Collection title: Francis A. Ireland Letters
Collection number: MS 261
Dates of collection: 1862-1865
Size of collection: 1 box
Restrictions on access and use: This collection is kept at Fogler Library's
offsite storage facility. One week's notice is required for retrieval.
Biography
Francis Ashbury Ireland, the son of John P. and Martha M. Ireland, was born in Dexter, Maine, on July 27, 1843. He was educated in the public schools there and was a member of the class of 1889 of the Maine Central Institute. During the Civil War, he was a private in the 22nd Maine Regiment, Company E, serving in Virginia and Louisiana, where his regiment took part in the siege of Port Hudson.
After the war he was employed by the Pomeroy Woolen Company in Pittsfield, Massachusetts, and later served as a messenger in the Massachusetts Senate for 23 years. Ireland died in Pittsfield on April 28, 1928.
Scope and Content Note
The collection contains letters written by Francis A. Ireland to his family between September 1862 and July 1863 while he was serving in the 22nd Maine Regiment, Company E. The letters were primarily written from Bangor, Maine; Washington, D.C.; Alexandria and Newport News, Virginia; and Baton Rouge, St. Martinsville, and Port Hudson, Louisiana. They provide detailed descriptions of the daily life of a soldier and give insight into the psychological state of the men in the company.
A few letters to Francis Ireland from his father and brother are also included in the collection.
Contents of Box
Box 1
F1 Francis from "Brother," 25 Feb. 1862, 2 pgs.
F2 Francis to "Father," from Bangor, 27 Sept. 1862, 4 pgs.
F3 Francis to "Father," from Bangor, 29 Sept. 1862, 3 pgs.
F4 Francis to "Father," from Bangor, 5 Oct. 1862, 4 pgs.
F5 Francis to "Father," from Bangor, 19 Oct. 1862, 3 pgs.
F6 Francis to "Father," from Washington, D.C., 25 Oct. 1862, 3 pgs.
F7 Francis from "Father," 31 Oct. 1862, 3 pgs.
F8 Francis to "Father," from Alexandria, VA, 4 Nov. 1862, 4 pgs.
F9 Francis to "Father and Mother," from Newport News, VA, 14 Nov. 1862, 4 pgs.
F10 Francis to family, from Newport News, VA, 15 Nov. 1862, 3 pgs.
F11 Francis to "Father and Mother," from Newport News, VA, 24 Nov. 1862, 4 pgs.
F12 Francis to "Father and Mother," from Newport News, VA, 27 Nov. 1862, 3 pgs.
F13 Francis from "Father," 27 Nov. 1862, 3 pgs.
F14 Francis to "Father," from onboard steamship S.R. Spaulding, 3 Dec. 1862, 4 pgs.
F15 Francis from "Father," 7 Dec. 1862, 4 pgs.
F16 Francis to family, from Gulf of Mexico, LA, 18 Dec. 1862, 12 pgs., missing first 4 pgs.
F17 Francis to "Father and Mother," from Baton Rouge, LA, 24 Dec. 1862, 6 pgs.
F18 Francis to "Father and Mother," from Baton Rouge, LA, 28 Dec. 1862, 4 pgs.
F19 Francis to "Father and Mother," from Baton Rouge, LA, 5 Jan. 1863, 4 pgs.
F20 Francis to family, from Baton Rouge, LA, 6 Jan. 1863, 4 pgs.
F21 Francis to "Parents," from Baton Rouge, LA, 24 Jan. 1863, 4 pgs.
F22 Francis to "Parents," from Baton Rouge, LA, 7 Feb. 1863, 8 pgs.
F23 Francis to "Father," from Baton Rouge, LA, 10 Feb. 1863, 2 pgs.
F24 Francis to "Father," from Baton Rouge, LA, 13 Feb. 1863, 4 pgs.
F25 Francis to the mill girls, from Baton Rouge, LA, 16 Feb. 1863, 3 pgs.
F26 Father to Francis, 25 Feb. 1863, 3 pgs.
F27 Francis to "Father," from Baton Rouge, LA, 9 Mar. 1863, 3 pgs.
F28 Francis to "Father," from north of Baton Rouge, 19 Mar. 1863, 4 pgs.
F29 Father to Francis, 28 Mar. 1863, 3 pgs.
F30 Francis to "Father," from Bayou camp, LA, 4 Apr. 1863, 4 pgs.
F31 Francis to "Father," from Franklin, LA, 17 Apr. 1863, 4 pgs.
F32 Francis to "Father," from St. Martinsville, LA, 27 Apr. 1863, 4 pgs.
F33 Francis from Father and Mother, 30 Apr. 1863, 3 pgs.
F34 Francis to "Father," from St. Martinsville, LA, 4 May 1863, 2 pgs.
F35 Francis to "Father," from Washington, LA, 10 May 1863, 2 pgs.
F36 Francis from Father, 17 May 1863, 3 pgs.
F37 Francis from Father, 24 May 1863, 3 pgs.
F38 Francis to "Father," from Algiers, LA, 28 May 1863, 4 pgs.
F39 Francis to "Father," from Port Hudson, LA, 25 June 1863, 4 pgs.
F40 Francis to "Father," from Port Hudson, LA, 23 July 1863, 4 pgs.
F41 Francis from Father, 10 Mar. 1865, 2 pgs.
F42 Newspaper clippings and envelopes.
F43 Photocopies of letters in collection.
Finding Aids for selected manuscript collections in the Special Collections Department at Fogler Library are accessible online in URSUS, in a browsable Guide to Manuscript Collections, and in a keyword searchable database. Please contact Special Collections at spc@umit.maine.edu or (207) 581-1686 for further information.
Revised: 08/11/2009
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