Source: Peters Family Papers, MC 917

Introduction to the Second Edition (2002)

Since the first publication of this guide in 1990, Special Collections has continued in its effort to collect and preserve the historically significant documents of the Arkansas region. Many collections of personal papers and organizational records have been added, and the challenging task of processing materials for their research use continues. As one would expect, some of the new accessions have been primarily Civil War related, while others contain a few war related materials scattered amidst twentieth century papers. This guide attempts to identify and describe both types of materials and continues the format of the first edition. Forty-eight additional manuscript collections have been alphabetically arranged and sequentially numbered to follow the final entry of the first edition, number 204. The same criteria for indexing developed for the first edition has been continued, with personal names and regimental affiliations listed for each entry.

One entry in particular, the microfilmed collection of papers from Peter Wellington Alexander held by Columbia University, New York, deserves special mention. Perhaps the most significant compilation of Confederate military communications pertaining to Arkansas from early 1862 through mid-1863, the Alexander collection encompasses material relating to almost every conceivable military topical heading in our index. Since it would hardly be helpful to continually refer researchers to this collection under these various topical headings, our synopsis primarily identifies significant correspondents' names and battle reports.

Start with entry 1, "Eliza Adams"
Continue with entry 51, "Jeff Davis"
Continue with entry 101, "Lighton Family"
Continue with entry 151, "Slavery"
Continue with entry 205, "Peter Wellington Alexander"

An important addition to this guide is the inclusion of a comprehensive bibliography of 133 Arkansas Civil War imprints held in Special Collections at the University of Arkansas Libraries. The checklist includes any original samples of published material created in Arkansas from 1861 to 1865 excluding newspapers. The decision to exclude materials held in microform only (which accounts for most of the library's newspaper collection) was partially based on the successful efforts of the Arkansas Newspaper Project to catalog these titles in the 1980s. The materials listed in this bibliography include books, pamphlets, broadsides, invitations, announcements and, most numerous, printed military orders.

When Albert H. Allen published Arkansas Imprints, 1821-1876 in 1947, he described his decision to list military orders in large groups by writing "...if the one thousand or more army orders printed in Arkansas in the period were each separately entered, a very cumbersome list would result, with a little wheat mixed with much chaff." This bibliography departs from Allen's descriptive practices by individually listing and abstracting each order in the recognition that historians are the best judges of historical "wheat" to be gleaned from any particular entry. Each imprint has been described and abstracted under similar criteria applied to the manuscript collections in this guide. They have been arranged alphabetically within groupings by year, and numbered sequentially after the last manuscript entry of this guide, number 252.

The same criteria for indexing applied to the manuscript collections have been used for the abstracts of each entry, and, when available, the checklist number assigned by Albert H. Allen in Arkansas Imprints has been added to the end of each entry. An additional number following the designation "CI" in the abstract indicates that the piece has been described by T. Michael Parrish and Robert M. Willingham, Jr. in Confederate Imprints (Austin: Jenkins Publishing Company, 1978).

Civil War Imprints
Start with 1861
Continue with 1862
Continue with 1863
Continue with 1864
Continue with 1865

Introduction to the First Edition (1990)

This document is intended as a comprehensive guide to manuscript collections pertaining to the Civil War held by the University of Arkansas Libraries. Although every processed collection within Special Collections was examined, as well as the microfilm holdings of the Periodicals Department, researchers should be cautioned that this guide is far from complete. Special Collections is continuously adding new research materials, and the task of searching unprocessed collections is difficult at best. Also, despite our best efforts, documents "buried" within collections of primarily twentieth-century materials have probably escaped our net as well.

Entries have been arranged alphabetically according to the title of the collection. The second line of each entry consists of a descriptive term (such as personal papers or government records), inclusive dates of the collection, and its size. The annotation includes material types, a sketch of the person or organization associated with the collection, and a description of the documents pertaining to the Civil War or Reconstruction. Whenever possible, soldiers have been identified by name, rank, company designation, and regiment.

An explanation relative to regimental descriptions is necessary. Arkansas furnished troops for both sides during the conflict and, as a result, both the North and the South had a "First Arkansas Infantry." To distinguish between the two, Federal Arkansas units are listed with "Union" in parenthesis immediately following the regimental description. Also, many Arkansas Confederate troops were known by an alternate title aside from the numerical designation, usually the name of the commanding officer. In cases where more than one regiment had the same number, the alternate name follows the regimental description in parenthesis.

Military operations are described by the names assigned them in The War of the Rebellion: A Compilation of the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies (Washington: 1880-1927). For example, the battles of Shiloh, Pea Ridge, and Bull Run are designated as such rather than the Southern alternatives of Pittsburg Landing, Elkhorn Tavern, and Manassas. One important exception is the Arkansas expedition led by Major General Frederick Steele in the spring of 1864. This operation encompassed a number of battles in south Arkansas including Prairie D'Anne, Poison Springs, and Jenkins' Ferry. Various sources have referred to the expedition as "Steele's Arkansas Expedition" or the "Red River Expedition" which refers to a coordinated movement by Federal troops in Louisiana. We have opted for the title "Camden Expedition," which appears to be how most historians have referred to the operation. Geographical locations within the state of Arkansas have the place name followed by the county name in parentheses, except when repeated in the same entry.

The length of the entries is dependent on available information. Finding aids were consulted, supplemented by research for further detail and clarification when necessary. Obviously, collections with a definite Civil War emphasis have been described with more thoroughness than those collections containing only a few pertinent documents.

The index includes every personal name mentioned in the annotations, as well as references to place names and subjects. Troops are listed under their respective states. The index reflects the collection descriptions as closely as possible.

Researchers are advised to contact the department in advance prior to making a visit. We can provide limited assistance by telephone (479-575-5577) or through correspondence by post or email. We may also be able to inform you of new acquisitions.

Last modified: Friday, January 23, 2009