Collection Summary
Ezra Ayers Carman Papers
1861-1909
1861-1909
MSS15081
Carman, Ezra Ayers, 1834-1909
1,500 items
25 containers plus 2 oversize
10 linear feet
2 microfilm reels
English
Collection material in English
Manuscript Division, Library of Congress
Washington, D.C.
United States Army officer, civil servant,
and author. Holograph drafts of chapters, plus maps, correspondence, newspaper
clippings, notes, and printed matter comprising Carman’s book file for his history of
the American Civil War.
Selected Search Terms
The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in the LC
Catalog. They are grouped by name of person or organization, by subject or location, and
by occupation and listed alphabetically.
People
Carman, Ezra Ayers, 1834-1909.
Lincoln, Abraham, 1809-1865.
McClellan, George B. (George Brinton), 1826-1885.
Organizations
United States. Army--Officers.
Subjects
Secession--Southern States.
Secession--Virginia.
Slavery--United States.
Places
Maryland--History--Civil War, 1861-1865--Campaigns.
Potomac River--History.
Shenandoah River Valley (Va. and W. Va.)--History.
Tennessee--History--Civil War, 1861-1865--Campaigns.
United States--History--Civil War, 1861-1865.
Virginia--History--Civil War, 1861-1865--Campaigns.
West Virginia--History--Civil War, 1861-1865--Campaigns.
Occupations
Army officers.
Authors.
Civil servants.
Acquisition Information
The papers of Ezra Ayers Carman, United States Army officer, civil servant, and author,
were given to the Library of Congress by his son, Louis D. Carman, in 1912.
Processing History
The papers of Ezra Ayers Carman were arranged and described in the 1940s. Part of the
collection was reprocessed for microfilming in 1998. The entire collection was
reprocessed in 2003 by Michael Spangler. The finding aid was updated in 2023 by Maria
Farmer as part of a division-wide remediation project by the Inclusive Description
Working Group.
Transfers
Items have been transferred from the Manuscript Division to other custodial divisions of
the Library. Some newspapers have been transferred to the Newspaper Section of the
Serial and Government Publications Division. A map of West Virginia has been transferred
to the Geography and Map Division. All transfers are identified in these divisions as
part of the Ezra Ayers Carman papers.
Copyright Status
The status of copyright in the unpublished writings of Ezra Ayers Carman is governed by
the Copyright Law of the United States (Title 17, U.S.C.).
Access and Restrictions
The papers of Ezra Ayers Carman are open to research. Researchers are advised to contact
the Manuscript Reading Room prior to visiting. Many collections are stored off-site and
advance notice is needed to retrieve these items for research use.
Microfilm
A microfilm edition of part of these papers is available on two reels. Consult a
reference librarian in the Manuscript Division concerning availability for purchase or
interlibrary loan. To promote preservation of the originals, researchers are required to
consult the microfilm edition.
Preferred Citation
Researchers wishing to cite this collection should include the following information:
Container or reel number, Ezra Ayers Carman Papers, Manuscript Division, Library of
Congress, Washington, D.C.
Biographical Note
Date
Event
1834, Feb. 27
Born, Oak Tree, near Metuchen, N.J.
1855
A.B., Western Military Institute, Drennon Springs, Ky.
1855
1856
Assistant professor of mathematics, University of Nashville, Nashville,
Tenn.
1856
Married Louisa Salmon (died 1857)
1858
A.M., University of Nashville
1859
Married Ada Salmon
1861
1863
Served in the United States Army of the Potomac
1861
Commissioned lieutenant colonel, Seventh Regiment, New Jersey Volunteers
Infantry Division
1862
Wounded in Battle of Williamsburg, Va.
Commissioned colonel, Thirteenth Regiment, New Jersey Volunteers Infantry
Division
1863
1865
Served in the United States Army of the Cumberland
1865
Commissioned brigadier general, United States Volunteers
1865
1870
Active in lumber business, Newark and Jersey City, N.J.
1871
1875
Comptroller, Jersey City, N.J.
1877
1885
Chief clerk, United States Department of Agriculture, Washington, D.C.
1894
1898
Member, Antietam Battlefield Board
1905
1909
Chairman, Chickamauga and Chattanooga National Park Commission
1909, Dec. 25
Died, Washington, D.C.
Scope and Content Note
The papers of Ezra Ayers Carman (1834-1909) span the years 1861-1909 and constitute a
book file containing unpublished and fragmentary volumes of Carman’s projected history
of the American Civil War. The collection includes handwritten drafts of chapters,
correspondence, maps, notes, newspaper clippings, and printed matter.
