Civil War Manuscripts Project
Alphabetical Name List E - F

by K. Nolin, M.L.I.S., Assistant Library Director

Internet Design and Implementation, Stephen Yearl, Digital Resource Administrator

A-B || C || D || E-F || G-H || I-J || K-L || M-N || O-P || Q-R || S-T || U-V || W-X || Y-Z
Index of Names || Index of Regiments || Index by Residence
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E

Eddy, Hiram

Typescript transcription of the Chaplain’s diary and his letters home produced by the Lyles family describes his life as an early prisoner of war and includes a list of fellow prisoners and financial accounts. Eddy was captured on 26 July 1861 after becoming separated from his regiment during the battle of First Bull Run, VA, 21 July 1861, and was paroled in July of 1862. Eddy passes his 49th birthday during his year-long capitivity in various prisons of the south. The collection also contains genealogical information on the Eddy family.
Location: MS 78637
*Restricted collection. In-library use only*

Papers, of which only Civil War era materials were examined. Various letters contain accounts of war news, especially pertaining to friends and acquaintances. See letters of 13 May 1864 from Walter Edwards in New York (Box 1, Folder C); 8 May 1864 from Sarah D. Edwards (Box 1, Folder D); 1 August 1864, Hanover [State unknown], from Sarah D. Edwards (Box 1, Folder D); 25 March 1865?, New York, from Sarah D. Edwards (Box 1, Folder D); 28 March 1861, Marietta, GA, from Eliab Metcalf Allen (he and his sister, Abbie Hiller, were on opposite sides of the war, Box 2, Folder I); 9 November 1864, New York, from William Henry Allen, mentions the 199th (?) Pennsylvania Infantry (Box 2, Folder N); and journal of Abigail Allen Hiller, 1860-1967, whose son Allen Maxcy Hiller (b.1848) joined a Pennsylvania regiment in September 1864 (Box 3, Folder H). Box No. 8 contains materials pertaining to a very interesting murder mystery. A finding aid is available in the Library of The Connecticut Historical Society.
Location: MS 87565

Record Book. This small book of accounts was begun in response to the U. S. Quartermaster General's October 1861 call for blankets for the soldiers. The regulation army blanket weighed five pounds; however, "good sound woolen blankets" weighing at least four pounds would be accepted. A request was also made at the same time for blankets and quilts for hospitals. The account book records the names of donors and material(s) or money donated. As a result of Eldridge's efforts, 26 blankets, 8 quilts, 1 sheet, and 2 shirts were donated and another ten blankets and a pair of socks were purchased with money "given by poor families (farmers) . . . in answer to the call from the government." The materials reached the army on 29 November 1861. This collection also contains two photographs of Eldridge's son James William Eldridge (1841-1909) in uniform. Lt. James Eldridge served with the 127th New York Infantry and the 23rd United States Colored Troops. See entry for James Eldridge.
Location: MS 94216, Folders G and H

Eldridge, James William

Diary, 180 pp., with notes added by Eldridge ca.1893-1898. According to Eldridge’s notes, he enlisted on 11 August 1862, was promoted to Corporal on 6 October 1862 and was again promoted, to Sergeant, on 10 November 1862. He received the rank of Second Lieutenant on 12 September 1864 and First Lieutenant on 19 March 1865. He joined the 23rd U. S. Colored Troops, with the rank of Second Lieutenant, in September 1864.
Location: MS

Letter, 4 pp., to Major George Luther Stearns (1809-1967), which introduces Charles Parkman Wheeler (1832-1898), whom he recommends for a commission in an African American regiment. Wheeler, a native of Concord, NH [?], and more recently of California and Oregon, was employed as a land surveyor and teacher. The Genealogical and Encyclopedic History of the Wheeler Family in America (Boston: American College of Genealogy, 1914. p.95) contains more detail on the life and family of Charles P. Wheeler.
Location: MS Tracy Collection

F

Letters to Horace Fenn from Plymouth, CT, soldiers: William H. Bishop, First Connecticut Cavalry, from Fredericksburg, VA, 8 July 1862 (1 letter); Lieutenant Franklin J. Candee, Second Connecticut Heavy Artillery, (5 letters:) 21 October 1862, 30 November 1862, 8 January 1863 from Alexandria, VA, 27 October 1863 from Ft. Ellsworth, VA, where Candee reports the unit had been "watching for that Russian fleet for some days thinking that we might get a glimpse of them as they go up to pay their respects to ‘Father Abraham,’" and 31 August 1864 from Silver Springs, MD, (Candee was killed 19 September 1864 at Winchester, VA); Private Ira H. Stoughton, Second Connecticut Heavy Artillery, from Ft. Worth, VA, 19 February 1863, wherein an account of a big snowball fight the previous day is given (1 letter); Private Asa T. Prentiss, Second Connecticut Heavy Artillery, 4 December 1863 (1 letter); and Major Leonard P. Goodwin, First Connecticut Cavalry, 4 April 1865 (1 letter).
Location: MS 71465

