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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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Collection Overview
| Size | 54 items |
| Abstract | William Royal, originally from New York State, was captain of Company F, 9th Colored Infantry Regiment, during the Civil War, and, after the war, a Freedmen's Bureau (Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen, and Abandoned Lands) agent in Georgia. The collection includes letters and other papers, 18 November 1863-6 March 1869, relating to William Royal. The letters were sent to Royal from various correspondents and mainly relate to events in the daily lives of their writers, but there is some discussion of Royal's service in the Freedmen's Bureau, the rising presence of the Ku Klux Klan, and the presidential election of 1868. Papers relating to Royal's service in the United States Army consist chiefly of invoices for military supplies (shoes, uniforms, rifles, etc.) either received by the regiment or sent back to the Quartermaster. Freedmen's Bureau papers consist mostly of circulars issued by the Bureau about providing jobs for unemployed freedmen; preserving civil order; forming a temperance society for freedmen; responding to intimidation by a "secret organization," presumably the Ku Klux Klan; and other issues. |
| Creator | Royal, William, fl. 1863-1869. |
| Curatorial Unit | Southern Historical Collection |
| Language | English |
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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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Biographical Information
William Royal, originally from New York State, was a captain of Company F, 9th Colored Infantry Regiment, during the Civil War. After the war, he served in Georgia as an agent of the Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen, and Abandoned Lands, commonly known as the Freedmen's Bureau.
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Scope and Content
The collection includes letters and other papers, 18 November 1863-6 March 1869, relating to William Royal. The letters were sent to Royal from various correspondents and mainly relate to events in the daily lives of their writers, but there is some discussion of Royal's service in the Freedmen's Bureau, the rising presence of the Ku Klux Klan, and the presidential election of 1868. Papers relating to Royal's Civil War service in the United States Army with Company F, 9th Colored Infantry Regiment, consist chiefly of invoices for military supplies (shoes, uniforms, rifles, etc.) either received by the regiment or sent back to the Quartermaster. Freedmen's Bureau papers consist mostly of circulars issued by the Bureau about providing jobs for unemployed freedmen; preserving civil order; forming a temperance society for freedmen; responding to intimidation by a "secret organization," presumably the Ku Klux Klan; and other issues.
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Series Quick Links
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Series 1. Correspondence, 2 April
1868-6 March 1869.
Arrangement: chronological.
Letters received from 2 April 1868 to 6 March 1869 by William Royal from various sources. The letters mainly relate events in the daily lives of their writers, but there is some discussion of Royal's service in the Freedmen's Bureau in Tebeauville, Ga., and Saint Mary's, Ga., including expressions of concern over increased Ku Klux Klan activity in the state of Georgia. Some letters also deal with the presidential election of 1868, one letter describing a Republican party meeting in Albany, N.Y., leading up to the election, and another speculating on the merits of Ulysses S. Grant as president of the United States. Frequent writers include Lydia Royal of Albany, N.Y., William Royal's sister; F. A. Sartell of Charlestown, Mass., a missionary in Georgia and friend of William Royal; and S. F. Fergeus, of Lewisburg, Pa., and Grace Martin, of Canandaigua, N.Y, both friends of William Royal.
| Folder 1 |
Correspondence, 2 April 1868-6 March 1869 |
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Series 2. Other Papers, 18 November
1863-4 May 1868.
Arrangement: by type.
Papers relating to William Royal's service in the United States Army as captain of Company F, 9th Regiment, United States Colored Troops, and his later service in the Freedmen's Bureau. United States Army papers consist mostly of invoices for military ordinance (shoes, uniforms, rifles, etc.) either received by the regiment or sent back to the Quartermaster. Other papers include payments for board in army hospitals and a record of court-martial proceedings against a member of Company F. Also included is a manuscript copy of a form for Royal's transfer from the 44th New York State Volunteers, in which he originally enlisted, to the 9th Regiment, United States Colored Troops; a commission detailing Royal's promotion to the rank of brevet major; and a collection of receipts from telegrams and mailed packages.
Freedmen's Bureau papers consist mostly of circulars issued by the Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen, and Abandoned Lands, pertaining to issues facing the Bureau. These issues include providing jobs for unemployed freedmen; preserving civil order; forming a temperance society for freedmen; and responding to intimidation by a "secret organization," presumably the Ku Klux Klan. Also included is a circular provided by the Union Republican Party of Georgia, which contains the text of an act of the United States Congress providing for the imposition of a military government in the former Confederate states and the steps these states needed to take for removal of the military government and readmission into the Union.
| Folder 2 |
United States Army papers, 1863-1868 |
| Folder 3 |
Freedmen's Bureau papers, 1865-1868 |