Carman joined the Union army in September 1861 and served for the duration of the Civil
War. Commissioned lieutenant colonel in the New Jersey Volunteers Infantry Division, he
rose in rank to brigadier general and was active in over twenty engagements, including
the Battle of Antietam and the Atlanta Campaign. Later, he authored numerous articles on
the war for the
Encyclopedia Americana
. As a member of the Antietam Battlefield Board in the 1890s, he wrote
interpretive captions and assisted in producing an atlas of the battleground. His
research sources included printed copies of official correspondence and orders,
published recollections and memoirs, and his correspondence with veterans of the
war.
Although writings in the file suggest the large scope Carman intended for his work, many
volumes remained incomplete and various aspects of the war untreated. Some of the
fragmented volumes have been reconstructed from Carman’s notes. The most complete work
in the file, "The Maryland Campaign of September 1862," [also available on two microfilm
reels, Microfilm Shelf no. 21,925] describes and analyzes the battle with detailed
accounts of the political and military forces influencing relations between President
Abraham Lincoln and General George B. McClellan and other Union officers.
Carman’s regard for President Lincoln is reflected in “Abraham Lincoln - The Great
Commander” documenting Lincoln’s handling of the first years of the conflict from his
election to emancipation. An untitled volume filed under the heading “Secession”
describes the dissolution of the Union, and contains an introductory chapter with a
history of slavery and its effects and a section pertaining to the secession convention
in Virginia. Other volumes include “Campaign for East Tennessee and Chattanooga,” “First
Days of Rebellion on the Potomac,” “The Shenandoah Valley,” and “The West Virginia
Campaign of 1861."
Arrangement of the Papers
The material is organized alphabetically by volume title or by topic when no title was
supplied by Carman. Chapters not identified with any volume are filed alphabetically by
title under a Miscellany heading. Therein, chapters are arranged as assigned by Carman,
and ancillary material is filed alphabetically by type of material or topic. Withdrawn
oversize material is comprised chiefly of maps arranged according to the containers and
folders from which the items were removed. A description of oversize material appears at
the end of the container list.
Catalog Record: [https://lccn.loc.gov/mm81015081]
Container List
Boxes 13-16 available on microfilm. Shelf no. 21,925
Container
Reel
Contents
1
“Abraham Lincoln - The Great Commander”
1
Chapters
1
Vol. I
1
No. 1, “Abraham Lincoln”
1
No. 2, “South Carolina and the Southern
Confederacy”
1
No. 3, “Washington in the Winter of
1860-1861"
1
No. 4, “From Election to Inauguration”
1
No. 5, “Fort Sumter”
1
No. 6, “Baltimore and Washington”
1
No. 7, “Abraham Lincoln the Dictator”
1
No. 8, “The Advance into Virginia”
1
No. 9, “Fort Monroe and the York
Peninsula” [
See also Oversize
](carman1)
1
No. 10, “West Virginia,
April-July 1861" [
See also Container 18, “Western
Virginia, April-July 1861"](carman2)
1
No. 11, “Bull Run” [
See also Oversize
](carman3)
1
No. 12, “The Thirty-Seventh Congress”
1
No. 13, “General McClellan in Command of
the Army of the Potomac”
2
No. 14, “General McClellan in Command of
the Army of the United States”
(2 folders)
2
No. 15, “West Virginia, August-December
1861" [
See also Container 18, “Western
Virginia, August-December 1861”](carman4) and [
Oversize
](carman21)
2
No. 16, “Kentucky, Tennessee, and
Missouri”
2
No. 17, “Belmont, Logan’s Cross Roads,
Fort Henry, Fort Donelson, Pea Ridge, Island Number 10"
2
No. 18, “Shiloh and Corinth”
2
No. 19, “The Capture of New Orleans and
First Naval Attack on Vicksburg”
2
No. 20, “The Genesis of the Peninsula
Campaign”
2
No. 21, “The Naval Battle in
Hampton Roads” [
See also Container 18, same heading
](carman5)
2
No. 22, “Kernstown”
2
Vol. II
2
No. 1, “The Peninsula Campaign: Yorktown
to Fair Oaks”
2
No. 2, “The Shenandoah Valley: McDowell,
Strasburg, Front Royal, and Winchester” [
See also Oversize
](carman6)
2
No. 3, “The Shenandoah Valley: The Effort
to Capture Jackson”
3
No. 4, “The Shenandoah Valley:
Harrisonburg, Cross Keys, and Port Republic”
3
No. 5, “The Seven Days
Battle on the Peninsula” [
See also Container 18, Seven Days’