Letters to Horace Fenn from his brother Stephen Fenn, a minister in Cornwall, CT, 1862-1865. Collection also contains letters to Horace Fenn from various soldier friends in active service. Letter, 8 July 1862, Fredericksburg, VA, from William H. Bishop of Woodstock, serving as Quartermaster Sergeant, Company A, 1st Connecticut Cavalry; letters, 21 October and 30 November 1862, 8 January and 27 October 1863, and 21 June (". . . our gallant old regiment which started with over 1600 men now numbers only a little over 900 . . .") and 31 August 1864 from Franklin J. Candee of Plymouth, serving as 1st Lieutenant, Company H, 2nd Connecticut Heavy Artillery (Candee, who records himself as 5 feet 9 1/2 inches tall and 160 pounds, was killed on 19 September 1864 at Winchester, VA); letter, 19 February 1863, Ft. Worth, VA, from Ira H. Stoughton of Plymouth, serving as Quartermaster Sergeant, Company D, 2nd Connecticut Heavy Artillery; letter, 4 December 1863, from Asa T. Pettiss of Plymouth, serving as a Private in Company K, 2nd Connecticut Heavy Artillery; letter, 4 April 1865, from Leonard P. Goodwin of Plymouth, serving as Major in the 1st Connecticut Cavalry; and letters from Luther W. Clark, serving with Company C, 176th Ohio Infantry (XX Corps, Army of the Cumberland), in Nashville, TN, dated 9 March 1865, wherein he writes of the battle of Nashville and 27 May 1865 wherein he again discusses the battle of Nashville and its destruction upon the landscape. Letters from his brother Stephen Fenn discuss the raising of volunteers, town appropriations for soldiers' families, those residents with southern sympathies, war news, comparisons of the northern and southern armies and leaders (25 July 1861, "We miscalculate the strength & the hate of our enemy - Jeff Davis has made his pick of most of the most serviceable army officers."), preaching sermons, General John Sedgwick (7 June 1862: "The sister of Gen. Sedgwick rather conspicuous just now for the way he did things near Richmond the other day -- called on us yesterday." 24 September 1862, "[Sedgwick] is a Cornwall man."), the insanity of a Henry Bonney (9 March 1863), elections (13 April 1863), etc. On 5 April 1864, Stephen Fenn sends a "receipt" for the "most beautiful Blue black writing ink it takes to paper kindly -- is of full color when just used & is dog cheap by the gallon --" On 20 June 1864, Fenn remarks on the death and burial at Cold Harbor of Joseph Payne, "the favorite & brother, & the child of the old age of his parents. . ." On 18 April 1865, Stephen Fenn writes, "The country seems bound to survive for all the rage & murder by enemies. Rebs or Secesh have, I think, no occasion to rejoice that Lincoln has been shot." The entire Fenn correspondence spans 1859-1871 (183 letters). See Edward C. Starr's A History of Cornwall, Connecticut: A Typical New England Town (1926, p. 297) for more information on Stephen Fenn's life and ministerial career.
Location: MS 71425-41426, 71428-71430 and 71465

Two booklet diaries, 1862-1863, and a New Testament with four photographs pasted inside. Filley enlisted and was mustered-in a Private on 14 August 1862. He was captured 2 June 1864 at Bermuda Hundred, VA, was paroled, and promoted Corporal on 13 September 1864. He was promoted to Sergeant on 1 May 1865 and was discharged on 14 August 1865 to date 2 February 1865. On 21 June 1863, from St. Augustine, FL, Filley notes, "An Ordinance sargent in the Regular army committed suacide by shooting himself he was said to be deranged and has been here but a week." On 3 July 1863 Filley writes this interesting entry regarding a musician of Company E, "Bilbro and two others were placed under arest for going to a ball dresed in ladies clothes." Spencer rifles were received 18 November 1863 and were issued to all but the flank companies on 2 December 1863. On Christmas day 1863 Filley implies that Company A comrade Charles DeOrsay was whipped for stealing. Company A received their Spencers on 26 December 1863 and began to drill with their new weapons. The 1863 diary contains a lock of hair and a printed sheet describing the signal flags used in Fernandina, FL.
Location: MS 66108

Letter, 4 pp., from Washington, NC, to W. H. Potter. Fish, an unmarried farmer, enlisted on 25 July 1862 and was mustered-in on 5 September 1862. He was wounded at Drewry’s Bluff, VA, on 16 May 1864 and again at Petersburg, VA, on 18 July 1864. He died on 8 August 1864 from the wound received at Petersburg.
Location: MS Civil War Box II, Folder 1

Report, 2 sheets, taken from the records of Reverend C. R. Fisher of marriages and burials of soldiers in the "War of 1861." Rev. Fisher was the Rector of St. Paul's Church, Hartford. He records 30 marriages, 1861-1865, and 7 burials, 1861-1864.
Location: MS Civil War Box I, Folder 25

