Army of the Potomac Reports
Scope and Contents
The collection is comprised of official returns, morning reports and various other personnel listings and reports for departments in the Army of the Potomac, which was the Union’s primary army fighting in the eastern theater during the American Civil War, 1861-1865. In addition to corps reports, reports from other departments appear, including artillery, ordnance, signal and medical, among others. Commanding officers authorized the reports by signature, and so the signatures of many well-known military commanders appear. These reports were filed February-July 1863.
Dates
- Creation: 1863 February-July
Conditions Governing Access
Materials are open without restrictions.
Conditions Governing Use
Please consult staff to determine ability to reuse materials from collection.
Biographical / Historical
The Army of the Potomac was the Union’s primary army fighting in the eastern theater during the American Civil War, 1861-1865. Important military officers led the Army of the Potomac and are represented in this collection, including Winfield Scott Hancock, William Hays, Joseph Hooker, Oliver O. Howard, Rufus Ingalls, George G. Meade, Alfred Pleasanton, Daniel Sickles and Henry W. Slocum. These reports were filed February-July 1863.
Extent
9.75 Linear Feet (in 9 oversize folders)
Language of Materials
English
Abstract
The collection is comprised of official returns, morning reports and various other personnel listings and reports for departments in the Army of the Potomac, which was the Union’s primary army fighting in the eastern theater during the American Civil War, 1861-1865.
Arrangement
Material was arranged in chronological order.
Custodial History
Purchased from Joseph H. Wood, Jr., by Abraham Lincoln Bookshop of Chicago in 1967. Wood originally offered the collection to the Huntington Library in San Marino, California. Allan Nevins of the Huntington Library declined the donation as it did not fit their collecting scope. Nevins sent the collection to Newman to be sold on Wood’s behalf.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Donated to Chicago Public Library by Abraham Lincoln Bookshop’s Ralph G. Newman in December 1977.
Processing Information
Please note that current Chicago Public Library staff has only minimally processed the material. Material was inventoried by the donor and/or earlier library staff. Subjects may be dispersed throughout the entire collection.
Source
- Newman, Ralph Geoffrey, 1911-1998 (Person)
Subject
- Hancock, Winfield Scott, 1824-1886 (Person)
- Hooker, Joseph, 1814-1879 (Person)
- Howard, O. O. (Oliver Otis), 1830-1909 (Person)
- Ingalls, Rufus, 1818-1893 (Person)
- Meade, George Gordon, 1815-1872 (Person)
- Pleasonton, Alfred, 1824-1897 (Person)
- Sickles, Daniel Edgar, 1819-1914 (Person)
- Slocum, Henry Warner, 1826-1894 (Person)
- United States. Army of the Potomac (Organization)
- Title
- Guide to the Army of the Potomac Reports
- Status
- Completed
- Author
- Johanna Russ, February 2018. Updated and ingested into ArchivesSpace by Johanna Russ, 2021.
- Date
- 2018 February
- Description rules
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
- Language of description
- English
- Script of description
- Latin
- Language of description note
- Finding aid written in English
Repository Details
Part of the Special Collections Unit at Harold Washington Library Center Repository
Harold Washington Library Center, 9th Floor
Chicago Public Library
400 S. State Street
Chicago IL 60605 United States
(312) 747-4875
specoll@chipublib.org