Scope and Contents The collection donated by Henry Bohlen includes a letter by Judah P. Benjamin, Secretary of War, CSA, in which he reprimands the firm of R.S. Archer for furnishing a large number of field guns "cast in a cupola furnace, you well knowing the extreme danger of using such guns, the almost certainty of their explosion... It is bad enough that our brave defenders should expose their lives to the fire of the enemy under such odds as exists against us, but to furnish them arms more dangerous to themselves than to the enemy is utterly inexcusable..." Also includes a letter of R.S. Archer who complains of orders by Josiah Gorgas, Chief of Ordnance, CSA, and a letter of Gorgas to Archer...

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The collection's two major groupings of papers are Antebellum and Civil War newspapers in OS Box 1 and Gilded Age, Progressive, and 20th century newspapers in OS Box 2. The majority of the papers are from the southern states in the United States. OS Box 3 is photostat copies of its contents.

Online Copies Available

Portions of this collection have been digitized can be found online in the FSU Digital Library.

Scope and Contents The Mount Vernon Plantation (the name was later changed to Pickney Hills) was located in Jefferson County about seven miles east of Monticello, Florida with a view overlooking "Razor Lake," so named by Mr. Hollingsworth because of its shape. The number of slaves listed, the livestock listed, records of sales of farm products, purchases of supplies, and descriptions of different parcels of land shown in the Last Will of John Hollingsworth indicate that Mount Vernon Plantation covered rather extensive acreage. The will also shows that he owned a home near Edgefield, South Carolina, which was situated on "about eleven hundred acres." The papers consist of...

Scope and Contents Two documents pertaining to Parole of Civil War Prisoner of War Suval D. Crawford, Private of the Waddells, Ala., Vols. C.S.A. One dated Vicksburg, Mississippi, July 9, A.D. 1863, filled in and signed by Lieutenant General John C. Pemberton, C.S.A., Commanding, on the 4th day of July, 1863, "do in pursuance of the terms of capitulation of the City of Vicksburg and its garrison, give this solemn parole under oath..." The document is also signed by Suval D. Crawford. The other document, dated Columbus, Georgia, May 19, 1865, Headquarters Calvary Corps, M.D.M., is a declaration by Suval D. Crawford that "I will not bear arms against the United States of America..." and...

Scope and Contents Photostats of Civil War letters by James M. Nixon (d. 1863), 8th Fla. Regt., (1861-1863) to his wife, Louise A. Nixon, Mt. Pleasant, Gadsden County, Florida. 1. Apalachicola, Florida. September 9, 1861 to February 24, 1862. Family letters with instructions about the farm. 6 items. 2. Camp Retrieve, Florida. December, 1861. Family letters with instructions about the farm. 3 items. 3. Camp Milton, Florida. February, 1862. Nixon was apparently with recruiting officer, Major R. "going by Marianna and will probably be home Saturday night, as he is going to make the rounds in Gadsden..." This letter also refers to the clearing of land and the planting of crops. 1 item. 4....

Scope and Contents Photocopies of 11 manuscripts by and pertaining to General James Patton Anderson, Monticello, Jefferson County, Florida, Anderson, dated 1862-1865. Includes documents pertaining to his appointments as Brigadier General and later Major General, documents pertaining to his pardon, and personal letters. Includes two typwritten copies of "Sketch of General Anderson's Life" written by General James Patton Anderson while at his home in Monticello, Florida, recuperating from a wound he had received on the evening of the 31st of August, 1864, while in command of his division at the battle of Jonesboro, Georgia, during the Civil War. The first ten pages of the sketch are...

Scope and Contents Photographic copy of manuscript by James Phin. Willson, Druggist to K.L.A., relating to the Battle of Natural Bridge (1865). The twenty-four-page manuscript is titled, "MS. No. 9, Third Series Pages - 1007. Written 1865. To Miss Joanna D. Willson of Missouri." The following page reads: "To the special care of Miss Joanna D. Willson - the present manuscript is respectfully affectionately dedicated by her devoted brother, the author. The within contains, in addition to its personal introduction, a private, graphic description of the events...incidental to the military exploit under Brigadier Gen. William Miller, near Tallahassee, Florida, March 4th, 5th, and 6th,...

