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.
This collection was rehoused and a summary created with support from the National Endowment for the Humanities; this finding aid was created with support from NC ECHO.
Size | 120 items |
Abstract | Charles H. Olmstead (1837-1926), was a Confederate Army officer and member of the 1st Georgia Infantry Regiment. The collection contains military papers including orders, circulars, communications and telegrams, reports, and some correspondence about military matters, sent and received by Charles H. Olmstead at Fort Pulaski, Ga., from 1861 until its surrender in 1862; at Morris Island and Fort Johnson on James Island, S.C., in 1863; and in the vicinity of Savannah and Atlanta and elsewhere in Georgia in 1864-1865. Olmstead was imprisoned at Fort Columbus after the surrender of Fort Pulaski and wrote a letter, 10 June 1862, to United States Secretary of War Stanton complaining about the treatment of the Confederate sick and wounded in a manner in violation of the surrender terms. In addition, there are twenty-four letters, 1861-1864, from Olmstead to his wife at Savannah and Milledgeville, Ga., describing camp life; military activities at various locations, including, in addition to places previously mentioned, Tybee Island, Ga., and Hilton Head, S.C.; his estimation of the military situation; and speculation about the future. |
Creator | Olmstead, Charles H. |
Curatorial Unit | University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Library. Southern Historical Collection. |
Language | English |
Processed by: SHC Staff
Encoded by: Noah Huffman, December 2007
Updated by: Kathryn Michaelis, February 2010; Kate Stratton and Jodi Berkowitz, July 2010
This collection was rehoused and a summary created with support from the National Endowment for the Humanities.
This finding aid was created with support from NC ECHO.
Diacritics and other special characters have been omitted from this finding aid to facilitate keyword searching in web browsers.
Back to TopThe 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.
Charles Hart Olmstead (1837-1926), of Savannah, Ga., was a Confederate Army officer and member of the 1st Georgia Infantry Regiment. Olmstead was adjutant of the 1st Georgia Volunteer Regiment and, under the command of Colonel A. R. Lawton, took part in the occupation of Fort Pulaski, Ga., at the mouth of the Savannah River. When Colonel Lawton was sent to Virginia as general, Olmstead was made colonel of the 1st Georgia Regiment and remained at Fort Pulaski until he was forced to surrender. Olmstead was imprisoned at Fort Columbus, N.Y., after the surrender of Fort Pulaski. In 1863 he was at Fort Johnson on James Island, S.C., and in 1864-1865 was with troops in North Georgia.
Back to TopThe collection contains military papers including orders, circulars, communications and telegrams, reports, and some correspondence about military matters, sent and received by Charles H. Olmstead at Fort Pulaski, Ga., from 1861 until its surrender in 1862; at Morris Island and Fort Johnson on James Island, S.C., in 1863; and in the vicinity of Savannah and Atlanta and elsewhere in Georgia in 1864-1865. Olmstead was imprisoned at Fort Columbus after the surrender of Fort Pulaski and wrote a letter, 10 June 1862, to United States Secretary of War Stanton complaining about the treatment of the Confederate sick and wounded in a manner in violation of the surrender terms. In addition, there are twenty-four letters, 1861-1864, from Olmstead to his wife at Savannah and Milledgeville, Ga., describing camp life; military activities at various locations, including, in addition to places previously mentioned, Tybee Island, Ga., and Hilton Head, S.C.; his estimation of the military situation; and speculation about the future.
Back to TopFolder 1a |
Original finding aid |
Folder 1 |
1860-1861Includes letters from Charles H. Olmstead to his wife giving detailed accounts of activities at Fort Pulaski, and at Tybee Island, Ga., including a description of the Confederate position there. Some letters also mention federal occupation of Hilton Head, S.C., and Tybee Island, Ga., and describe a visit from Robert E. Lee, A. R. Lawton, Joseph E. Brown, and other important persons. Military papers include communications regarding commissions, ordnance, transfer of personnel, extra pay for soldiers doing day-labor details on the fortifications, reports and orders; there are many communications from neighboring defense post in the Savannah, Ga., coastal region. |
Folder 2 |
1862Includes a letter to United States Secretary of War Stanton, written from Fort Columbus, about the Confederate sick and wounded prisoners held illegally following the surrender of Fort Pulaski, and another item concerning the United States's non-compliance with the surrender terms. |
Folder 3 |
1863Includes orders, circulars, and other communications from H. W. Mercer, Edward C. Anderson, and William B. Taliaferro, among others, mostly related to the Charleston and Morris Island, S.C., assignment and preparations in that area to withstand the enemy. |
Folder 4 |
January-16 April 1864 |
Folder 5 |
20 April-December 1864Letters from Charles H. Olmstead in North Georgia to his wife discuss skirmishes, comment on foreign companies in the regiments, the desperate Confederate position, and his fears for the future. Also included is Olmstead's official report on the part taken by Mercer's Brigade in the fighting of 31 August and 1 September 1864. |
Folder 6 |
1865 and undatedIncludes orders and memoranda concerning the disposition of Confederate horses, arms, and other assets, and the suspension of hostilities. |