Collections of college and personal papers, as well as a select number of individual documents, have been briefly described in entries available for browsing and searching on this site. All collection and document descriptions contain a representative image and a summary of the contents.
Sorted chronologically
Union officer Jacob G. Frick describes how two soldiers (Harley Palmer and Charley Palmer) without any weapons reacted during a military engagement. While Charley followed orders to cross a river in order to avoid "any danger," Frick notes...
Location: MC 2003.4, B4, F17
Subject: Military Affairs and Conflict
Format: Letters/Correspondence
Time Period: 1860-1879
View Item: 
Letter from Jacob Frick to Unknown Recipient
Thomas Miller Griffith writes to his brother and sister and describes the scenes in Carlisle as the Confederates occupied and shelled the town in the days before the Battle of Gettysburg. As the Confederates first approached Carlisle in late June...
Location: MC 2005.4, B1, F2
Subject: Dickinson College Academic Affairs, Dickinson College Events, Dickinson College History, Education, Military Affairs and Conflict
Format: Letters/Correspondence
Time Period: 1860-1879
George D. Chenoweth describes the Confederate invasion, occupation, and shelling of Carlisle. He mentions leaving Carlisle before the raid, and the pleasure of finding none of their personal belongings disturbed upon his return. 12,000 men...
Location: I-Original-1863-4
Subject: Carlisle and Cumberland County, Military Affairs and Conflict
Format: Letters/Correspondence
Time Period: 1860-1879
View Item: Letter from George D. Chenoweth to James W. Marshall
Susanna Thompson writes a letter to Agnes Cuddy asking for information about the "rebels" and expressing worry over the state of the soldiers, including John T. Cuddy. Thompson also asks her friend for information about what happened when the...
Location: MC 2001.9, B1, F12
Subject: Carlisle and Cumberland County, Military Affairs and Conflict, Personal and Family Life
Format: Letters/Correspondence
Time Period: 1860-1879
View Item: Letter from Susanna Thompson to Agnes Cuddy
John Taylor Cuddy writes five letters to his friends and family describing his experience as a soldier for the Union Army during the Civil War. Cuddy discusses the places he has traveled through and the battles he has witnessed. In addition,...
Location: MC 2001.9, B1, F9
Subject: Military Affairs and Conflict, Personal and Family Life
Format: Letters/Correspondence
Time Period: 1860-1879
View Item: Letters from John Cuddy (Jul. - Sept. 1863)
Augustus Schell writes to former Secretary of State Jeremiah Sullivan Black regarding events leading up to the start of the Civil War, particularly Fort Sumter.
Location: I-SpahrB-1959-9
Subject: Military Affairs and Conflict, Politics and Government
Format: Letters/Correspondence
Time Period: 1860-1879
View Item: Letter from Augustus Schell to Jeremiah Black (Copy)
Thomas William Dick writes four letters to family members describing his experience as a soldier in the Union Army during the Civil War. Dick states that he was present at President Abraham Lincoln's Gettysburg Address and shook hands with...
Location: Mc 2001.10, B1, F8
Subject: Military Affairs and Conflict, Personal and Family Life, Politics and Government
Format: Letters/Correspondence
Time Period: 1860-1879
View Item: Letters from Thomas Dick (Jul. - Dec. 1863)
In a response to Augustus Schell sent to Jeremiah Sullivan Black in July, Black writes to Schell regarding James Buchanan's Cabinet, Fort Sumter, and General John Adams Dix.
Location: I-SpahrB-1959-9
Subject: Military Affairs and Conflict, Politics and Government
Format: Letters/Correspondence
Time Period: 1860-1879
View Item: Letter from Jeremiah Black to Augustus Schell (Copy)
John Keagy Stayman questions Edgar E. Hastings as to when the draft will be lifted from Cumberland County, as he is “considered by Uncle Sam a ‘first class man’.” He also asks whether or not Dickinson College is still being used as a hospital,...
Location: I-Friends-2013-3
Subject: Carlisle and Cumberland County, Dickinson College History, Military Affairs and Conflict
Format: Letters/Correspondence
Time Period: 1860-1879
Former President James Buchanan writes Joseph Camp Griffith Kennedy regarding his health and finances. "My own heart is good, except that I am a little crippled in walking by the effects of my late very severe attack of rheumatism," as Buchanan...
Location: I-Friends-2005-6
Subject: Economics and Finance, Health and Medicine, Politics and Government
Format: Letters/Correspondence
Time Period: 1860-1879
View Item: Letter from James Buchanan to Joseph C. G. Kennedy
John Taylor Cuddy writes four letters to his friends and family describing his experience as a soldier of the Union Army during the Civil War. Cuddy describes the places he has traveled through, expresses his wish for a furlough to return home,...
Location: MC 2001.9, B1, F9
Subject: Military Affairs and Conflict, Personal and Family Life
Format: Letters/Correspondence
Time Period: 1860-1879
View Item: Letters from John Cuddy (Oct. – Nov. 1863)
Mary Goodin writes to her sister, Jane Hastings, about settling into a new home in East Bloomfield, Pennsylvania and apologizes for not writing in five weeks. Transcript included.
Location: I-Friends-1975-16
Subject: Personal and Family Life
Format: Letters/Correspondence
Time Period: 1860-1879
View Item: Letter from Mary Goodin to Jane Hastings
Former President James Buchanan writes to Dickinson College President Herman Johnson Merrills with information on several alumni, including William Speer (Class of 1788), Jesse Magaw (Class of 1806), and Buchanan's brother George Buchanan (Class...
