Civil War Documents Preserved

By Walt Fogle · Originally published February 2021 · p. 28

This summer I was asked by a friend, Mary Hogan of Issaquah, Washington state, to assess and find a suitable repository for a sizable collection of Civil War documents. The Nixdorff family of Issaquah was interested in preserving the collection. The trove consisted of Confederate hospital ledgers, which I learned were Hospital Steward copies; correspondence between the CSA Surgeon General Samuel Moore and Confederate Hospital No. 3 in Goldsboro, N.C.; correspondence by CSA Surgeon William A. Holt; supply orders for Hospital No. 3; and a very interesting letter written by Williamston, N.C., businessman Docton W. Bagley to CSA Attorney and Judge Asa Biggs. Judge Biggs was a United States Senator prior to the War. In this letter Mr. Bagley discusses the secession convention, the slavery issue, the raising of area regiments, and personal matters. The documents were taken as war trophies by Private William S. Wade of Company M, 9th New Jersey Infantry. Private Wade was the Hospital Steward for the Company. The 9th New Jersey was in and around New Bern and Goldsboro, N.C., until July 12, 1865, when the regiment mustered out of service. The papers remained in the soldier’s family until the present day when I was asked to help find a permanent place for their safekeeping and preservation. Four bound volumes comprised the Hospital Ledgers. These listed soldiers from all over the Confederacy, their type of wound, when and where wounded, and current status. It was thrilling to be able to sort through the loose pages and find many references to important events in the war. For example, the Chief Surgeon at Hospital No. 3, William A. Holt, wrote, he “just learned about the fall of Fort Fisher,” and needed to know about the number of sick and wounded his hospital might expect or could be transferred from other hospitals as a result of the battle. Another letter, from HQ 2nd District, Dept. North Carolina and Southern Virginia, directs Holt to expect patients from the state prisons and authorizes him to establish another hospital at the Fairgrounds if it becomes necessary. Some of Private Wade’s personal papers are included too, such as a letter of recommendation elevating him to Hospital Steward, his transportation voucher home at war’s end, and personal writings. The materials in the collection are astounding and cover a variety of areas. A few examples are included with this article. The COVID 19 pandemic has made it difficult to find staff working at many museums. After a few dead ends I received great interest from Matthew Peek, the Military Collection Archivist for Special Collections at the State Archives of North Carolina.

Photos were sent and it was determined that the papers were well suited for preservation in Raleigh. After conservation, they will be made available for research and possible digitization for public use. As a Civil War enthusiast and amateur historian I was pleased to know these artifacts will go home to North Carolina with a little bit of the story of the Union soldier who was there and his family that kept them all these years. Walt Fogle