Skip to main content

United States -- History -- Civil War, 1861-1865 -- Personal narratives

 Subject
Subject Source: Library of Congress Subject Headings

Found in 74 Collections and/or Records:

Samuel G. French and John Corse Civil War correspondence

 Collection
Collection number: ahc.MSS26f
Scope and Content

This collection contains two letters dated October 5, 1864 that pertain to the Battle of Allatoona Pass. One letter is from Major General S. G. French of the Confederate States of America demanding the commanding Union officer to surrender his troops. The other letter is a reply to Major General S.G. French from Brigadier General John W. Corse in which he refuses to surrender.

Dates: October 1864
Found in: Kenan Research Center at Atlanta History Center / Samuel G. French and John Corse Civil War correspondence

Thomas Deaton papers

 Collection
Collection number: ahc.MSS951f
Scope and Contents

This collection contains Thomas Deaton's financial, legal, and personal papers, the bulk of which pertain to the Civil War. Financial records include deeds of purchase for land and enslaved persons, as well as affidavits of sales. Also included is a diary he wrote while working at a Confederate hospital in which he recorded personal notes, information about meetings, records of the weather, and copied obituaries. Correspondence documents Deaton’s sale of grain to the Confederate Army.

Dates: 1838-1873, undated
Found in: Kenan Research Center at Atlanta History Center / Thomas Deaton papers

Thomas M. Coleman letter

 Collection
Collection number: ahc.MSS655f
Scope and Content This collection is comprised of one letter written by Coleman to his sister, possibly named Lizzie Coleman, on July 29, 1864, written from a “camp south of Atlanta.” Coleman provides a firsthand account of the Atlanta Campaign describing the charge and repulsion of the "rebels," the reclaiming of lost artillery pieces, and capture of Confederate soldiers. Below Thomas M. Coleman's signature in the same handwriting is "E. Coleman," whose identity has not been determined. A post script stating...
Dates: 1864 July 29
Found in: Kenan Research Center at Atlanta History Center / Thomas M. Coleman letter

Transcription of John Barnett letter

 Collection
Collection number: ahc.MSS20f
Scope and Content

This collection is a transcription of a letter written by John Barnett, a soldier in the Wisconsin 25th Infantry to "Brother Tom." The letter was written near Gainesville, Georgia. He describes movements across the Chattahoochee River to Kennesaw Mountain and on to Resaca. Date of transcription is unknown but definitely before 1956.

Dates: 1864 October 26
Found in: Kenan Research Center at Atlanta History Center / Transcription of John Barnett letter

Underwood, Key families papers

 Collection
Collection number: ahc.MSS213
Scope and Content This collection contains correspondence, envelopes and financial and legal documents belonging primarily to members of the Underwood family of Franklin County, and later Lithonia, Georgia. Most of the correspondence was written by William and Alvin Underwood to their parents and siblings when the pair served in the Confederate Army from 1861-1864. William sent correspondence to his family telling of his unit’s fitness and preparation, his optimism about a short war, his difficulties in...
Dates: 1827-1951 (bulk 1861-1864)
Found in: Kenan Research Center at Atlanta History Center / Underwood, Key families papers

Walraven family papers

 Collection
Collection number: ahc.MSS820
Scope and Content

This collection contains various papers including tax receipts and bills for Cobb County, Fulton County, City of Austell, and City of Atlanta. Also included are correspondence, graduation, invitations, and programs documenting the activities of the Walraven family.

Dates: 1850-1954, undated
Found in: Kenan Research Center at Atlanta History Center / Walraven family papers

Walter S. Burns civil war correspondence

 Collection
Collection number: ahc.MSS603f
Scope and Contents of the Records This collection contains 11 letters from Walter S. Burns to his parents living in Findlay, Ohio. He writes about living conditions in the army camps, the needs of a soldier, his business matters at home, and news such as deaths of friends and family. Burns’ letters begin in Nashville, Tennessee in 1862 and continue through 1864 from Murfreesboro, Tennessee, Ringgold and Atlanta, Georgia. He records fighting outside of Atlanta and the shelling of the city in his letter written on August 20,...
Dates: 1862 – 1864
Found in: Kenan Research Center at Atlanta History Center / Walter S. Burns civil war correspondence