Battles, Va](carman7)., and [
Oversize
](carman8)
3
No. 6, “Withdrawal of the Army of the
Potomac from the Peninsula”
3
No. 7, “The Army under General Pope”
3
No. 8, “Lincoln, Halleck and McClellan”
[
See Container 15, Chapter A](carman9)
3
No. 9, “The Maryland Campaign of September
1862" [
See Container 15, Chapter B](carman10)
3
No. 10, “Emancipation”
3
Atlanta campaign
3
Chapters
3
No. 2, “Preparation”
(5 folders)
4
No. 3, “Rocky Face Ridge”
(4 folders)
4
No. 4, “Resaca”
(5 folders)
4
Related material
4
Casualty lists, 1864, undated
1864,
undated
(2 folders)
5
Correspondence, 1864, 1876
1864,
1876
5
Newspaper clippings, 1872-1879,
undated
1872-1879,
undated
5
Notes and research material, 1864,
1890-1893, undated
[
See also Oversize
](carman11)
1864, 1890-1893,
undated
(2 folders)
5
“Campaign for East Tennessee and Chattanooga”
5
Chapters
5
Vol. I, “Origins of War in Kentucky,
Tennessee, and Missouri”
5
No. 1, “Tennessee”
(2 folders)
5
No. 2, “Kentucky”
(2 folders)
5
No. 3, “Western Tennessee, Missouri, and
Western Kentucky”
5
No. 4, “Kentucky, Continued”
5
Vol. II, “Belmont to Corinth” (opening of the
Mississippi River)
5
No. 1, Untitled;
(2 folders)
6
No. 2, “Belmont”
6
No. 3, “Fort Henry”
6
No. 4, “Fort Donelson”
(2 folders)
6
No. 6, “New Madrid and Island No. 10"
6
Vol. III, “Buell’s Campaign to and including
Battle of Stones River”
6
No. 1, “Shiloh”
(4 folders)
6
No. 6, “Logan’s Cross Roads”
(2 folders)
7
No. 8, “Cumberland Gap and Northern
Alabama”
(2 folders)
7
No. 9, “Buell’s Advance on Chattanooga and
Bragg’s Counter Movement into Kentucky” [
See also Oversize
](carman12)
(2 folders)
7
Vol. IV, “Rosecran’s Campaign from
Murfreesboro ending with Chickamauga”
7
No. 1, “Chattanooga”
7
No. 2, “Wheeler’s Raid on Rosecran’s
Communications”
7
No. 3, “Brown’s Ferry”
7
No. 4, “Wauhatchie”
(2 folders)
7
No. 5, “East Tennessee”
7
No. 6, “Orchard Knob”
8
No. 7, “Missionary Ridge, November 24,
1863"
8
No. 8, “Lookout Mountain, November 24,
1863"
(3 folders)
8
No. 9, “Missionary Ridge, Nov. 25, 1863"
(2 folders)
8
No. 10, “Ringgold”
8
Fragments of chapters
8
“Chattanooga”
8
Set I
8
Set II
(3 folders)
9
“Chickamauga”
9
Set I
9
Set II
(3 folders)
9
“Concentration of the Federal Army at
Pittsburg Landing”
9
“Knoxville”
9
Set I
(3 folders)
9
Set II
(3 folders)
9
Miscellany
(1 folder)
10
(2 folders)
10
Shiloh
(3 folders)
10
Related material
10
Correspondence, 1876-1908,
undated
1876-1908,
undated
10
Maps, 1894-1895, undated
[
See also Oversize
](carman13)
1894-1895,
undated
10
Miscellany, undated
undated
10
Newspaper clippings, 1874-1885,
undated
1874-1885,
undated
10
Notes, undated
undated
10
Printed matter, 1893-1907,
undated
1893-1907,
undated
10
“First Days of Rebellion on the Potomac”
10
Chapters
10
No. 2, “Gosport Navy Yard and Fort Monroe”
10
No. 3, “Washington”
(1 folder)
11
(1 folder)
11
No. 4, “Maryland”
(2 folders)
11
No. 6, “Virginia Convention”
11
No. 7, “General Lee in Command of the
Virginia and Confederate Forces”
11
No. 8, “Colonel Thomas J. Jackson at Harper’s
Ferry”
11
No. 9, “The Lower Potomac”
11
No. 10, “Harper’s Ferry and the Upper
Potomac”
11
No. 11, “Occupation of Arlington Heights and
Alexandria by the Federal Army”
11
Related material, 1861, 1892,
undated
1861, 1892,
undated
12
“General John Pope and the Army of Virginia”
12
Chapters
12
No. 15, “General John Pope and the Army of
Virginia”
12
No. 16, “Cedar Mountain and the Line of the
Rappahannock”
12
No. 17, “Bristoe Station, Manassas Junction,
and Gainesville”
12
No. 18, “Groveton”
12
No. 19, “Second Manassas”
12
No. 20, Untitled
13
1
"The Maryland Campaign of September 1862"
13
1
Chapters
13
1
No. 1, “Maryland”
13
1
No. 2, “The Confederate Invasion of Maryland”
13
1
No. 3, “The Confederate Army Crosses the
Potomac”
13
1
No. 4, “General McClellan and the Army of the
Potomac”
13
1
No. 5, “Advance of the Army of the Potomac
from Washington to Frederick and South Mountain”
13
1
No. 6, “Harpers Ferry”
13
1
No. 7, “South Mountain (Crampton’s Gap)”
13
1
No. 8, “South Mountain (Turner’s Gap)”
14
1
No. 9, “From South Mountain to the Antietam”
14
1
No. 10, “McLaws and Franklin in Pleasant
Valley”
14
1
No. 11, “Organization of the Union and
Confederate Armies in the Maryland Campaign of September 1862"
14
1
No. 12, “The Field of Antietam”
14
1
No. 13, “The Prelude to Antietam”
14
1
No. 14, “The Two Armies”
14
1
No. 15, “The Battle of the Union Right and
Confederate Left, Daybreak to 7:30 a.m.”
