American Civil War (1861-1865)

Letter from George W. Geer to Theodore Roosevelt

George W. Geer encourages Theodore Roosevelt to accept the nomination and become the next president. Geer explains his ancestors were the earliest settlers in America, fighting in every war, including the Civil War where he and his two brothers were injured. Geer plans to get every veteran to vote for Roosevelt. In his postscript Geer mentions his son, J. Eugene Geer, who traveled with Roosevelt during his first presidential campaign in 1904.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1911-12-18

Creator(s)

Geer, George W. (George Wolfe), 1835-1914

Letter from Rebecca B. Swezey to Theodore Roosevelt

Rebecca B. Swezey, or Sister Rebecca, appeals to Theodore Roosevelt again to help her uncle, Albert Field, receive his full pension for his time fighting in the Civil War. Sister Rebecca says that school teachers receive three times the amount soldiers do, and on the fiftieth anniversary of the beginning of the Civil War, its time to make sure the men are made comfortable.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1911-12-16

Creator(s)

Swezey, Rebecca B., 1861-1918

Military career of O. O. Howard

This military biography of General Howard details his career, including his role in the Civil War and Indian Wars.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1904

Creator(s)

Unknown

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to John D. McHenry

President Roosevelt sympathizes with the Catholic War Veterans’ Benevolent and Memorial Legion, of which John D. McHenry is president. Roosevelt believes that every “good citizen” must sympathize with its goals of honoring those who have died with a proper memorial service.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1907-09-11

Creator(s)

Roosevelt, Theodore, 1858-1919

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to William Warner

President Roosevelt regrets that he cannot attend the reunion of Civil War veterans. He asks Senator Warner to extend his best wishes to the veterans, for without their service, “there would be neither country, nor President, nor flag—nothing for Americans to take pride in now.”

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1907-08-24

Creator(s)

Roosevelt, Theodore, 1858-1919

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Hilary A. Herbert, et al.

President Roosevelt regrets to inform the Committee of Arrangement for the Celebration of the Hundredth Anniversary of the Birth of General Robert E. Lee that he will not be able to attend their celebration. However, he would like to join them in honoring Lee’s life and career as a “great soldier and high-minded citizen whose fame is now a matter of pride to all our countrymen.” He reflects on Lee’s life, character, and accomplishments and describes a man who “in the closing years of his life, served those who sorely needed what he so freely gave.”

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1907-01-16

Creator(s)

Roosevelt, Theodore, 1858-1919

Letter from James Timothy Flint to Theodore Roosevelt

James Timothy Flint knows that Theodore Roosevelt admired the work of his grandfather Timothy Flint, and wonders if Roosevelt has read John E. Kirkpatrick’s account of the elder Flint’s life. Flint also hopes that Roosevelt will provide a quotation or positive review for his forthcoming book of “Reminiscences,” which largely related to the Texas frontier during the Civil War.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1911-10-11

Creator(s)

Flint, James Timothy, 1849-1924

Letter from Emily Tyler Carow to Theodore Roosevelt

Emily Tyler Carow describes her experiences in Egypt, including her concern about an “undercurrent of hostility” that seems to be present in the Egyptian Arab people. Carow tells Roosevelt about her conversations with Lord Evelyn Baring Cromer and his dinner guests, which have been about topics such as the British occupation of Egypt, the American occupation of Cuba and the insular possession of the Philippines, whether Roosevelt will run for president again, and the natural beauty of the desert.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1907-02-01

Creator(s)

Carow, Emily Tyler, 1865-1939

Letter from J. M. Dickinson to Theodore Roosevelt

Judge Dickinson writes President Roosevelt to thank him for his kind words on the centenary of the birth of Robert E. Lee. He commends Roosevelt for bowing to neither sectionalism nor party in his commendation of a dutiful man.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1907-01-22

Creator(s)

Dickinson, J. M. (Jacob McGavock), 1851-1928

Letter from James Jeffrey Roche to Theodore Roosevelt

James Jeffrey Roche shares his views on a range of topics with President Roosevelt, including Roosevelt’s handling of Bellamy Storer’s “indiscretion” in Rome, the public’s response to the Brownsville case, and Roche’s support for Roosevelt’s simplified spelling idea.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1906-12-28

Creator(s)