File contains published newspaper articles regarding the Civil War service of African American soldiers who primarily, but not exclusively, served in the 29th Connecticut Infantry (Colored) or the 31st United States Colored Troops (Companies A-D of which were originally intended to form the 30th Connecticut Infantry {Colored}). Soldiers discussed include: 1) Alexander H. Newton, born the free son of a slave father and a free mother in North Carolina, enlisted in the 29th Connecticut Infantry (Colored) on 18 December 1863. Following the war he wrote and published, Out of the Briars (Philadelphia: A. M. E. Book Concern, 1910), a combined autobiography and history of the 29th Connecticut. 2) Simon Manus (1820-1904) of Farmington, Company I, 29th Connecticut Infantry (Colored), was wounded at the battle of Chapin’s [or Chaffin’s] Farm, VA, on 29 September 1864. He is buried in Hillside Cemetery, Farmington. 3) Alfred Somers, a fugitive ex-slave and cook from Guilford who after the war settled in New Haven, and who enlisted in Company C, 31st United States Colored Troops, on 25 January 1864 and was mustered in a Corporal. He was promoted to Sergeant on 30 July 1864. Another article discusses 25 African Americans from Granby who served in the war, 11 of whom died while in service: Leonard Percy, George, Henry and Austin Elkey, Austin Goodman, George Sands, Edwin Thompson, Ira Wood, Edward Freeman, Cornelius Reeder, and James Jackson.
Location: MS 90111

Ordnance documents pertaining to Company E, 20th Connecticut Infantry, including list of ordnance stores, quarterly returns of ordnance and ordnance stores, invoice of supplies and reserve ordnance and ordnance stores, receipts of issued ordnance and ordnance stores and statement of loss of ordnance and ordnance stores which mentions two Company E Privates, Henry E. Mathews and Richard Lee. Foley had seen prior service in the 2nd Connecticut Infantry. He reenlisted on 15 August 1862 and was mustered-in Second Lieutenant, Company B, 20th Connecticut Infantry, on 8 September 1862. He was promoted to First Lieutenant, Company E, on 23 October 1863 and to Captain on 2 November 1864. He was mustered-out on 13 June 1865.
Location: MS 74260, Roderick Stanley (1779-1860) Papers

Discharge for Private Ford from the Third Massachusetts Heavy Artillery ("Unattached") at Fort Smith, VA, on 16 June 1865. The document states that Wilfred was 36 years old and had been born in Hamden, CT. The 1860 census index finds Wilfred Ford in New Haven.
Location: MS Civil War Box I, Folder 25

Letters written to Dr. Francis from: 1) R. L. Braden, Fort McHenry, 3 August 1862, who was the Surgeon in attendance at the hospital, Department of Convalescents. Braden was originally with the 47th Massachusetts [?] Infantry. He discusses the mixed sentiments of Baltimore residents regarding the war and writes about the recent confiscations of the George Weems and the Mary Washington, both Confederate steamers. 2) John Savary, New Orleans, 27 February 1863, 47th Massachusetts Infantry, Company A. Savary asks for newspapers and writes of the rebellious women of New Orleans. He also delivers a passionate tirade against "copperheads." 3) John J. Linson, Harper’s Ferry, 1863 May 25 and June 24, 6th New York Artillery (2 letters). On 25 May, Linson writes of picket duty, copperheads, his horse and camp life. He, too, requests newspapers. On 24 June he noted the 6th New York Artillery were "still holding Harpers Ferry" and were almost constantly under arms.
Location: MS Francis & Wadsworth Letters

Letter, 1 p., from New York City, to Governor John Albion Andrew (1818-1867) in Boston, MA, introduces Mr. Lewis C. Lockwood, lately a missionary to freedmen at Fort Monroe, who wishes to give his services in the cause of enlisting African Americans in the Union army.
Location: MS Tracy Collection

Letter from camp near Fredericksburg to his sisters Jane E. and Alice French and letter from Jane E. French to Albert. The unit identification is tentative. In his letter, French notes, "I went and see a Review in the lot by our Camp. there wer what is called a Corps present at the Review about Twenty Thousand men. you think this a mess of them don’t you. I see about 50,000 once at a Review many said there wer a hundred thousand. they cover a prety large lot. but when they come to fight there is none to many." The letter goes on, "Yesterday our Co. played a game of Ball with Co. A.... Our company got beat. I did not see them play as I had rather read, than play ball. it is work enough to drill without playing 1/2 day, hard at Ball." French gives an interesting description of an artillery drill, describing the caissons and the noise of the wagons. Finally, French relays this interesting bit of news, "When we came across the river the last time a man in Co H droped down and the doctors said he was dead. so the men in the Co. buried him as well as they could with their bayonets. and left him. he is now in Washington having come to life. and not being covered verry deap over his face got out. and as soon as he was up the Rebs got him. he has been parolled and is in Washington." The letter from Jane to her brother reveals her youth, for, though busy picking hops, she declares she weighs 77 pounds and is "so fat as to be hansom."
Location: MS 68837

Letter from Philadelphia, PA, to George Stearns (1809-1867) recommending his nephew W. E. Furness, a Harvard graduate, for a commission in an African American regiment. George Luther Stearns, a Massachusetts businessman, was instrumental in raising African American troops.
Location: MS Tracy Collection