1861-1862
Guide to the Collection
Funding for the digitization of this collection and the creation of preservation microfilm was provided by the Institute of Museum and Library Services under the provisions of the Library Services and Technology Act grant as administered by the Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners.
Restrictions on Access
Use of the originals is restricted. This collection is available as color digital facsimiles (see links below). Black and white microfilm is also available for use in the library.
Abstract
This collection consists primarily of letters from Richard Cary, captain in the 2nd Massachusetts Infantry Regiment, to his wife Helen (Shelton) Cary.
Biographical Sketch
Richard Cary was born in Boston, Mass. on 27 June 1836, the youngest child of Thomas Greaves Cary and Mary Ann Cushing (Perkins) Cary. As a teenager, he lived in Mobile, Ala. and worked at the firm of merchants D. A. Dwight & Co. He married Helen Eugenia Shelton in 1858 and, in 1860, started his own business in New Orleans, La. He enlisted in 1861 and was commissioned captain in the 2nd Massachusetts Infantry Regiment, Company G. He saw action in Virginia and Maryland before he was killed at the Battle of Cedar Mountain in Aug. 1862 at the age of 26.
Collection Description
This collection consists of two volumes of the papers of Richard Cary, captain in the 2nd Massachusetts Infantry Regiment. The first volume is a scrapbook primarily containing letters to his wife Helen Eugenia (Shelton) Cary. Cary's letters describe Civil War camp life and several military engagements, including the Battle of Ball's Bluff and the 1862 Shenandoah Valley Campaign. Cary also wrote extensively about Massachusetts Governor John A. Andrew and fellow officers, including George B. McClellan, Nathaniel P. Banks, George L. Andrews, George H. Gordon, John C. Fremont, and Winfield Scott, as well as Rufus Choate, Jr. and Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr. One letter recounts Cary's brief meeting with John Wilkes Booth. The collection also includes obituaries; letters of condolence from Cary's friend Edwin T. Booth, Wilder Dwight, and others; and clippings about the Battle of Cedar Mountain.
The second volume contains unverified transcriptions of most of the correspondence in Series I, 11 July 1861-2 Aug. 1862.
Other Formats
This collection is available on microfilm, P-808, 1 reel.
Acquisition Information
Gift of Mrs. Richard Cary Curtis, May 1958.
Restrictions on Access
Use of the originals is restricted. This collection is available as color digital facsimiles (see links below). Black and white microfilm is also available for use in the library.
Detailed Description of the Collection
I. Scrapbook, 1861-1862 (disbound)digital content
This volume contains correspondence, primarily letters from Richard Cary to his wife Helen, and newspaper clippings. Note: This scrapbook has been disbound.
II. Transcriptions, 1861-1862 (disbound)digital content
This volume consists of unverified typed transcriptions of most of the original correspondence in Series I, 11 July 1861-2 Aug. 1862. Note: This scrapbook has been disbound.
Preferred Citation
Richard Cary letters, Massachusetts Historical Society.
Access Terms
This collection is indexed under the following headings in ABIGAIL, the online catalog of the Massachusetts Historical Society. Researchers desiring materials about related persons, organizations, or subjects should search the catalog using these headings.