful arm and his longing to be at home, but without …

Adams, Marion Lee, 1930-2013 - Collector (Sc 3462), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

MSS Finding Aids

Finding aid only for Manuscripts Small Collection 3462. Revolutionary War pension claim of Richard Wade, Cumberland County, Kentucky; and Civil War military service record of John Crittenden Bolin, Russell County, Kentucky.

Reppert, Charles Kramer, 1842-1921 (Sc 3456), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

MSS Finding Aids

Finding aid only for Manuscripts Small Collection 3456. Letter, 24 July 1864, of Charles K. Reppert, Louisville, Kentucky, to his brother William E. Reppert, then serving with a Pennsylvania cavalry company at Nashville, Tennessee. He reports on the progress of their business making and marketing “Silver Pearl Soap,” the difficulty of trade in Kentucky without proof of loyalty to the Union, and his hopes to eventually sell the business. He also remarks on an upcoming military draft and that “the Negro Enlistments have cleared Kentucky.”

Obetz, Jeremiah H., 1843-1923 (Sc 3444), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

MSS Finding Aids

Finding aid and full-text scan of transcriptions (Click on "Additional Files" below) for Manuscripts Small Collection 3444. Letters of Jeremiah H. Obetz, Manheim, Pennsylvania, to his former employer Henry C. Gingrich, written during his service with the 9th Pennsylvania (Lochiel) Cavalry at Camp Dunham near Bowling Green, Kentucky, and at Camp Andy Johnson near Jeffersonville, Indiana. Obetz describes the pursuit of Confederate raider John Hunt Morgan, the death of a comrade, camp life, and his confidence that England could not interfere successfully against the Union. He also reports on the strength of fortifications at recently recaptured Bowling Green. Suffering from …

Gibble, Harrison H., 1822-1898 (Sc 3443), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

MSS Finding Aids

Letter, 5 January 1862, of Harrison Gibble, 79th Pennsylvania Infantry, to his friend Henry Gingrich in Manheim, Pennsylvania. From Camp Wood, Munfordville, Kentucky, Gibble writes of the cold weather, the repair of a bridge across the Green River that had been destroyed by Confederates, the construction of floating bridges, and his company’s anticipated move to Cave City, Kentucky. He also relays reports of Confederate withdrawal toward Nashville and of 5,000 sick in hospital at Bowling Green. He mentions the names of other Manheim soldiers in his regiment, asks Gingrich to draw funds for his wife out of his next pay, …

Gray, John H. (Sc 3445), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

MSS Finding Aids

Finding aid and typescript (Click on "Additional Files" below) for Manuscripts Small Collection 3445. Letter, 17 October [1862], to his sister Jennie from John H. Gray, serving with the 101st Indiana Infantry. Recovering in hospital at Perryville, Kentucky after an arduous march, he describes conditions in the aftermath of the Battle of Perryville: property damage, unburied dead, Confederate prisoners of war, the suffering of the wounded, and shortages of food and water. He regrets being unable to recuperate without benefit of a furlough and, as he prepares to rejoin his regiment, refers sarcastically to the “lovely war.”

Newcomb, Horatio Dalton, 1809-1874 (Sc 3437), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

MSS Finding Aids

Finding aid only for Manuscripts Small Collection 3437. Letter, 9 March 1863, from H. D. Newcomb, Louisville, Kentucky, to Sumner(?) Wells, Chicopee, Massachusetts, asking for help in locating a suitable house for his sister in nearby Springfield. Newcomb also offers his thoughts on the Civil War: his proximity to its “desolating influences” in contrast to New England; the disunion perpetrated by the “imbecile abolitionists” of the Lincoln Administration; the corruption of the government; the financial perils of the war; and the necessity for a negotiated peace with the Confederacy.

Johnson, Samuel F. (Sc 3442), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

MSS Finding Aids

Finding aid and full-text scan (Click on "Additional Files" below) for Manuscripts Small Collection 3442. Telegram, 17 October [1864], from Hopkinsville, Kentucky of Lieutenant Colonel Samuel F. Johnson to Colonel Cicero Maxwell in Bowling Green, Kentucky. He advises that Confederate General Hylan B. Lyon’s troops are in Providence, Kentucky “sweeping every horse mule & man in their course.” Johnson asks for mounted troops and a supply of ammunition to be sent to him at Russellville, Kentucky, failing which Lyon’s troops “will get out with their plunder & hundreds of recruits.”

Griffin, Lowell M. (Mss 669), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

MSS Finding Aids

Finding aid only for Manuscripts Collection 669. Civil War related material, chiefly recorded audio presentations to the Louisville Civil War Round Table of which Lowell Griffin was a member. Also includes some news clippings about the Civil War and Abraham Lincoln as well as transcripts of several presentations on Civil War topics.