14
1
No. 16, “The Battle of the Union Right and
Confederate Left, 7:30 a.m. to 9:00 a.m.”
14
1
No. 17, “The West Woods and Dunkard Church”
14
1
No. 18, “The Sunken Road”
15
2
No. 19, “The Dunkard Church”
15
2
No. 20, “The Middle Bridge, the Fifth Corps
and the Advance of Pleasanton’s Cavalry Division”
15
2
No. 21, “The Burnside Bridge”
(2 folders)
15
2
No. 22, “General Lee Recrosses the Potomac”
15
2
No. 23, “Strengths of the Union and
Confederate Armies Engaged at Antietam, September 17, 1862"
15
2
No. 24, “Union and Confederate Losses at
Antietam”
15
2
No. 25, “Shepherdstown and Boteler’s Ford”
15
2
No. 26, “The Results of the Maryland
Campaign”
15
2
No. 27, “Lincoln and McClellan”
15
2
A, “Lincoln, Halleck, and
McClellan: Preliminary to the Maryland Campaign”
15
2
B, “The Maryland Campaign of
September 1862"
16
2
Related material
16
2
Correspondence, 1897-1902,
undated
1897-1902,
undated
16
2
Maps, undated
undated
16
2
Notes and research material, 1863-1868,
undated
1863-1868,
undated
(3 folders)
17
“Recollections of Lee’s First Invasion and
the Battle of Antietam,” paper by Eugene Powell, 1895
1895
17
Miscellany
17
Chapters, drafts and fragments
17
“Bull Run”
17
Related material
(2 folders)
17
Text
(4 folders)
17
“The Case of General Stone”
17
Charleston Harbor, S.C.
(2 folders)
17
Chesapeake and Ohio Canal
17
“Formation of the State of West Virginia”
(2 folders)
17
McClellan, George Brinton
18
“The Naval Battle in Hampton
Roads” [
See also Container 2, same heading
](carman14)
18
“Organization of the Twentieth Corps”
(2 folders)
18
“The Peninsular Campaign”
18
The Seven Days’ Battles, Va.
