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Size | 3 items |
Abstract | Autograph album kept by Lt. Oroon Alston Hanner of the 26th North Carolina Regiment, Company E, while incarcerated at the Federal Prison on Johnson Island, Ohio, September 1863 to March 1865. The album contains the signatures, addresses, and military units of approximately 155 Confederate soldiers. In addition to the autographs are several poems by various inmates describing prison life. Also present are Hanner's commission in the North Carolina militia (1866) and a photograph of Hanner in Confederate uniform. |
Creator | Hanner, Oroon Alston, 1842-1922. |
Curatorial Unit | University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Library. Southern Historical Collection. |
Language | English |
Processed by: Tim Pyatt, December 1996
Updated by: Laura Hart, June 2021
Encoded by: ByteManagers Inc., 2008
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Oroon (variant spelling, Oran) Alston Hanner was born 14 July 1842 on a farm located one mile south of present day Siler City, N.C. His parents were Dr. John Gillespie and Ann Palmer (Goldston) Hanner. Prior to his 28 May 1861 enlistment in the Confederate Army, Hanner had been attending the Haywood Academy in southeastern Chatham County. Hanner, a lieutenant in Company E of the 26th North Carolina Regiment, was captured by Union forces after being wounded at Gettysburg on or about 5 July 1863 and sent to the Johnson Island Prison, Ohio, on 18 September 1863. He was paroled in March of 1865 for transfer and exchange.
After the war, Hanner served in the North Carolina Militia and was elected to the House of the North Carolina Assembly in 1872, 1874, and 1880.
While in prison, Hanner was given an album by a local women's society. He used the album to collect the signatures, addresses, and military units of approximately 155 fellow Confederate soldier inmates. In addition to the signatures, several of the soldiers wrote poems and copied prose in the album. Included are:
Poems by Maj. McKnight: "Farewell Address to Johnson Island Ohio (29 October 1864)," "So One Unites to Me," "My Love and I"; Obituary for Capt. Simon E. Hamilton, 4 February 1864; "Yes, They Miss Me at Home!" by Brig. Gen. Jeff Thompson; "Battle of Gettysburg, Pa." by Capt. Barziza; "The Imprisoned Southron."
The album ends with a letter dated 16 February 1865 by L. B. Davis written to friends as he expected to be executed the following day. An album kept by Davis including a copy of his letter (and poems by Maj. McKnight) can be found in the Southern Historical Collection (#1902).
Also included are Hanner's commission in the N.C. Militia after the war, 16 November 1866, and a photograph of Hanner in Confederate uniform.
Back to TopFolder 1 |
Autograph album, 1863-1865 |
Folder 2 |
Militia Commission, 1866 |
Image Folder PF-4853/1 |
Photograph of Hanner in uniformCopy print. |