COLLECTION GUIDES

1861-1862

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 primarily of letters from Richard Cary, captain in the 2nd Massachusetts Infantry Regiment, to his wife Helen (Shelton) Cary.

Biographical Sketch

Richard Cary was born in Boston, Mass. on 27 June 1836, the youngest child of Thomas Greaves Cary and Mary Ann Cushing (Perkins) Cary. As a teenager, he lived in Mobile, Ala. and worked at the firm of merchants D. A. Dwight & Co. He married Helen Eugenia Shelton in 1858 and, in 1860, started his own business in New Orleans, La. He enlisted in 1861 and was commissioned captain in the 2nd Massachusetts Infantry Regiment, Company G. He saw action in Virginia and Maryland before he was killed at the Battle of Cedar Mountain in Aug. 1862 at the age of 26.

Collection Description

This collection consists of two volumes of the papers of Richard Cary, captain in the 2nd Massachusetts Infantry Regiment. The first volume is a scrapbook primarily containing letters to his wife Helen Eugenia (Shelton) Cary. Cary's letters describe Civil War camp life and several military engagements, including the Battle of Ball's Bluff and the 1862 Shenandoah Valley Campaign. Cary also wrote extensively about Massachusetts Governor John A. Andrew and fellow officers, including George B. McClellan, Nathaniel P. Banks, George L. Andrews, George H. Gordon, John C. Fremont, and Winfield Scott, as well as Rufus Choate, Jr. and Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr. One letter recounts Cary's brief meeting with John Wilkes Booth. The collection also includes obituaries; letters of condolence from Cary's friend Edwin T. Booth, Wilder Dwight, and others; and clippings about the Battle of Cedar Mountain.

The second volume contains unverified transcriptions of most of the correspondence in Series I, 11 July 1861-2 Aug. 1862.

Other Formats

This collection is available on microfilm, P-808, 1 reel.

Acquisition Information

Gift of Mrs. Richard Cary Curtis, May 1958.

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.

Detailed Description of the Collection

I. Scrapbook, 1861-1862 (disbound)Digital Content

This volume contains correspondence, primarily letters from Richard Cary to his wife Helen, and newspaper clippings. Note: This scrapbook has been disbound.

Box 1Folder 1Vol. 1pages 1-10Digital Content

11 July-1 Aug. 1861

Box 1Folder 2Vol. 1pages 11-20Digital Content

4 Aug.-6 Sep. 1861

Box 1Folder 3Vol. 1pages 21-30Digital Content

7 Sep.-16 Oct. 1861

Box 1Folder 4Vol. 1pages 31-40Digital Content

20 Oct.-13 Nov. 1861

Box 1Folder 5Vol. 1pages 41-50Digital Content

24 Nov. 1861-14 Jan. 1862

Box 1Folder 6Vol. 1pages 51-60Digital Content

16 Jan.-6 Feb. 1862

Box 1Folder 7Vol. 1pages 61-70Digital Content

8-23 Feb. 1862; with clippings, undated and 28 May 1862

Box 1Folder 8Vol. 1pages 71-81Digital Content

28 Feb.-14 Mar. 1862

Box 1Folder 9Vol. 1pages 82-90Digital Content

20 Mar.-13 Apr. 1862

Box 1Folder 10Vol. 1pages 91-100Digital Content

14 Apr.-16 May 1862

Box 1Folder 11Vol. 1pages 101-110Digital Content

20 May-5 June 1862

Box 1Folder 12Vol. 1pages 111-120Digital Content

13-28 June 1862

Box 1Folder 13Vol. 1pages 121-130Digital Content

30 June-29 July 1862

Box 1Folder 14Vol. 1pages 131-140Digital Content

2 Aug. 1862; with clippings, undated and 4-12 Aug. 1862

Box 1Folder 15Vol. 1pages 141-150Digital Content

27 July-22 Aug. 1862; with clippings, undated and 11-14 Aug. 1862

Box 1Folder 16Vol. 1pages 151-160Digital Content

30 July-20 Aug. 1862

Box 1Folder 17Vol. 1pages 161-170Digital Content

13 Aug.-8 Oct. 1862

Box 1Folder 18Vol. 1pages 171-182Digital Content

15 Aug.-20 Sep. 1862

II. Transcriptions, 1861-1862 (disbound)Digital Content

This volume consists of unverified typed transcriptions of most of the original correspondence in Series I, 11 July 1861-2 Aug. 1862. Note: This scrapbook has been disbound.

Box 1Folder 19Vol. 2[i], pages 1-18 Digital Content

11 July-1 Aug. 1861

Box 1Folder 20Vol. 2pages 19-48Digital Content

4 Aug.-6 Sep. 1861

Box 1Folder 21Vol. 2pages 49-85Digital Content

7 Sep.-16 Oct. 1861

Box 1Folder 22Vol. 2pages 86-113Digital Content

20 Oct.-13 Nov. 1861

Box 1Folder 23Vol. 2pages 114-138Digital Content

24 Nov. 1861-14 Jan. 1862

Box 1Folder 24Vol. 2pages 139-156Digital Content

16 Jan.-6 Feb. 1862

Box 1Folder 25Vol. 2pages 157-167Digital Content

8-23 Feb. 1862

Box 1Folder 26Vol. 2pages 168-183Digital Content

28 Feb.-14 Mar. 1862

Box 1Folder 27Vol. 2pages 184-201Digital Content

20 Mar.-13 Apr. 1862

Box 1Folder 28Vol. 2pages 202-229Digital Content

14 Apr.-16 May 1862

Box 1Folder 29Vol. 2pages 230-250Digital Content

20 May-5 June 1862

Box 1Folder 30Vol. 2pages 251-273Digital Content

13-28 June 1862

Box 1Folder 31Vol. 2pages 274-300Digital Content

30 June-29 July 1862

Box 1Folder 32Vol. 2pages 301-304Digital Content

2 Aug. 1862

Preferred Citation

Richard Cary 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.

Persons:

Andrew, John A. (John Albion), 1818-1867.
Andrews, George Leonard, 1828-1899.
Banks, Nathaniel Prentiss, 1816-1894.
Booth, Edwin, 1833-1893.
Booth, John Wilkes, 1838-1865.
Cary, Helen Eugenia Shelton.
Choate, Rufus, 1847-1935.
Crowninshield, Francis W., b. ca. 1849.
Frémont, John Charles, 1813-1890.
Gordon, George H. (George Henry), 1825?-1886.
Holmes, Oliver Wendell, 1841-1935.
McClellan, George Brinton, 1826-1885.
Scott, Winfield, 1786-1866.

Organizations:

United States. Army. Massachusetts Infantry Regiment, 2nd (1861-1864).

Subjects:

Ball's Bluff, Battle of, Va., 1861
Cedar Mountain (Culpeper County, Va.), Battle of, 1862.
Shenandoah Valley Campaign, 1862.
United States--History--Civil War, 1861-1865--Campaigns.
United States--History--Civil War, 1861-1865--Regimental histories--Massachusetts Infantry, 2nd Volunteers.