Civil War Resources in Duke's David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library

Resident of Gallatin, Tenn. Diary of a schoolgirl principally relating to the occupation of Gallatin, Tenn., and the surrounding region by Union troops under General Eleazer A. Paine. She describes the occupation; atrocities attributed to the Federal troops; the presence of former slaves, projects to educate them, and their abuse by Union troops from eastern Tennessee; and the presence of Confederate troops in the area. There is occasional mention of school life and of social visits.

Chiefly letters to Hedrick. The early correspondence is between Hedrick and Mary Ellen Thompson, his future wife. Other correspondence concerns life at the University of North Carolina, Hedrick's dismissal from the University in 1856 for his Republican and anti-slavery opinions, and his life in the North during the Civil War period.

Residents of New York, N.Y. Topics of these miscellaneous letters include the use of substitutes in the draft in New York; conditions around Shell Mound, Tenn., after occupation by Union troops; the occupation of Charleston, S.C., by Afro-American troops; and a school for freedmen run by Union troops on Sullivan's Island. Writers of these letters are Julian F. DeWitt and other members of the DeWitt family, and James G. Foster.

Correspondence, published writings and other papers, and scrapbooks (accession #68-34) (1,858 items; dated 1851-1907), relating to Bryant's Civil War service in South Carolina with the 8th Maine Volunteers, his activities as agent with the Freedmen's Bureau in Georgia, as a leader of the Negro Republicans in Georgia (1865-1887), his business ventures, and his interests in temperance and the Methodist Church.

The bulk of the volume has Weld's notes on different statutes and laws. It also includes a compendium of lawsuits and cases before agents of the Freedmen's Bureau, in N.C; some of these entries were made by Justin Hodge. Recorded disputes and case decisions include some over crops, animals, and unpaid debts; there are several cases of African-American men attempting to free their wives. There is a report of rations given to destitute white people and Freedmen.

Confederate general. This collection centers on a copy of a speech given by General Cleburne to the regimental commanders and general officers of the Army of the Tennessee on January 2, 1864. Walker considered the address inflammatory and likely to result in "ruin" and "disgrace." The document itself, signed by Cleburne, is his famous suggestion that the Confederacy, by that time in dire circumstances, should free the slaves and muster them into the Army.

Brigadier-general, U.S. Army, Department of the South. Letters addressed to Gen. Rufus Saxton in Beaufort, S.C. comment on the conscription of African-American troops, distribution of land to African-Americans, and dealing with African-American laborers. Includes Saxton's commission of June 16, 1862.

Report, 1864 July 1, by J. A. Walker, Captain in the 63rd Regiment, U.S. Infantry (Colored) and also Superintendent of Freedmen for West Tennessee. He reports on finances as well as conditions in the Holly Springs and Island camps and an orphan asylum.

Papers containing Matton's memoirs, 1866-1883, concerning his decision to come to the South as a preacher; the work of the northern Methodists throughout North Carolina; relations with the Methodist Episcopal Church, South; relations between the white and black membership of the church; church sponsorship of schools; camp meetings; and temperance.