COLLECTION GUIDES

1861-1943

Guide to the Collection

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Representative digitized documents from this collection:

Restrictions on Access

Use of the originals is restricted. This collection is available as color digital facsimiles (see links below). Black and white microfilm is also available for use in the library.


Collection Summary

Abstract

This collection consists of papers of Lt. Col. Charles F. Morse of the 2nd Mass. Infantry, primarily letters written by Morse during the Civil War to members of his family.

Biographical Sketch

Charles Fessenden Morse was born on 22 Sep. 1839 in Boston, Mass., the son of Robert McNeil Morse and Sarah (Clark) Morse. He graduated from Harvard in 1858 and, in May 1861, enlisted as a first lieutenant in the 2nd Regiment, Mass. Volunteer Infantry. In July 1862, he was promoted to captain. He fought at Cedar Mountain, Antietam, Chancellorsville, and Gettysburg (the last as a major), and after Gettysburg was promoted to lieutenant colonel. He also served as provost marshal in Atlanta, Ga. during the Union occupation of that city. He was mustered out in July 1865.

After the war, Morse worked as a cotton farmer in Georgia for 5 years before traveling west in 1870 to begin a career in the railroad business. He was general manager of the Atchison, Topeka, and Santa Fe Railroad in Topeka, Kan.; general manager and then president of the Kansas City Stock Yards Co. in Kansas City, Mo.; and president of the Kansas City Metropolitan Street Railway. He was also active in many civic institutions.

Charles F. Morse married Mary Ellen Holdrege in 1874 and had the following children: Laura Morse (later Brewer), Marian Morse (later Adams), Arthur Holdrege Morse, Eleanor Holdrege Morse (later Barrows), Dorothy Morse, Charles Fessenden Morse, Jr., and Thomas Robeson Morse. In 1898, he published Letters Written During the Civil War, 1861-1865. He retired to Falmouth, Mass. in 1913, where he died on 11 Dec. 1926.

Collection Description

This collection consists of papers of Lt. Col. Charles F. Morse of the 2nd Mass. Infantry, primarily letters written by Morse during the Civil War to his father Robert McNeil Morse, his mother Sarah (Clark) Morse, his brother Robert McNeil Morse, Jr., and his sister Ellen Clark Morse. Letters written from various posts throughout the southern states describe camp life, military routine, battles, and campaigns, including the battles of Cedar Mountain, Antietam, Chancellorsville, Resaca, and the siege of Atlanta in 1864. Many of the letters include drawings.

Later papers consist primarily of letters written to Morse on the publication of his Civil War letters and his account of the Battle of Gettysburg, many written by members of his regiment; and papers related to Morse's later career in the railroad business, in particular with the Atchison, Topeka, and Santa Fe Railroad, and with the Kansas City Stock Yards Co. Among the correspondents are Charles F. Adams, Edward P. Alexander, George L. Andrews, John A. Fox, John C. Ropes, Henry Sturgis Russell, and George A. Thayer.

Acquisition Information

Gift of Mrs. John Adams and C. F. Morse descendants, May 1952, Dec. 1954. Additions given by Thomas R. Morse, Aug. 1991.

Restrictions on Access

Use of the originals is restricted. This collection is available as color digital facsimiles (see links below). Black and white microfilm is also available for use in the library.

Other Formats

Select letters from this collection have been published in:

Morse, Charles F. Letters Written During the Civil War, 1861-1865. [Boston]: Privately printed, 1898.

The collection is also available on as color digital facsimiles and microfilm, P-805, 3 reels. See the Microfilm Reel List below.

Organization of the Collection

The collection is organized chronologically.