Todd, Theophilus Law, 1841-1963 (Sc 3435), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

MSS Finding Aids

Finding aid only for Manuscripts Small Collection 3435. Letter, 19-21 September 1862, from Theophilus L. Todd to his sister Agnes Jane Todd. Camped near Louisville, Kentucky while serving with the 93rd Ohio Infantry, Todd thanks her for a package of food and clothing. He describes his surroundings and camp life, including the friendly reception the troops received in Louisville and competition between the camp sutler and local women in the sale of foodstuffs. He also writes critically of the behavior of Brigadier General James S. Jackson during a lengthy and tiresome review of the brigade.

Mcbride, John Randolph, 1841-1912 (Sc 3433), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

MSS Finding Aids

Finding aid and typescript (Click on "Additional Files" below) for Manuscripts Small Collection 3433. Letter, 1 May 1862, of John R. McBride to Lucas F. Smith, Bluffton, Indiana. Serving with the 33rd Indiana Volunteers, McBride describes the march from Lexington, Kentucky to their present encampment near Cumberland Ford on the Cumberland River, and the current command structure. He asks about Bluffton’s young women and lightheartedly complains about the absence of eggs from his diet. He also recalls his fortunes after leaving Bluffton, which included a year of homesickness and then enlistment for service in order to return home “with a …

Humanizing The Enslaved Of Fort Monroe’S Arc Of Freedom, William R. Kelly Jr.

Journal of Contemporary Archival Studies

Fort Monroe, located in Hampton, Virginia, was a United States Army post until its deactivation in 2011. President Barack Obama proclaimed Fort Monroe a national monument due to its complex history, including its ties to slavery and emancipation. This paper outlines an ongoing research project designed to identify and humanize both the enslaved who helped build the fort and those who were declared as contraband there during the American Civil War. Housed in the National Archives and Records Administration in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, the United States Army Engineer Records from 1819 to 1866 is the main area of focus for this …

Ms-227: Theodore Schlack, Class Of 1950 Civil War Artifact Collection, Laurel J. Wilson

All Finding Aids

This collection is made up of artifacts relating to the American Civil War. It includes both items from the Civil War era and postwar items. The wartime artifacts were collected by Rev. Dr. Schlack in order to reflect the items a Union soldier would have interacted with in their daily life. The collection of wartime artifacts includes items such as a Springfield rifled musket, a knapsack, and a dice cup with dice. The collection of postwar artifacts relates more broadly to war memory and commemoration, and includes items such as paper souvenir fans from the 75th anniversary of the Battle …

Soldaten Des Westens: An Analysis Of The Wartime Experiences Of Three German-American Regiments From The St. Louis-Bellville Region, John Sarvela

Master's Theses

During the Civil War, Germans from the Greater St. Louis region enthusiastically volunteered for service in the Union Army and filled the companies of three regiments examined here: the 30^th and 43^rd Illinois and 12^th Missouri Volunteer Infantry Regiments. This thesis argues that German-American soldiers serving in these regiments joined the army to save the Union and end slavery. Once mustered into service, they experienced less nativism within the Union Army of the Tennessee than Germans in the Union Army of the Potomac. In contrast to the predominantly German 43^rd Illinois and 12^th Missouri, the …

'We Are Abolitionizing The West': The Union Army And The Implementation Of Federal Emancipation Policy, 1861–1865, Scott Ackerman

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

This project provides a new history of the implementation of federal emancipation policy by the Union armies during the Civil War. It examines five geographic regions occupied by the Union army—the Mississippi River Valley, Tennessee, Alabama, Louisiana and the Gulf Coast, and Kentucky—focusing on the activities of officials whom I term the “middle managers” of federal emancipation policy. Though often overlooked by historians, officers such as Union army Adjutant General Lorenzo Thomas, Commissioner for the United States Colored Troops George Stearns, and Major William Sidell were specifically designated by the Lincoln administration to superintend the implementation of emancipation policy in …

Daniel, Hannah (Lewis) Hawkins, 1833-1870 (Sc 3413), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

MSS Finding Aids

Finding aid and typescript (Click on "Additional Files" below" for Manuscripts Small Collection 3413. Letter, 31 October 1864, of Hannah Hawkins Daniel, Poplar Plains (Fleming County), Kentucky, to her brother Dr. Henry H. Lewis, Salt Lick (Bath County), Kentucky. She writes of a possible raid on Flemingsburg, and of the fate of a party of looters in the area. She also laments the difficulties of horse travel, reports hearing of conflict over the military draft from a correspondent in Iowa, and invites a member of Lewis’s household to visit “if there are no Rebs between here & there.”