[
See also Container 3, “The Seven Days
Battle on the Peninsula”](carman15)
18
“The Shenandoah Valley – 1862"
18
Southeastern Virginia in 1861
(2 folders)
18
“Western Virginia, April-July
1861" [
See also Container 1, “West Virginia,
April-July 1861"](carman16)
(2 folders)
18
“Western Virginia,
August-December 1861" [
See also Container 2, “West Virginia,
August-December 1861"](carman21)
19
Western Virginia, history
(2 folders)
19
Correspondence, 1861, 1876-1883
1861,
1876-1883
19
Maps, 1877, undated
[
See also Oversize
](carman17)
1877,
undated
(4 folders)
19
Newspaper clippings, 1862-1909,
undated
[
See also Oversize
](carman18)
1862-1909,
undated
(2 folders)
19
Newspapers
19
Cincinnati Weekly Enquirer
, 1885
1885
19
Miscellany, 1885, 1900
1885,
1900
19
Philadelphia Weekly Times
, 1878
1878
20
Notes and fragments, undated
undated
(6 folders)
20
Printed matter
20
Emancipation and fugitives from slavery,
1861-1862, undated
1861-1862,
undated
20
Miscellany, 1861-1893, undated
1861-1893,
undated
(3 folders)
20
Reports, 1861-1862, undated
1861-1862,
undated
21
Secession
21
Set I
21
Chapters
21
No. 1, “Introductory,” includes history of
slavery
(4 folders)
21
No. 2, “South Carolina”
(2 folders)
21
No. 3, “Meeting of Congress, December 3,
1860"
21
No. 4, “Secession of South Carolina,
Mississippi, Florida, Alabama, Georgia, and Louisiana”
(3 folders)
22
No. 5, “Charleston Harbor, July-December
1860"
(2 folders)
22
No. 6, “The South Carolina Commissioners”
22
No. 7,
Star of the West
22
No. 8, “Fort Pickens”
22
No. 9, “Seizure of Forts and Public
Property”
22
No. 10, “Secession of Texas”
22
No. 11, “Mission of Colonel Hayne”
22
No. 12, “Compromise Propositions”
22
No. 13, “Inauguration of Abraham Lincoln”
22
No. 14, “Organization of the Confederate
Government”
22
No. 15, “Fort Sumter”
(2 folders)
23
(1 folder)
23
No. 16, “The Call to Arms”
23
Set II
23
Chapters
23
No. 1, “The Virginia Legislature”
23
No. 2, “The Peace Conference”
(3 folders)
23
No. 3, “The Virginia Convention”
(5 folders)
24
“The Shenandoah Valley”
24
Chapters
24
No. 1, “The Shenandoah Valley
and Upper Potomac”
(2 folders)
24
No. 3, “Front Royal and Middletown”
24
No. 4, “Winchester”
24
No. 5, Untitled
24
No. 6, “Harrisonburg, Cross Keys, and Port
Republic”
24
Fragments of unnumbered chapters
24
“Baltimore and Ohio Railroad”
24
“Romney”
(2 folders)
24
Miscellany
24
“The West Virginia Campaign of 1861"
24
Chapters
24
No. 1, “Theatre of Operations”
(2 folders)
24
No. 2, “Grafton and Philippi”
24
No. 3, “Rich Mountain”
25
No. 4, “Corrick’s Ford”
25
"No. 5, “Kanawha Valley”
25
No. 6, “Gauley Bridge, Cross Lanes and
Carnifix Ferry”
25
No. 7, “Cheat Mountain”
(2 folders)
25
No. 8, “Greenbrier River”
25
No. 9, “Sewell Mountain”
25
No. 10, “Cotton Hill”
25
No. 11, “Allegheny”
25
No. 12, “The Shenandoah Valley and Upper
Potomac” [
See Container 24, same heading
](carman19)
25
Related material
25
Correspondence, 1861-1886,
undated
1861-1886,
undated
25
Maps, 1861-1887, undated
[
See also Oversize
](carman20)
1861-1887,
undated
25
Notes and research material,
undated
undated
OV 1
Oversize
OV 1
“Abraham Lincoln - The Great Commander,”
chapters
OV 1
Vol. I
OV 1
No. 9, “Fort Monroe and the
York Peninsula,” maps, 1865, undated (Container 1)
1865, undated
(Container 1)
OV 1
No. 11, “Bull Run,” maps,
undated (Container 1)
undated
(Container 1)
OV 1
No. 15, “West Virginia,
August-December 1861," map, undated (Container 2)
undated
(Container 2)
OV 1
Vol. II
OV 1
No. 2, “The Shenandoah
Valley: McDowell, Strasburg, Front Royal, and Winchester,” map,
undated (Container 2)
undated
(Container 2)
OV 1
No. 5, “The Seven Days Battle
on the Peninsula,” maps, undated (Container 3)
undated
(Container 3)
OV 1
Atlanta campaign
OV 1
Related material
OV 1
Notes and research material,
map and ledgers, undated (Container 5)
undated
(Container 5)
OV 1
“Campaign for East Tennessee and Chattanooga”
OV 1
Chapters
OV 1
Vol. III, “Buell’s Campaign to and
including Battle of Stones River”
OV 1
No. 9, “Buell’s Advance
on Chattanooga and Bragg’s Counter Movement into Kentucky,” map,
undated (Container 7)
undated
(Container 7)
OV 1
Related material
OV 1
Maps, 1894-1895
(Container 10)
1894-1895
(Container 10)
OV 2
Miscellany
OV 2
Maps, 1877, undated
(Container 19)
1877, undated
(Container 19)
OV 2
Newspaper clipping, 1862
(Container 19)
1862 (Container
19)
OV 2
“The West Virginia Campaign of 1861"
OV 2
Related material
OV 2
Maps, 1886, undated
(Container 25)
1886, undated
(Container 25)