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 Henry T. Bahnson Papers #5035-z, Southern Historical Collection, Wilson Library, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Alternate Form of Material

Microfilm copy (filmed 2005-2006) available.

• Reel 1: Entire collection

Acquisitions Information

Received from Archie H. Davis of Savannah, Ga., in July 2000 (Acc. 98689).

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.

Processed by: John Foster, November 2000

Encoded by: John Foster, November 2000

Revisions: Finding aid updated in May 2005 by Nancy Kaiser.

Funding from the Watson-Brown Foundation, Inc., supported the microfilming of this collection.

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.

• Appomattox Campaign, 1865.
• Bahnson, Henry T. (Henry Theodore), 1845-1917.
• Boyd, Belle, 1844-1900.
• Confederate States of America. Army--Military life.
• Confederate States of America. Army. North Carolina Infantry Battalion, 2nd.
• Confederate States of America. Army. North Carolina Sharpshooters Battalion, 1st.
• Gettysburg, Battle of, Gettysburg, Pa., 1863.
• North Carolina--History--Civil War, 1861-1865.
• Soldiers--Confederate States of America.
• United States--History--Civil War, 1861-1865--Personal narratives, Confederate.
• United States--History--Civil War, 1861-1865--Prisoners and prisons.
• Virginia--History--Civil War, 1861-1865.

• Virgina and North Carolina Construction Company Record Book (#5030-z).

Henry Theodore Bahnson was born on 4 March 1845 in Lancaster, Pa. His father, George Frederic Bahnson, was a Moravian bishop. In 1849, the family moved to Salem, N.C. Henry Bahnson attended Salem Boys' School before transferring, in 1858, to Nazareth Hall in Pennsylvania, a prominent Moravian institution. He then undertook theological studies at the Moravian Theological Seminary at Bethlehem, Pa.

In 1862, Bahnson returned to North Carolina and enlisted in the Confederate Army. He served in Company G of the 2nd North Carolina Infantry Battalion until his capture at the Battle of Gettysburg. After six months of captivity divided between the Baltimore City Jail and Point Lookout, Md., he was exchanged and returned to service with the Confederate Army. After his return, he was assigned to Company B, 1st North Carolina Sharpshooters Battalion. He served with this unit until his capture in the course of the Confederate surrender at Appomattox Court House, Va. After a brief internment in Virginia, he was released and made his way back to Salem, N.C.

After the war, Bahnson studied medicine at the University of Pennsylvania and several European universities. He spent the balance of his life practicing medicine in Salem, N.C., participating in various civic and corporate bodies including service on the board of directors of the Virginia and North Carolina Construction Company. He died after an illness of several months on 16 January 1917.

The papers of Henry T. Bahnson consist primarily of a series of notebooks that appear to have been produced in the early 1890s. The notebooks are mostly devoted to details of Bahnson's service in the Confederate Army during the Civil War with the 2nd North Carolina Infantry Battalion until his capture at the Battle of Gettysburg and with the 1st North Carolina Sharpshooters Battalion after his release. They document various aspects of military life, including extensive discussions of foraging, picket duty, and the experience of battle. Included are anecdotes drawn from Bahnson's everyday military experiences. The notebooks also contain an account of Bahnson's time as a prisoner at the Baltimore City Jail, during which he was removed from solitary confinement in order to make room for the Confederate spy Belle Boyd. There is brief mention of his transfer to the Union detention camp at Point Lookout, Md. The notebooks contain accounts of the Confederate retreat from Petersburg, Va., to Appomattox Court House; a brief encounter with General Robert E. Lee; details of Bahnson's capture; and a brief exchange between Bahnson and the Union cavalry general Philip Sheridan as Bahnson was being led away from the battle to prison. Also included is a program from Bahnson's funeral in 1917.