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Collection of original and photocopied documents and newsclippings pertaining to John Tillinghast Archer and his wife, Mary S. Brown Archer. Includes letter from 1860 (?) from Decatur, Illinois to "Dear Brother," Dr. Limol Fletcher from Lavinia Williams.

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Photocopies of Civil War items consisting of a 4-page letter, a sketch of "Concise View of Charleston Harbor, and two envelopes photographed front and back. The letter and sketch are from Jas. V.D. Loregin, Altona, Georgia, to Miss Joanna Wilson, Gainesville, Alabama. The letter, addressed to "Miss Joe," contains several good accounts of battles against the "Federals." each object in the sketch is numbered with a note attached that bears the same numbers thus identifying objects included in the sketch.

Also known as MSS 0-59.

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Holograph letter written by John D. Bates, Sr. in 1863 to his son, John D. Bates, Jr. of Boston, Mass. The letter relates to the capture of the Confederate cruiser FLORIDA. Also discusses briefly France's offer of the Mexican crown to Maximilian. Along with the letter and its envelope, there are two enclosures. One is a holograph letter from Captain William Lull (1863) to John D. Bates, Sr. in regard to his ship. The other is a handwritten sheet of instructions on firing a furnace.

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Photostats of Civil War letters by John M. House written from a U.S. Military Prison, Feb. 24, 1865 to his parents, Mr. and Mrs. Samuel C. House, Knoxville, Tenn.; John and his brother Samuel were in U.S. Military prisons at different locations (John at Johnsons Island and Samuel at Castle William, Governors Island, New York Harbor): John's letter mentions his brother and other members of the family, but he wrote chiefly about an exchange of prisoners which was taking place at Johnsons Island.

Also in Special Collections are letters by Samuel House to his parents (MSS 1965-142).

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Photocopies of biographical and war records of Joseph Henry Dupont, 1865.

Scope and Contents Letter from Buckingham Smith to W. P. Fessenden, Maine Senator and soon to be Secretary of the Treasury, May 10, 1864 sent from New York during the Civil War. 3 pages, 8vo, New York. With a copy written by Smith of his letter to Secretary of War Stanton, reporting to the government on Florida affairs. Smith refers to the mission of Lincoln's Assistant Secretary John Hay, who failed in his attempt to bring Florida back into the Union. 6 1/2 pages, 8vo (New York, April 18, 1864). Includes transcript. A combined 9 1/2 pages of an important Floridian's Unionist views of the Civil War to date. Smith's Unionist activities are evident in this letter with close connections to Lincoln's...

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Letter sent two days prior to South Carolina's declaration of independence from the Union, offering Florida's assistance in obtaining possession of the forts in Charleston Harbor. A significant document indicating Florida's intent to join South Carolina in what would become the American Civil War (Florida became the third state to secede from the Union on January 10, 1861). Includes transcript.

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Letter from Union soldier Samuel W. Wolcott to his brother, Eben P. Wolcott, a soldier elsewhere, May 26, 1863, sent from St. Augustine during the Civil War. 3 ¼ pages, 4to, St. Augustine. Letter describes conditions in St. Augustine and the possibility of furloughs, as well as Samuel's recent duty as census-taker for the area. Includes transcript.

The Wolcotts were from Litchfield County, Connecticut.  Sam Wolcott was a Private in Co. F, 7th CT Vols., and his younger brother Eben was in the 28th CT Vols. Eben died of disease in 1863, and Samuel was killed in action in August 1864.

