COLLECTION GUIDES

1864-1904

Guide to the Collection

browse digital content

Representative digitized documents from this collection:

Restrictions on Access

Use of the originals is restricted. This collection is available as digital facsimiles (see links below). Black and white microfilm is also available for use in the library.


Collection Summary

Abstract

This collection consists of 2 boxes of records of the Association of Officers of the 55th Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry.

Historical Sketch

The 55th Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry was the 2nd Black regiment raised in Massachusetts during the Civil War.

Collection Description

This collection consists of the records of the Association of Officers of the 55th Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry. It contains the manuscript and printed version of the record of the regiment as recorded in the diary of Col. Charles B. Fox. The printed version also contains statistical information and is annotated with biographical information on officers and enlisted men until the end of the 19th century. Also included are invitations and officers' replies to annual meetings (1867-1904); research notes on the history of the regiment compiled from officers' memos and journals, including those of Louis F. Emilio of the 54th Mass. Volunteer Infantry; correspondence regarding the regimental colors, pensions, and requests for help; and biographical information on several of the officers and a few of the Black soldiers.

The morning reports of the regiment from 27 March-14 April 1864 at Palatka are also included. Among the correspondents are Norwood P. Hallowell, Alfred S. Hartwell, Burt G. Wilder, Charles P. Bowditch, and Henry N. Sheldon.

Acquisition Information

Gift of the Allen D. Russell estate through Marjorie R. Aldrich of West Simsbury, Conn., Fall 1988.

Restrictions on Access

Use of the originals is restricted. This collection is available as digital facsimiles (see links below). Black and white microfilm is also available for use in the library.

Other Formats

The collection is also available as color digital facsimiles and on microfilm, P-499, 1 reel.

Detailed Description of the Collection

A. Loose itemsdigital content

Morning reports (Palatka)digital content

Box 1Folder 1digitized

27 Mar.-2 Apr. 1864

Box 1Folder 2digitized

3-6 Apr. 1864

Box 1Folder 3digitized

7 Apr. 1864

Box 1Folder 4digitized

8-14 Apr. 1864

Regimental historydigital content

Box 1Folder 6digitized

Circulars, 1868, 1894

Box 1Folder 7digitized

Extracts from officers' journals & memos, 1863

Box 1Folder 8digitized

Extracts from officers' journals & memos, 1864

Box 1Folder 9digitized

Extracts from officers' journals & memos, 1865

Box 1Folder 10digitized

Extracts and notes from officers' memos and journals, 1864-1865

Box 1Folder 11digitized

Research notes from officers' memos and journals, 1864-1889

Box 1Folder 12digitized

Correspondence, addresses, etc. 1874-1884

Box 1Folder 13digitized

Correspondence, addresses, etc. [189-], 1895-1901

Annual meetingsdigital content

Box 1Folder 14digitized

Circulars, 1867-1880

Box 1Folder 15digitized

Circulars, 1881-1904

Box 1Folder 16digitized

Correspondence, 1877-1887

Box 1Folder 17digitized

Correspondence, [189-], 1894-1895

Box 1Folder 18digitized

Correspondence, 1896

Box 1Folder 19digitized

Correspondence, 1898-1901

Box 1Folder 20digitized

Correspondence, 1902-1904

Box 2Folder 1digitized

Bills & receipts, 1867-1877

Box 2Folder 2digitized

Bills & receipts, 1878-1893

Box 2Folder 3digitized

Bills & receipts, 1894-1904

Correspondencedigital content

Box 2Folder 4digitized

Regimental colors, 1868-1872

Box 2Folder 5digitized

Regarding Charles W. Thompson, 1876

Box 2Folder 6digitized

Requests for help, pensions, etc. 1880-1895

Box 1Folder 5digitized

Constitution, 1866, rev. 1869

Box 2Folder 7digitized

Biographical: Death notices, etc. (officers)

Box 2Folder 8digitized

Biographical: Clippings, etc. (Black soldiers), 1897-1901

Box 2Folder 9digitized

Writings: Reprints, etc. (W. Symington Brown, H. O. Marcy)

Box 2Folder 10digitized

Writings: Burt G. Wilder, 1893-1908

Box 2Folder 11digitized

54th Regiment materials, 1883-1891

B. Volumesdigital content

Box 2Folder 12digitized

Records of the 55th Regiment, Vol I

1 volume.
Box 2Folder 13digitized

Records of the 55th Regiment, Vol II

1 volume.
Box 2Folder 14digitized

Record of the Service of the Fifty-Fifth Regiment of Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry (Cambridge, 1868)

1 printed volume.

Preferred Citation

Association of Officers of the 55th Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry records, 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.

Persons:

Bowditch, Charles P. (Charles Pickering), 1842-1921.
Emilio, Luis F. (Luis Fenellosa), 1842-1921.
Fox, Charles Barnard, 1833-1895.
Hallowell, Norwood Penrose, 1839-1914.
Hartwell, Alfred S. (Alfred Stedman), 1836-1912.
Sheldon, Henry N. (Henry Newton), 1843-1926.
Wilder, Burt G. (Burt Green), 1841-1925.

Organizations

United States--Army--African American troops.
United States--Army--Massachusetts Infantry Regiment, 55th (1863-1865).

Subjects:

United States--History--Civil War, 1861-1865--Muster rolls.
United States--History--Civil War, 1861-1865--Participation, African American.
United States--History--Civil War, 1861-1865--Personal narratives.
United States--History--Civil War, 1861-1865--Regimental histories--Massachusetts Infantry, 55th Volunteers.
Veterans--Massachusetts--Societies, etc.