Webb Family letters

 Collection
Collection number: ahc.MSS452f
Scope and Contents of the Records This collection contains 18 letters and 5 of the envelopes in which the letters were sent. Some are photocopies and some are original letters. Nine of the letters are from Robert R. Webb to his wife Elisabeth A. Webb dating from September 15, 1861 to May 15, 1862. Written first from Camp McDonald then later from his station at Portsmouth, Virginia and a General Hospital in Petersburg, Virginia, the letters deal mostly with matters of money. Robert R. Webb directs his wife in paying debts and...
Dates: 1861 – 1888, 1908
Found in: Kenan Research Center at Atlanta History Center / Webb Family letters

Wilbur G. Kurtz, Sr. papers

 Collection
Collection number: ahc.MSS130
Scope and Content This collection contains the personal and professional papers of Wilbur G. Kurtz, Sr. The bulk of the personal papers pertain to the Kurtz and Fuller families and Wilbur's early adult life in Greencastle, Indiana and Chicago, Illinois. The personal papers also contain a series of diaries written by Wilbur and correspondence between Kurtz and Fuller family members.The professional papers and research papers consist primarily of the research materials and notes compiled by Wilbur...
Dates: 1814-1993, undated
Found in: Kenan Research Center at Atlanta History Center / Wilbur G. Kurtz, Sr. papers

William Burke papers

 Collection
Collection number: ahc.MSS724f
Scope and Content This collection consists of three letters; two envelopes; one certificate declaring intent to become a United States citizen; and an abstract of a marriage record pertaining to William Burke. All materials except the envelopes have transcriptions. Two of the letters were written to Burke during the Civil War, one from Georgia by John Bailey and the other from Petersburg, Virginia, by John Welsh. The letters describe camp conditions; casualties; weather; lack of pay; and concerns about the...
Dates: 1849-1864, undated
Found in: Kenan Research Center at Atlanta History Center / William Burke papers

William H. Parkins manuscript

 Collection
Collection number: ahc.MSS167
Scope and Content This collection consists of a handwritten autobiographical narrative of William H. Parkins titled Hiding Out or the Adventures of a Confederate Conscript: A Thrilling Narrative of the War Between the States. A revision of his diary, commencing with the secession debates in South Carolina in 1860, continuing until Parkins crossed the picket lines in Knoxville, Tennessee, in 1864. The narrative is 430 pages and ends with Parkins catching a train to New Albany,...
Dates: 1885
Found in: Kenan Research Center at Atlanta History Center / William H. Parkins manuscript

William Jack papers

 Collection
Collection number: ahc.MSS925
Scope and Content

This collection contains forty-six letters regarding the Civil War. Each accompanied by a typed transcription. Included are a sixteen page letter describing the Battle of Chancellorsville, a hand drawn pencil sketch of camp, and letters regarding the Atlanta Campaign, particularly the Battle of Peachtree Creek.

Dates: 1862-1865, undated
Found in: Kenan Research Center at Atlanta History Center / William Jack papers

William M. Standard papers

 Collection
Collection number: ahc.MSS1031
Scope and Content This collection consists of diaries; correspondence; military records and certificates; newspaper clippings; land deeds; and ephemera pertaining to William M. Standard. The collection also contains a school essay written by Standard's great-great-grandson, Ron Currens, and a 1961 map of Civil War battlefields on which Currens marked the route his ancestor followed during the war. Of particular interest are over 200 letters exchanged between Standard and his wife, Jane, as well...
Dates: 1846-1970, undated
Found in: Kenan Research Center at Atlanta History Center / William M. Standard papers

William P. Harden papers

 Collection
Collection number: ahc.MSS137f
Scope and Content

This collection contains military orders, a newspaper clipping, as well as business letters that Dr. Harden received. Included are a summons before an unidentified medical board for his appointment as a surgeon, a letter countermanding transfer orders, a letter about legal issues with Lew Stewart, and a letter to "Jessie" about her education.

Dates: 1862-1885
Found in: Kenan Research Center at Atlanta History Center / William P. Harden papers