Scope and Contents This collection consists of twenty-three letters to Miss Jennie Smith written by A. S. Cameron, Julius E. Edmonds, J. E. Maddox, W. H. Horwood, and G. A. Weldon. All letters contain much information about army life, field action, and related topics. Various members of the "Whitesville Guards" or the "Whitesville Union Vols." are mentioned in these letters. The collection includes the Muster Roll of Company E. 20th Regiment, Georgia Volunteer Infantry Army, Northern Virginia, Confederate States of America, Harris County, Georgia. Soldiers mentioned in the letters include: Lucius C. Norwood, Penkney G. Hatchett, Marcus D. L. Rowe, Ellington John Morgan Jr.,...

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The papers consist of certificates of purchases of land, a certificate commissioning Scarborough as Captain of a volunteer infantry company, land deeds, Territorial Florida manuscripts, a picture of Mrs. M.L. Scarborough, newspapers and clippings, personal letters, reports of blankets, provisions, and clothing required by Floridians in prison at Fort Delaware, promissory notes, receipts, invoices, and a typed copy of "Express-Supplement", a letter to an unknown newspaper editor by William T. Gregory in 1860, pertaining to the proposed secession from the Union by Florida and other states.

Also known as MSS 0-179

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17 original, handwritten letters, mostly written by James Lucius Cross, arranged chronologically. Some of the letters have been photocopied. Topics include his military experiences and the death of his young wife. Correspondents include his mother, brother, sister, and Francis Eppes. Seven of the letters are datelined from Tallahassee, where he lived and taught at the West Florida Seminary, including a letter from just after the Civil War (December 1865), where he worked for the United States Government shipping ordnance from Florida to South Carolina.

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These papers are official Confederate records of the hospitals in Georgia under the jurisdiction of Major George R. Fairbanks, Quartermaster, and some of his personal and family correspondence. The materials include budget and employment records, blank forms, inventory of money and effects of deceased soldiers, medical excuses and discharges, orders, passes, receipts, reports, requisitions and supplies, telegrams and transportation information.

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Printed copy of Message of the President, Executive Department, Tallahassee, December 9, 1864, to the Speaker of the House of Representatives Confederate States Congress, Richmond, Virginia. Signed by John Milton, Governor of Florida, the document is a "Joint Resolution of Confidence in and Thanks to President Jefferson Davis." Also signed by A.K. Allison, President of the Senate; F.L. Villepigue, Secretary of the Senate; Philip Dell, Speaker House of Representatives; Wm. Forsyth Bynum, Clerk House of Representatives; John Milton, Governor of Florida, and B.F. Allen, Secretary of State.

Also known as MSS 0-184

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This collection consists of photocopied notes and letter transcripts of the Munnerlyn Family. Among the items are genealogical notes on the family (photocopied); Civil War letters of James Keene Munnerlyn, 1861-1864, (Typescript translations of letters, photocopied); and notes about the materials (photocopied).

Scope and Contents Photostats of an Oath of Allegiance and of the Parole of Honor of two Confederate Veterans, Alabama and Tennessee (1862, 1865). The three Confederate documents are: 1. Photostat of printed form filled out in manuscript. Parole of Honor of James K. Stephens, Home at Greenville, Alabama, prisoner of war, belonging to the Army of the Department of Alabama, Mississippi and East Louisiana, having surrendered by order of Lt. Wm. R. Taylor, C.S.A. Aproved May 10, 1865 by W.H. Jackson, Brig. Gen. C.S.A., and E.S. Dennis, Brig. Gen. C.S.A., Commanders. 2. Photostat of Manuscript. Oath of Allegiance by Capt. J.D. Wheeler, County of Wilson, State of Tennessee. Attested by...

Scope and Contents Five photostat copies of Oaths of Allegiance to the Confederate States of America. They were signed respectively by Converse P. Devereau (born Maine, document certified Putnam County, Florida), Iasich Bullock (born England, document certified Putname County, Florida), Oscar F.A. Blood (born New York, document certified Putnam County, Florida), Franklin Hadlock (born Vermont, document certified Putnam County, Florida), and Charles P. Haines (born New Hampshire, document certified Putnam County, Florida). All of the Oaths are identicial expect for the names. The only major difference is with Bullock's oath as he was a British subject, not an American citizen when he signed the...