Fleming, Peter F., B. 1842? (Sc 3392), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

MSS Finding Aids

Finding aid only for Manuscripts Small Collection 3392. Letter, 7 December 1862, from Peter Fleming of the 96th Illinois Volunteers, Company E, to his friend Thomas Elliott. From Camp Beard at Danville, Kentucky, he writes of the cold weather, the good turnpike roads, the presence of troops in the vicinity, and the satisfactory food supply. He also mentions the names of several of his comrades in Company E.

Messer, George, 1833-1863 (Sc 3385), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

MSS Finding Aids

Finding aid and full text transcript (Click on "Additional Files" below) for Manuscripts Small Collection 3385. Letter, 14 December 1862, of George Messer, 107th Illinois Infantry, to his wife Lottie in Clinton, Illinois. He describes the march to camp near Munfordville, Kentucky, the layout of the camp, and nearby graves, the result of an earlier engagement. He outlines the position of other troops in the area and lists the names of several men who have deserted from his company. He makes some critical remarks about his father at home and expresses confidence in Lottie’s ability to manage his domestic affairs.

Clarke, Marcellus Jerome, 1844-1865 - Relating To (Sc 3393), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

MSS Finding Aids

Finding aid for Manuscripts Small Collection 3393. Clippings, some typescripted from unidentified sources, and letters about the identity and exploits of Confederate guerrilla “Sue Mundy,” the alias of Simpson County, Kentucky native Jerome Clarke. Topics covered include his family, career, burial place, the origin of the name “Sue Mundy,” and the resulting confusion over whether “Sue” was actually a woman. Also includes an abstract of the U.S. War Department’s record of his court martial.

Johnston, Joseph E., 1875-1970 (Sc 3382), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

MSS Finding Aids

Finding aid only for Manuscripts Small Collection 3382. Letters of Joe E. Johnston, Pleasureville, Kentucky, to Mary Ellen Richards, Franklin, Kentucky. He discusses his activities, his book Life Begins at Eighty, and his father, Captain I. N. Johnston, an escapee from Virginia’s Libby Prison during the Civil War. Includes clippings about Johnston and his father.

Civil War Collections In Manuscripts & Folklife Archives At Western Kentucky University, Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

MSS Finding Aids

This is a list of collections in the Manuscripts & Folklife Archives holdings of WKU’s Department of Library Special Collections that relate to the Civil War. Included are letters and diaries of soldiers and civilians, military records and papers, and other, mostly unpublished material. Our collections are particularly strong on Bowling Green, Kentucky’s Civil War history and in documenting the experiences of Kentuckians or those who passed through Kentucky and surrounding states during the war.

Messer, George, 1833-1863 (Sc 3332), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

MSS Finding Aids

Finding aid and typescript (Click on "Additional Files" below) for Manuscripts Small Collection 3332. Letters of George Messer to his wife Lottie, written while serving with the 107th Illinois Infantry. Writing on 7-9 December 1862 from Camp Waller near Elizabethtown, Kentucky, where part of his regiment is guarding the railroad, he describes the camp and includes a sketch; he also writes of two desertions, of procuring some fresh meat, of an officer who has contracted a venereal disease, and of the local populace who he finds “at least one half century behind the times.” In a letter of 25 July …

Redfern, Alfred Francis, 1848-1913 (Sc 3327), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

MSS Finding Aids

Finding aid and typescript (Click on "Additional Files" below) for Manuscripts Small Collection 3327. Letter, 24 December 1863, to his parents from Alfred Redfern, serving at Point Isabel, Kentucky with the 91st Indiana Volunteers. He reports orders to march to Knoxville, Tennessee, despite his hopes of remaining at the now-fortified camp until he is mustered out. He also reports on receipt of money and other gifts from home, sending some of his pay to a friend in New Albany, and the likelihood of a poor Christmas dinner of fat pork and crackers.

Traitors In The Service Of The Lord: The Role Of Church And Clergy In Appalachia's Civil War, Sheilah Elwardani

Masters Theses

Studies of the guerrilla war in the central and southern Appalachian Mountains reveal repeated instances of violence and threats directed at the pastors of mountain churches. Instances of churches being burned, pastors and laymen beaten and at times murdered are sprinkled throughout the primary source materials. The question raised here is why were pastors and specific churches being targeted for violence? The church was the center of the life for secluded Appalachian communities, church leadership carried tremendous weight in influencing loyalties. Research focused solely on the Dunkard Church in Floyd County, Virginia revealed that amidst a particularly violent guerrilla war, …