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Collection Number: 01299

Collection Title: William Whann Mackall Papers, 1839-1939.

This is a finding aid. It is a description of archival material held in the Wilson Library at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Unless otherwise noted, the materials described below are physically available in our reading room, and not digitally available through the World Wide Web. See the Duplication Policy section for more information.


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Size 1.0 feet of linear shelf space (approximately 470 items)
Abstract William Whann Mackall, a West Point graduate, served in the United States Army from his graduation in 1837 until 1861, and in the Confederate Army, 1861-1865, attaining the rank of brigadier general. After the war he lived at Langley, Va. He married Aminta Sorrel of Savannah, Ga., and had a son, W. W. Mackall (b. 1853), who was a lawyer in Savannah. Letters during the early period, 1839-1849, include those written from Florida while Mackall was on his way to Mexico, and from Mexico, discussing the military situation. Letters during the Civil War period include those written by Mackall to his family discussing skirmishes and battles and also the family's welfare, and letters written to Mackall from other Confederate officers discussing army politics and military actions in Kentucky, Tennessee, Alabama, Mississippi, and Georgia. Correspondents include Joseph Eggleston Johnston (27 letters), Braxton Bragg, Pierre Gustave Toutant Beauregard, and Jeremy F. Gilmer. Post-war papers largely concern Confederate military history and recollections, and include also the papers of Mackall's son, W. W. Mackall, who published privately "A Son's Recollections of his Father." Also available are scrapbooks and commissions and, on microfilm, genealogical and biographical data on the Mackall family.
Creator Mackall, William Whann, 1818-1891.
Curatorial Unit University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Library. Southern Historical Collection.
Language English
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expand/collapse Expand/collapse Information For Users

Restrictions to Access
No restrictions. Open for research.
Copyright Notice
Copyright is retained by the authors of items in these papers, or their descendants, as stipulated by United States copyright law.
Preferred Citation
[Identification of item], in the William Whann Mackall Papers, #1299, Southern Historical Collection, The Wilson Library, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Alternate Form of Material
Microfilm copy available.
Acquisitions Information
Deposit 1947
Additional Descriptive Resources
Original finding aid is filed in folder 1a.
Sensitive Materials Statement
Manuscript collections and archival records may contain materials with sensitive or confidential information that is protected under federal or state right to privacy laws and regulations, the North Carolina Public Records Act (N.C.G.S. § 132 1 et seq.), and Article 7 of the North Carolina State Personnel Act (Privacy of State Employee Personnel Records, N.C.G.S. § 126-22 et seq.). Researchers are advised that the disclosure of certain information pertaining to identifiable living individuals represented in this collection without the consent of those individuals may have legal ramifications (e.g., a cause of action under common law for invasion of privacy may arise if facts concerning an individual's private life are published that would be deemed highly offensive to a reasonable person) for which the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill assumes no responsibility.
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expand/collapse Expand/collapse Processing Information

Processed by: SHC Staff

Encoded by: Noah Huffman, December 2007

Updated by: Kathryn Michaelis, February 2010

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expand/collapse Expand/collapse Subject Headings

The following terms from Library of Congress Subject Headings suggest topics, persons, geography, etc. interspersed through the entire collection; the terms do not usually represent discrete and easily identifiable portions of the collection--such as folders or items.

Clicking on a subject heading below will take you into the University Library's online catalog.

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expand/collapse Expand/collapse Biographical Information

Mackall, a West Point graduate, served in the United States Army from his graduation in 1837 until 1861, and in the Confederate Army, 1861-1865, attaining the rank of brigadier general. After the war he lived at Langley, Va. He married Aminta Sorrel of Savannah, Ga., and had a son, W. W. Mackall (b. 1853), who was a lawyer in Savannah.

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expand/collapse Expand/collapse Scope and Content

Letters during the early period, 1839-1849, include those written from Florida while Mackall was on his way to Mexico, and from Mexico, discussing the military situation. Letters during the Civil War period include those written by Mackall to his family discussing skirmishes and battles and also the family's welfare, and letters written to Mackall from other Confederate officers discussing army politics and military actions in Kentucky, Tennessee, Alabama, Mississippi, and Georgia. Correspondents include Joseph Eggleston Johnston (27 letters), Braxton Bragg, Pierre Gustave Toutant Beauregard, and Jeremy F. Gilmer. Post-war papers largely concern Confederate military history and recollections, and include also the papers of Mackall's son, W. W. Mackall, who published privately "A Son's Recollections of his Father." Also available are scrapbooks and commissions and, on microfilm, genealogical and biographical data on the Mackall family.

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Contents list

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expand/collapse Expand/collapse Series 1. Correspondence, 1839-1877.

Collection includes originals and some typed copies. Letters during the early period, 1839-1849, include those written from Florida while Mackall was on his way to Mexico, and from Mexico, discussing the military situation. Letters during the Civil War period include those written by Mackall to his family discussing skirmishes and battles and also the family's welfare, and letters written to Mackall from other Confederate officers discussing army politics and military actions in Kentucky, Tennessee, Alabama, Mississippi, and Georgia.

Folder 1a

Original finding aid

Folder 1

1839-1847

Folder 2

1850-1863

Folder 3

1864

Folder 4

1865-1868

Folder 5

1871-1877

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expand/collapse Expand/collapse Series 2. Other Papers, 1878-1939 and Undated.

Includes more letters, some from Mackall to his son, and some to Mackall from Joseph Eggleston Johnston and Pierre Gustave Toutant Beauregard. Also included are papers pertaining to the "Fortnightly Club" and the "Monday Club," the papers of W. W. Mackall (son), and commissions of William Whann Mackall.

Folder 6

1878-1891

Folder 7

1919

Folder 8

1925-1930

Folder 9

January-15 March 1931

Folder 10

17 March-December 1931

Folder 11

1932-1936

Folder 12

1937-1939

Folder 13

Undated

Folder 14

Commissions

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expand/collapse Expand/collapse Series 3. Manuscript Books, 1853-1890.

Folder 15

Volume 1: Scrapbook and commonplace book, 1853-1854

Chiefly quotations, meditations, useful hints, and miscellaneous notes. Created by William Whann Mackall.

Folder 16

Volume 2: "A Collection of Scraps of Poetry, Prose, Thoughts, Expressions, Etc., Selected From Various Authors," 1872

Created by W. W. Mackall (son) for his mother.

Folder 17

Volume 3: Records of the Garrick Club, 1884-1885

Includes meeting minutes and personnel records.

Folder 18

Volume 4: Sketch of the life of General W. W. Mackall, 1890

Written by his wife. Also included is a memoir by one of Mackall's children. Sketch contains chronology, notes, anecdotes, and what is apparently a copy of some of Mackall's diary during his U.S. Army career.

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expand/collapse Expand/collapse Series 4. Microfilm.

Reels 1 and 2 are copies of the contents of folders 1-18. Reel 3 contains genealogical and biographical data on the Mackall family.

Reel M-1299/1-3

M-1299/1

M-1299/2

M-1299/3

Microfilm

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expand/collapse Expand/collapse Items Separated

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