Scope and Contents Photostats of oath taken by Confederate Veterans to be reinstated as citizens of the U.S. Alabama and Tennessee (1865). The two Confederate documents are: 1. United States of America, District of West Tennessee. Oath of James K. Stephens, Madison, Tennessee. Attested by Abram S. Mitchell, Clerk, and John W. Gates, Deputy Clerk, July 15, 1865. 2. Office of Provost Marshal, Selma, Alabama, June 14, 1865. Oath by J.F. Conoby. Attested by S.C.A. Kener, Capt. 33rd Missouri Infantry, Provost Marshal. These two Confederate papers show the various forms and wording of oaths of citizenship used by the different states during that period. Also known as...

Scope and Contents The Olin Norwood collection consists chiefly of holograph French documents and correspondence, but there are also a variety of other materials, such as British, American, German and Belgian holograph, typed and printed correspondence and historical materials, pamphlets, newspaper clippings, pictures, and other materials. The materials in this collection cover topics such as the American Civil War and World War II, military issues such as the Battle of Kings Mountain or the bombardment of cities. Other materials discuss searching and seizing foreign vessels, people fleeing their country, slavery and the sale of slaves in areas such as South Carolina, and the collection also contains...

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Photocopy of Ordinance of Secession of the State of Florida, Tallahassee, Leon County, Florida, "Done in open convention, January 10th, A.D. 1861." The document is quite legible and bears the signatures of the sixty-nine delegates.

Also known as MSS 0-197.

Scope and Contents Includes materials on the American Civil War, the Bradford-Eppes family including Susan Bradford Eppes and Dr. Edward Bradford, plantation life, land and mortgages, banking, tomb inscriptions from the cemetery in Pine Hill, Florida, sheet music for "Twenty Years Ago" by J. E. McCullune, pamphlets from Orlando and Jacksonville, Florida, as well as genealogical data on the Eppes-Bradford family. Photographs include members of the Bradford-Eppes family, John Wilkes Booth, Louise Covington, and a United States Coast Guard Signal Service Station in Palm Beach, Florida. Includes manuscripts for the books Negro of the Old South and ...

Scope and Contents The four items presented to the FSU Library by the Honorable R.A. Gray, Secretary of State, Tallahassee, Florida, consist of the following: 1. Civil War letter (1863) written by Secretary Gray's Grand Uncle, W.D. Howren, while in the General Hospital at Augusta, Georgia, for treatment after "having a foot shot off in battle." The letter, addressed to Lieutenant J.C. Blake of 5th Fla. Vols., Richmond, Virginia, relates to baggage to be delivered to Lieutenant Blake. 2. A three-page World War II letter from another relative of Gray, signed "Buck," Philippine Islands, A.P.O. 715, (no date) to "Dear Roy." The letter gives on-the-battle-field information about a campaign in the mountains,...

Scope and Contents This collection is comprised of the background files, notes, correspondence, permission, maps, manuscripts, and other materials that were collected or created by Clifton Paisley during the writing of his work, Red Hills of Florida. Included among these items are biographical sources, census data, maps and surveys of the Red Hills region, letters to and from local organizations and persons, newspapers, and interviews. The majority of the collection consists of those materials which actually played a part in the publication of the book. These items include notes, manuscripts, galley proofs, camera ready copies, and photographs mainly dating from the 1970s...

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Photocopies of papers about Confederate Army Papers of Robert E. Lester, who served as Second Lieutenant in Company C, Fifth Florida Calvary. The Regiment was composed of eight companies of cavalry under the command of Colonel George W. Scott. D.W. Gwynn was Captain of Company C.

The collection includes copies of the following items: Muster Roll Company C Scott's Batln. Cavalry. Special Order dated Sept. 3, 1863. Special Order dated Nov. 3, 1863. Letter dated Nov. 3, 1863. Pay Receipt dated Sept. 3, 1864. Approved sick furlough dated February 1, 1865.