Roche, James Jeffrey, 1847-1908

Letter from Louisa Lee Schuyler to Theodore Roosevelt

Louisa Lee Schuyler was deeply touched by President Roosevelt’s tribute to her recently deceased brother, Philip Schuyler, in the midst of Roosevelt’s busy public schedule. Schuyler says that her brother’s death was a blow; it would have been no surprise if he had died while serving in the Army of the Potomac during the Civil War, but he lived to serve his country for many more years.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1906-12-15

Creator(s)

Schuyler, Louisa Lee

Letter from Lawrence F. Abbott to Theodore Roosevelt

Lawrence F. Abbott asks President Roosevelt to review upcoming articles for the Outlook that celebrate the birthday of General Robert E. Lee. Abbott hopes Roosevelt will write something for the magazine on Lee and also discusses the seemingly new unity of the country based on northerners of abolitionist ancestry celebrating the Confederate general. Abbott also includes a handwritten postscript specifying the deadline if Roosevelt did wish to contribute materials.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1906-12-11

Creator(s)

Abbott, Lawrence F. (Lawrence Fraser), 1859-1933

Recalls Civil War history

Newspaper article presenting official reports from the American Civil War that refute statements make by Bishop Keiley. In a recent speech, Keiley attacked President Roosevelt for comparing Jefferson Davis to Benedict Arnold and claimed that General Miles chained Davis to the floor of his prison.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1902-05-04

Creator(s)

Unknown

Letter from J. M. Dickinson to Theodore Roosevelt

J. M. Dickinson has edited the text for President Roosevelt’s upcoming inaugural speech. Dickinson praises the speech, which he believes will help to heal the divide between the northern and southern states.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1905-01-13

Creator(s)

Dickinson, J. M. (Jacob McGavock), 1851-1928

A general view of the allotment system

The writer describes the success and hardships of the Allotment System, a program designed to deduct money from soldiers’ pay and have it sent home to their families during the Civil War. Theodore Roosevelt, Sr., W. E. Dodge, and Theodore Bailey Johnson were appointed commissioners by the President to visit regiments of volunteer soldiers in New York State.

Collection

Sagamore Hill National Historic Site

Creation Date

1862-02-18

Creator(s)

Unknown

Address by Curtis Guild Jr. on Grant Day in Des Moines, Iowa

Lieutenant Governor Guild of Massachusetts delivers a speech at an event commemorating President Ulysses S. Grant in Des Moines, Iowa. Guild reminds Iowans of their special connection to Grant, as Iowa regiments were key in his first great victory of the American Civil War, the Battle of Fort Donelson. Guild points out how Grant’s administration saw the beginnings of a lot of contemporary issues, like the fight between the gold and silver standard, the corruption of machine politics, and the ills of the spoils system. Guild does, however, defend Grant against his harshest critics, stating that Grant did punish many of the instigators of scandals like Credit Mobilier and the Whiskey ring, and that Grant’s idea to annex the Dominican Republic seems less extreme in light of recent South American upheavals.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1905-04-27

Creator(s)

Guild, Curtis, 1860-1915

Oration of Hon. Seth Low at the thirty-third re-union of the Society of the Army of the Potomac

Text of a speech given by Mayor Low to the Society of the Army of the Potomac in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. Low discusses the challenges of the Battle of Gettysburg and the American Civil War, as well as more current challenges, including the Anthracite Coal Strike.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1902-09-19

Creator(s)

Low, Seth, 1850-1916

Roosevelt and the South

Arguments that President Roosevelt is a friend of the Southern States and wants Southerners to feel fully American.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1902-05-02

Creator(s)

Unknown

Notes on the Civil War

These are notes Theodore Roosevelt gave his sister Corinne when he lectured to her on the Civil War, as indicated in a note from Corinne on page 5. Handwritten notes and typed transcript. Roosevelt talked about General Philip Henry Sheridan and how he turned untrained soldiers into experienced troops.

Collection

Harvard College Library

Creation Date

1890

Creator(s)

Roosevelt, Theodore, 1858-1919

Commander-elect Blackmar accepts in patriotic speech

This article quotes a speech given by General Wilmon Whilldin Blackmar, who accepts the honor which has been conferred on him at the 38th annual Grand Army of the Republic Encampment and discusses his experiences in the Civil War. Section titles include “Recalls When the Boys Came Home,” “Thank God So Many of Us Have Been Spared,” “The Host That Kept the Nation Whole,” and “Brought Home the Unstained Flag.”

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1904-08-19

Creator(s)

Blackmar, Wilmon Whilldin, 1841-1905