United States. Army. Department of Virginia and North Carolina records, 1861-1869

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Summary

Creator:
United States. Army. Department of Virginia and North Carolina
Abstract:
The U.S. Army Department of Virginia and North Carolina was a combined military unit (merging the Department of Virginia and the Department of North Carolina) of the Union Army during the American Civil War, operating in Union-occupied territory in Confederate States. Many of the records in this collection relate to specific U.S. Army regiments which were stationed in and around Union-occupied New Bern, North Carolina, or Southern Virginia during the latter half of the American Civil War.
Extent:
3 Linear Feet
Language:
Materials in English.
Collection ID:
RL.11908

Background

Scope and content:

Records from the Department of Virginia and North Carolina include assorted dispatches and other correspondence or exchanges between officers or units in the field; affidavits and other sworn testimonies by soldiers, officers, and their families seeking payments, bounties, or documents relating to their military service; and Army forms and papers documenting troops' enlistments, muster rolls, pay rolls, pay vouchers, discharge certificates, and muster-out rolls for infantry, cavalry, and artillery regiments under the command of the Department of Virginia and North Carolina. Many of these documents include individual soldiers' names, travel plans, pay rates, rank, service history, clothing allocations, and other bureaucratic notations reflecting Union Army recordkeeping practices during this period. Most forms document activities or movements of white Army soldiers or officers, but there are also some records of U.S. Colored Troops regiments. Some muster and payrolls include individual servant names and rate of pay (with their Black complexion noted). Also present are some records of refugee, contraband (freedpeople), and prisoner rations, widows' applications for bounties, and records for hospital staff, chaplains, and field staff employed by the Department in the Eastern North Carolina region.

Biographical / historical:

The U.S. Army Department of Virginia and North Carolina was a combined military unit (merging the Department of Virginia and the Department of North Carolina) of the Union Army during the American Civil War, operating in Union-occupied territory in Confederate States. The department formed in 1863 and split back to separate departments in 1865. Commanders included Benjamin F. Butler and E.O.C. Ord. Many papers in this collection are related to the work of Samuel C. Harbert, who served as a paymaster for the Department.

Acquisition information:
The United States. Army. Department of Virginia and North Carolina Records were received by the David M. Rubenstein Rare Book Manuscript Library as a purchase (source unknown) in the 1930s.
Processing information:

Processed by RL Staff, 1930s. Reprocessed by Meghan Lyon, July 2021.

Accessions described in this collection guide: unknown. Collection was originally cataloged as part of the U.S. Army Archives.

Arrangement:

Arranged into series by Army form number or type of material, and subsequently grouped by arm of service.

Rules or conventions:
Describing Archives: A Content Standard

Contents

Using These Materials

Using These Materials Links:

Using These Materials

Restrictions:

Collection is open for research.

Terms of access:

The copyright interests in this collection have not been transferred to Duke University. For more information, consult the Rubenstein Library's Citations, Permissions, and Copyright guide.

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Preferred citation:

[Identification of item], United States. Army. Department of Virginia and North Carolina Records, David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library, Duke University.

Permalink:
https://idn.duke.edu/ark:/87924/m1414c