1861-1868
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 of papers of artist Francis William Loring of Boston, Mass., including letters written during his Civil War service, other correspondence, commendations and orders, and military maps.
Biographical Sketch
Francis William Loring was born in Boston, Mass. on 26 May 1838, the son of William Joseph Loring and Anna (Thorndike) Loring. He graduated from Harvard in 1859. On 2 Sep. 1861, he enlisted and served as sergeant major in the 24th Massachusetts Infantry. On 9 Aug. 1862, he was commissioned first lieutenant and adjutant in the 38th Massachusetts Infantry and later, on 27 Jan. 1863, appointed aide-de-camp for Gen. William H. Emory of the 19th Corps. After the war, Loring worked as a cotton broker and agent in Boston, writing a book with his partner Charles F. Atkinson entitled Cotton Culture and the South Considered With Reference to Emigration (Boston: A Williams & Co., 1869). Loring then became an artist and lived in Europe after 1875, particularly in Florence, Italy. On 30 Dec. 1896, he married Caroline Lyttelton Pole-Carew. He died at Merano, Italy (then Meran, Austria), on 29 Oct. 1905.
Collection Description
This collection consists of papers of Francis "Frank" William Loring of Boston, Mass., primarily letters written to his mother Anna (Thorndike) Loring and sister Mary "Mollie" Greely Loring, as well as his uncle Charles Greely Loring, brother William Joseph Loring, and others, during his Civil War service in the 24th and 38th Regiments, Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry, and as aide-de-camp of Gen. William H. Emory. Many of the letters include drawings. The collection also contains some letters to Loring from Gen. Emory, Peter French, and others; letters from Mary to her mother on a trip South, May 1865; letters of recommendation written to Massachusetts Governor John A. Andrew, on behalf of Loring, by his uncle Charles and other prominent family members and friends; commendations and military orders; and printed and manuscript military maps.
Acquisition Information
Gift of Martins Bank, London, England, Nov. 1962.
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
The collection is also available as color digital facsimiles and on microfilm, P-802 (2 reels). See the Microfilm Reel List below.
Organization of the Collection
The bulk of this collection is organized chronologically.
Detailed Description of the Collection
1861
Jan. 1862
Feb. 1862
Mar. 1862
Apr. 1862
May 1862
June 1862
July 1862
Aug.-Sep. 1862
Oct. 1862
Nov. 1862
Dec. 1862
Jan. 1863
Feb. 1863
Mar. 1863
Apr.-June 1863
July 1863
Aug. 1863
Sep. 1863
Oct. 1863
Nov.-Dec. 1863
Jan.-Feb. 1864
Mar.-Nov. 1864
1865-1868
Notebook, 1861-1863
Maps, undated
Oversize maps, undated, 1864
Oversize maps, undated
Oversize maps, undated, 1863
Commendations, 1861-1862
Microfilm Reel List
Papers, 1861-1862
Papers, 1863-1868
Notebook, 1861-1863
Maps
Commendations
Tintype photographs
Preferred Citation
Francis William Loring 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:
Organizations:
Subjects:
Materials Removed from the Collection
The following tintypes of Newbern Tomb and an unidentified man, both Loring family servants, were removed to the MHS Photo Archives (Photo Coll. 500.49). There are six tintypes of Newbern Tomb: Photo. 500.49.1; Photo. 500.49.2; Photo. 500.49.3; Photo. 500.49.4; Photo. 500.49.5; Photo. 500.49.6; and two of the unidentified man: Photo. 500.49.7 and Photo. 500.49.8. (The envelope containing the photographs can be viewed here.) An ambrotype of the 38th Mass. Volunteer Infantry Regiment, taken while camped at Ship Island, Miss. in 1862, has also been removed and cataloged separately (Photo. 2.97).