Location: MC 1998.10, B4, F7
Subject: Dickinson College Administration, Dickinson College Alumni Affairs, Dickinson College History, Education, Politics and Government
Format: Letters/Correspondence
Time Period: 1860-1879
View Item: Letter from James Buchanan to Herman Johnson
Supreme Court Chief Justice Roger B. Taney writes a private letter to Nahum Capen of Boston regarding a rumor about Taney resigning: "There is no foundation for the rumor that I have resigned or am about to resign the office of Chief Justice of...
Location: I-SpahrB-1960-4
Subject: Health and Medicine, Personal and Family Life, Politics and Government
Format: Letters/Correspondence
Time Period: 1860-1879
View Item: Letter from Roger B. Taney to Nahum Capen
The Dickinson College catalog for the 1863-1864 academic year. Through the years, the annual catalog was variously titled "The Bulletin," "Catalogue and Register," "Course Catalog," and similar variants. The catalog typically includes the list of...
Location: Dickinsoniana Periodicals
Subject: Dickinson College Academic Affairs, Dickinson College Administration, Education
Format: Books and Pamphlets
Time Period: 1860-1879
View Item:
John Taylor Cuddy writes four letters to his family describing his experience as a soldier of the Union Army during the Civil War. Cuddy, who has only three months left in the army, also discusses whether to join the veteran corps. Transcripts...
Location: MC 2001.9, B1, F10
Subject: Military Affairs and Conflict, Personal and Family Life
Format: Letters/Correspondence
Time Period: 1860-1879
View Item: Letters from John Cuddy (Jan. - Feb. 1864)
William Meredith writes seven letters to Eli Slifer, Secretary of the Commonwealth, regarding the applicability of the Act of 1840 to interest payments, the announcement of a draft for more soldiers , warrants against various railroad companies,...
Location: MC 2003.4, B7, F24
Subject: Business and Industry, Economics and Finance, Military Affairs and Conflict, Politics and Government
Format: Letters/Correspondence
Time Period: 1860-1879
View Item: Letters from William Meredith to Eli Slifer
William Meredith writes two letters to Pennsylvania Governor Andrew Curtin in which he differentiates between the acts of 1840, 1862, and 1863 that each relate to treasury payments, and discusses the reduction of state debt. Transcripts included...
Location: MC 2003.4, B7, F24
Subject: Economics and Finance, Politics and Government
Format: Letters/Correspondence
Time Period: 1860-1879
Supreme Court Chief Justice Roger Brooke Taney responds to Mr. E. C. Doughty's request for Taney's autograph. Taney also notes that his response has been delayed due to severe illness. Transcript included.
Location: I-SpahrB-undated-45
Subject: Personal and Family Life, Politics and Government
Format: Letters/Correspondence
Time Period: 1860-1879
View Item: Letter from Roger B. Taney to E. C. Doughty
Supreme Court Chief Justice Roger Brooke Taney writes to Associate Supreme Court Justice Samuel Freeman Miller and thanks Miller for his photograph. Taney notes that he has enclosed his own photograph and autograph.
Location: I-SpahrB-undated-43
Subject: Personal and Family Life, Politics and Government
Format: Letters/Correspondence
Time Period: 1860-1879
John Taylor Cuddy writes four letters to his parents describing his experience as a soldier of the Union Army during the Civil War. Cuddy mentions seeing Uncle Abraham in his regiment and notes that he hopes to be home soon. Cuddy also makes a...
Location: MC 2001.9, B1, F10
Subject: Military Affairs and Conflict, Personal and Family Life
Format: Letters/Correspondence
Time Period: 1860-1879
View Item: Letters from John Cuddy (Mar. – Apr. 1864)
Former President James Buchanan writes to his nephew, James Buchanan Henry, regarding Isabella Lynch, the daughter of one of his late friends. As Henry is an attorney, Buchanan asks him to look into Lynch's situation at the Convent of Visitation...
Location: I-Friends-2010-2
Subject: Personal and Family Life, Religion and Spirituality
Format: Letters/Correspondence
Time Period: 1860-1879
View Item: Letter from James Buchanan to James Henry
Former President James Buchanan's letter to his nephew, James Buchanan Henry, includes a list of individuals who have discharged their bonds or mortgages since April 1. Buchanan also provides instructions on various financial matters as well as a...
Location: MC 1998.10, B4, F8
Subject: Economics and Finance, Personal and Family Life
Format: Letters/Correspondence
Time Period: 1860-1879
View Item: Letter from James Buchanan to James Henry
Supreme Court Chief Justice Roger Brooke Taney (Class of 1795) writes to Associate Supreme Court Justice Robert Cooper Grier (Class of 1812) and discusses Grier's health as well as his own. Transcript included.
Location: I-SpahrB-undated-44
Subject: Health and Medicine, Politics and Government
Format: Letters/Correspondence
Time Period: 1860-1879
View Item: Letter from Roger B. Taney to Robert Grier
Former President James Buchanan writes James Buchanan Henry and includes payment for stocks that Henry purchased on behalf of Harriet Lane. Buchanan also asks Henry "to take out my will" as "it is neceseary or rather proper that I should make...
Location: MC 1998.10, B4, F8
Subject: Economics and Finance, Personal and Family Life
Format: Letters/Correspondence
Time Period: 1860-1879
View Item: Letter from James Buchanan to James Henry