1862-1869
Guide to the Collection
Funding for the digitization of this collection and the creation of preservation microfilm was provided by the Institute of Museum and Library Services under the provisions of the Library Services and Technology Act grant as administered by the Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners.
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.
Abstract
This collection consists primarily of letters written by Dr. Charles E. Briggs while serving as assistant surgeon with the 24th Mass. Regiment, 1862-1863, and surgeon with the 54th Mass. Regiment, 1863-1865.
Biographical Sketch
Charles Edward Briggs was born on 6 Apr. 1833 to Robert and Caroline (Morton) Briggs of Boston. He graduated from Harvard Medical School in 1856. Between 1856 and 1862, he served as surgeon on the ship Jeremiah Thompson to London and the brig Newsboy to the Azores, practiced medicine in Boston, and taught Latin and Greek. On 12 Aug. 1862, he enlisted in the Civil War and was commissioned assistant surgeon in the 24th Mass. Infantry Regiment. He served at New Bern, N.C. and in the field in North and South Carolina. In Aug. 1863, he suffered a severe attack of dysentery and was hospitalized at Beaufort, S.C. After his recovery, he worked as post surgeon at Fort Marion, Fla., then was commissioned surgeon of the 54th Mass. Infantry Regiment on 24 Nov. 1863, beginning his service with that regiment at Morris Island, S.C. in May 1864. He served with the 54th until the end of the war and was mustered out on 20 Aug. 1865.
After the war, Charles E. Briggs moved to St. Louis, Mo. to practice medicine. He married Rebekah Whittaker (1844-1912) on 24 June 1869, and they had the following children: Caroline Morton Briggs, who married John Codman; Walter Motherwell Briggs, who married May Elizabeth Phillips; Paul Robert Briggs; and Charles Harold Briggs. Dr. Briggs also taught medicine, wrote on medical subjects, and was active in professional associations, including the International Medical Congress at Philadelphia in 1876. He died in 1894.
Collection Description
This collection consists primarily of letters written by Dr. Charles E. Briggs while serving as assistant surgeon with the 24th Mass. Regiment, 1862-1863, and surgeon with the 54th Mass. Regiment, 1863-1865. Letters written to his family in Boston and West Roxbury, Mass. describe his work in a hospital in New Bern, N.C., 1862-1863; work on the schooner Highlander off the coast of South Carolina, 1863; his promotion from assistant surgeon to surgeon, Aug. 1863; and the movement of the 24th Regiment from North Carolina to St. Augustine, Fla. Other topics include his decision to transfer from the 24th to the 54th Regiment, 1863-1864; medical care and post-mortem examinations following the Battle of Morris Island, S.C., 1864; conversations with Confederate prisoners; and poverty in South Carolina, 1864-1865. The collection also contains a letter written by Briggs to his mother Caroline (Morton) Briggs while a teacher at Mr. Churchill's Military Academy in Sing Sing, N.Y., Jan. 1862; and letters written to his family while working as a doctor in St. Louis, Mo., 1866-1869. In addition to his mother, correspondents include his siblings Robert Briggs, Caroline "Carrie" Morton Briggs, Elizabeth "Lizzie" (Briggs) Worthington, and Emma (Briggs) Allen.
Acquisition Information
Gift of Walter De Blois Briggs, 1961.
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
Letters from this collection have been published in:
Briggs, Walter De Blois. Charles Edward Briggs: Civil War Surgeon in a Colored Regiment. Berkeley, Calif.: [s.n.], 1960.
The collection is also available on microfilm, P-807, 1 reel.
Organization of the Collection
The collection is organized chronologically.
Detailed Description of the Collection
Jan.-Oct. 1862
Nov.-Dec. 1862
Jan. 1863
Feb. 1863
Mar. 1863
Apr. 1863
May-June 1863
July-Aug. 1863
Sep.-Oct. 1863
Nov. 1863
Dec. 1863
Jan. 1864
Mar.-Apr. 1864
May 1864
June-July 1864
Sep.-Oct. 1864
Nov.-Dec. 1864
Jan.-Mar. 1865
May-June 1865
Aug.-Dec. 1865
Jan.-May 1866
Sep. 1869
Memorabilia (dried flowers, etc.)
NOTE: The items in this folder have not been scanned.
Preferred Citation
Charles E. Briggs letters, 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.