The U.S Civil War in Southeast North Carolina

The bulk of this collection consists of letters written by Thomas J. Armstrong's son, Edward Hall Armstrong, during the Civil War. Also included are: a photograph of Edward, his officer commissions, and his book on military tactics, eulogies for Edward by various persons, a letter from Edward's body servant--a slave named Moses, and miscellaneous letters and documents from other family members, including Thomas's boyhood reminiscences, a receipt for sale of a slave, and a receipt for a $1000 Confederate bond.

On August 21, 1865, President Andrew Johnson pardoned Stephen Graham of Duplin County, North Carolina, for “taking part in the late rebellion against the Government of the United States…” Signed in Washington D.C., by Johnson and his Acting Secretary of State, it was a “full pardon and amnesty for all offenses by him committed, arising from participation, direct or implied, in the said rebellion.”

This paper is a photocopy of the original Commission document for William J. Hoke, Captain of the Southern Guards, signed by North Carolina Governor Charles Manly. The original document is stored in the archives of the Lower Cape Fear Historical Society.

This collection contains three maps of New Hanover county. Two maps document the topography and location of sunken blockade runners during the Civil War; the third map is of New Hanover county in 1949.

This collection contains excerpts of letters, diaries, papers, and published materials comprise the body of this research collection, which relate specifically to Wilmington and the Lower Cape Fear (LCF) during the Civil War. Subjects include troop movements, civilian life, shipping, prisoners of war, and military engagements. Wilmington was the last Confederate port to be captured; blockading and blockade runners and the defense and capture of Fort Fisher are especially well represented.

This collection contains the biographies of two prominent Wilmingtonians, General William MacRae and Colonel Walker Taylor. Both items are photocopies of the original.

A copy of a rare broadside calling the North Carolina legislature into special session was issued by Gov. John W. Ellis on April 17, 1861. The session was called as a result of Abraham Lincoln's call to arms "for the invasion of the peaceful homes of the South....." Only one original is known to exist (according to the donor) from which this copy was made.

This collection consists of a letter written by James R. Womble, a Confederate soldier, to his father, Thomas Womble. Womble was a laborer in Company A, 2nd Battalion, North Carolina Local Defense troops, of the Arsenal Guard. His letter is dated January 20, 1865. It was written from the City Courthouse of Wilmington and describes the fall of Fort Fisher.

Thirteen xerographic copies of letters sent to James and Elizabeth Gore High of Whiteville, North Carolina are contained in this collection. The letters were sent to them by their sons Daniel Pinckney High (known as D.P. or Pink), John H. High, and William J. High during the Civil War. James High also received letters from family friends, William H. Best and William R. Richardson, both of Whiteville.

Letter to Mrs. C.A. Council from her unnamed brother dated 17 February 1862. In the letter, Council's brother describes the location where his regiment is stationed during the Civil War.

This collection contains photocopies of letters and notes from Joseph Jonathan Davis to his wife Katherine Elizabeth Shaw. Many of the letters in this collection are referenced in T.H. Pearce’s, They Fought: The Story of Franklin County Men in the Years 1861-1865. Davis’s letters to his wife discuss his experience during the Civil War regarding soldiers, living conditions, weather, etc. Many of his letters include requests to his wife for supplies and also provide instructions for her regarding the management of their home.

This collection consists entirely of photocopies of pages from a journal or school exercise book kept by Miss Ellen Douglas Bellamy during the Civil War. Some time later, probably in the 1870s, the journal was used as a scrapbook and printed clippings were pasted over the handwritten text. The collection includes copies of pages both before and after clippings were stripped away.

This collection consists of four pages from three 19th century newspapers and magazines including Harper's Weekly: A Journal of Civilization, Frank Leslie's Illustrated Newspaper and The Illustrated London News. The reports covered in these pages recount various events that occurred in North Carolina during the Civil War. Subjects include an account of the revel steamer "Nashville" running the blockade at Beaufort, NC; the surrender of Fort Macon; the capture of Fort Fisher and an account of Wilmington and the Cape Fear River during the bombardment of Fort Fisher.

The Black Poet was the 1865 annouced title of a work to be published that was to contain "a concise history of the life" of George Moses Horton, bard and recently freed slave. Richard Walser used the 1865 title for his 1996 work on Horton, since no evidence exists that the 1865 book was ever written. Walser wrote his "concise history" during part of a year he spent on a Guggenheim Fellowship. Claude Howell completed the drawings for the book. This collection contains the manuscript draft that was sent to Claude Howell and is not the final draft. The index is not included.

This collection contains the papers of the Barden Family of Southeastern North Carolina. Contained are records, receipts, deeds, correspondence, and photographs. All items are photocopies, except for the photographs from 1922.

This collection contains a log of telegraphs sent from Smithville (Southport), Fort Caswell, and Wilmington, North Carolina from January 1863 through May 1863. These telegraphs reveal food shortages, lack of supplies, and war updates involving the Confederacy, primarily in these three North Carolina forts. Battles were not being fought at these forts during these dates, but it is possible to understand from this document what conditions were like and how the armies responded to successes and frustrations.

Papers of the Dr. T. F. Wood family of Wilmington, NC. Includes Dr. Woods's Civil War recollections, correspondence, writings of Dr. Edward Jenner Wood, and genealogy of the Wood family.

The Captain Edward W. Ward Collection includes various items related to Ward's experience during the Civil War including Confederate Bond Coupons, a loan to the Confederate States and papers regarding his military service. The collection also contains newspaper articles and documents regarding settlement of debts by made by Ward.

This collection contains research material collected by author Wilbur D. Jones, Jr. for his novels, including interviews, newspaper and magazine articles, photographs, author notes, correspondence with publishers, and drafts of the manuscripts.

This collection contains the family papers of Willis Wilson (1807-1860) and Amanda Pollock Wilson (1813-1888), white landowners, farmers, and enslavers in Duplin County, North Carolina.

This collection consists of correspondence between Anchram Harris Evans, a Confederate soldier during the Civil War from Brunswick County, NC, and his wife Elizabeth Kelly Evans (she is referred to as either "Bettie" or "Lizzie" in the letters). There are a handful of letters to or from other family members, as well as typed transcripts of the letters by their grandson, Troy Henry, from 1956. The bulk of the correspondence occured in 1864, but letters span the duration of the war from 1861 to 1865.

This collection primarily consists of illustrations from Civil War era newspapers including Frank Leslie’s Illustrated Newspaper, Harper’s Weekly, and Illustrated London News. Images printed in the newspapers are listed by the caption of the main illustration with page numbers and/or dates when known. Illustrations in this collection focus on the Civil War as it happened in coastal North Carolina, with many images from Cape Hatteras, New Bern, Fort Fisher, and Wilmington during the years 1861-1875. The collection also contains three civil war bank notes and a Confederate Cross of Honor.

This collection contains the biographical documents, familiy histories, diaries, works of poetry, genealogical lists, and photographs of the Ashe family of North Carolina. Most of the materials in this collection consist of photocopies or typed transcripts, but it does contain original diaries, letters, and photographs.

The Special Collections vertical files are compiled by Special Collections staff on an ongoing basis and contain material such as articles, photocopied documents, maps, emphemera, etc. of various persons, places, organizations, and topical subjects related to UNCW and Southeastern North Carolina history.