Detailed Description of the Collection

Box 1Folder 1Digital Content

June-July 1861

Box 1Folder 2Digital Content

Aug. 1861

Box 1Folder 3Digital Content

Sep. 1861

Box 1Folder 4Digital Content

Oct. 1861

Box 1Folder 5Digital Content

Nov. 1861

Box 1Folder 6Digital Content

Dec. 1861

Box 1Folder 7Digital Content

Jan. 1862

Box 1Folder 8Digital Content

Feb. 1862

Box 1Folder 9Digital Content

Mar. 1862

Box 1Folder 10Digital Content

Apr. 1862

Box 1Folder 11Digital Content

May 1862

Box 1Folder 12Digital Content

June 1862

Box 1Folder 13Digital Content

July 1862

Box 1Folder 14Digital Content

Aug. 1862

Box 1Folder 15Digital Content

Sep. 1862

Box 1Folder 16Digital Content

Oct. 1862

Box 1Folder 17Digital Content

Nov. 1862

Box 1Folder 18Digital Content

Dec. 1862

Box 1Folder 19Digital Content

Jan. 1863

Box 1Folder 20Digital Content

Feb. 1863

Box 1Folder 21Digital Content

Mar. 1863

Box 1Folder 22Digital Content

Apr. 1863

Box 1Folder 23Digital Content

May 1863

Box 1Folder 24Digital Content

June 1863

Box 1Folder 25Digital Content

July 1863

Box 1Folder 26Digital Content

Aug. 1863

Box 1Folder 27Digital Content

Oct. 1863

Box 1Folder 28Digital Content

Nov. 1863

Box 1Folder 29Digital Content

Dec. 1863

Box 2Folder 1Digital Content

Feb. 1864

Box 2Folder 2Digital Content

Mar. 1864

Box 2Folder 3Digital Content

Apr. 1864

Box 2Folder 4Digital Content

May 1864

Box 2Folder 5Digital Content

June 1864

Box 2Folder 6Digital Content

July 1864

Box 2Folder 7Digital Content

Aug. 1864

Box 2Folder 8Digital Content

Sep. 1864

Box 2Folder 9Digital Content

Oct. 1864

Box 2Folder 10Digital Content

Nov.-Dec. 1864

Box 2Folder 11Digital Content

Jan. 1865

Box 2Folder 12Digital Content

Mar.-May 1865

Box 2Folder 13Digital Content

June 1865

Box 2Folder 14Digital Content

July-Dec. 1865

Box 2Folder 15Digital Content

1870-1875

Box 2Folder 16Digital Content

1876-1878

Box 2Folder 17Digital Content

1880-1882

Box 2Folder 18Digital Content

1883

Box 2Folder 19Digital Content

1890-1896

Box 2Folder 20Digital Content

May 1898

Box 2Folder 21Digital Content

June 1898

Box 2Folder 22Digital Content

July 1898

Box 2Folder 23Digital Content

Aug.-Sep. 1898

Box 2Folder 24Digital Content

Oct.-Dec. 1898

Box 2Folder 25Digital Content

1899

Box 2Folder 26Digital Content

1900-1911

Box 2Folder 27Digital Content

1912

Box 2Folder 28Digital Content

1913

Box 2Folder 29Digital Content

1914

Box 2Folder 30Digital Content

1917

Box 2Folder 31Digital Content

1920, [1943], undated

Microfilm Reel List

Reel 1

Papers, 1861-1862

Reel 2

Papers, 1863-1864

Reel 3

Papers, 1865-1920, [1943]

Preferred Citation

Charles F. Morse papers, Massachusetts Historical Society.

Access Terms

This collection is indexed under the following headings in ABIGAIL, the online catalog of the Massachusetts Historical Society. Researchers desiring materials about related persons, organizations, or subjects should search the catalog using these headings.

Persons:

Adams, Charles Francis, 1835-1915.
Alexander, Edward Porter, 1835-1910.
Andrews, George Leonard, 1828-1899.
Fox, John Andrews, 1836-1920.
Morse, Ellen Clark, 1842-
Morse, Robert McNeil, 1807-1891.
Morse, Robert McNeil, 1837-1920.
Morse, Sarah Maria Clark, 1816-1863.
Morse family.
Ropes, John Codman, 1836-1899.
Russell, Henry Sturgis, 1838-1905.
Thayer, George A. (George Augustine), 1839-1926

Organizations:

Atchison, Topeka, and Santa Fe Railway Company.
Kansas City Stock Yards Co. (Kansas City, Mo.).
United States. Army. Massachusetts Infantry Regiment, 2nd (1861-1864).

Subjects:

Antietam, Battle of, Md., 1862.
Atlanta Campaign, 1864.
Cedar Mountain (Culpeper County, Va.), Battle of, 1862.
Chancellorsville, Battle of, Chancellorsville, Va., 1863.
Drawings.
Family history--1850-1899.
Gettysburg, Battle of, Gettysburg, Pa., 1863.
Railroad companies--United States.
Railroads--United States.
Resaca, Battle of, 1864.
Soldiers.
United States--History--Civil War, 1861-1865--Campaigns.
United States--History--Civil War, 1861-1865--Personal narratives.
United States--History--Civil War, 1861-1865--Regimental histories--Massachusetts Infantry, 2nd Volunteers.

Materials Removed from the Collection

A Civil War carte-de-visite album from this collection has been removed to the MHS Photo Archives (Photo. Coll. 243).