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 Stephen Tippet Andrews Letters #5324, Southern Historical Collection, Wilson Special Collections Library, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Alternate Form of Material

Published as Letters of Stephen Tippet Andrews of the 85th New York Volunteers, Company F, to Miss Margaret Little, Franklinville, New York, August 28, 1961[sic] to March 28, 1965[sic], during the Civil War (Pittsboro, N.C.: Town House Press, 1998.

Acquisitions Information

Received from Sally Andrews Earnest in March 2007 (Acc. 100620).

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: Joyce Chapman, September 2007

Encoded by: Joyce Chapman, September 2007

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.

• Andrews, Stephen Tippet, 1834-1891.
• Confederate States of America--Social conditions.
• Earnest, Salley Andrews.
• Fort Donelson, Battle of, Tenn., 1862.
• Kinston, Battle of, Kinston, N.C., 1862.
• Little, Margaret, d. 1912.
• New Bern (N.C.)--History--Civil War, 1861-1865.
• New York (State)--History--Civil War, 1861-1865.
• North Carolina--History--Civil War, 1861-1865.
• Soldiers--New York (State)--Correspondence.
• Soldiers--United States--Correspondence.
• United States--History--Civil War, 1861-1865--Military life.
• United States--History--Civil War, 1861-1865--Personal narratives.
• United States. Army--History--Civil War, 1861-1865.
• United States. Army--Military life--History.
• United States. Army. New York Infantry Regiment, 85th (1861-1865)

Stephen Tippet Andrews was born in 1834 to Isaac and Martha Beach Andrews in Allegany County, N.Y. On 26 August 1861, he enlisted for a term of three years with the 85th New York Infantry Regiment. He helped organize Company F and was mustered in as first sergeant of the Company in the second half of 1861. Andrews was captured with the Plymouth Pilgrims on 20 April 1864 and was held captive at an unknown location for roughly one year. On 8 April 1865, he was honorably discharged. After the Civil War he married Margaret Little and worked in a general store. He was appointed postmaster by President Benjamin Harrison. He served in this capacity until his death on 13 June 1891.

The collection contains letters from Stephen Tippet Andrews to Margaret Little (Maggie) written over the course of Tippet's service in the 85th New York Infantry Regiment during the Civil War. Also included a volume containing transcriptions of the letters and biographical information on Andrews and Little, written by their great-granddaugher Sally Andrews Earnest. Most letters are dated 1862-1863 and roughly half were sent from North Carolina where he was stationed, 1863-1864. There is a gap from 14 April 1864 to 28 March 1865 when Andrews was captured and held prisoner. Letters describe military life and provide news of battles won and lost, including the capture of Fort Donaldson in 1862; a battle on 31 May 1862 near Virginia; a series of encounters at Blackwater River near Suffolk, Va., in November 1862; the battle taking Kinston, N.C., in December 1862; and the Confederate attack on New Bern, N.C., in March 1863. The letters occasionally describe the southern homefront. They also discuss Andrews's feelings for Little and his hopes for their marriage and life together.