Carpenter Family Papers, 1859-1928

(Manuscript Collection #11)

Title:	Carpenter Family Papers
Creator:	Carpenter family
Repository:	ECU Manuscript Collection
Languages:	English
Abstract:	Papers (1859-1928) including correspondence, receipts, oath of allegiance, etc. relating primarily to the Civil War and local conditions.
Extent:	0.055 Cubic feet, 27 items , correspondence, receipts, an oath of allegiance, a draft card, a lien bond, and a newspaper.

Accessions Information

September 23, 1967, 26 items; Papers of the Carpenter family, including correspondence, receipts, oath of allegiance, newspaper and miscellaneous. Deposited March, 1966, by Leroy Carpenter, Greenville, N.C.

August 28, 1980, 1 item; Letter (Aug. 18, 1862). Deposited by Mrs. Dessie Pleasants Poe, Greenville, N.C.

Access Restrictions

No restrictions

Copyright Notice

Literary rights to specific documents are retained by the authors or their descendants in accordance with U.S. copyright law.

Preferred Citation

Carpenter Family Papers (#11), East Carolina Manuscript Collection, J. Y. Joyner Library, East Carolina University, Greenville, North Carolina, USA.

Acquisition Information

• Gift of Mrs. Dessie Pleasants Poe

Processing Information

• Processed by D. Lennon; M. Elmore, September 1984

• Encoded by Apex Data Services

Most of the correspondence (1862-1864) in this collection is to Solomon Carpenter of Chatham County, N.C., from his sons, Robert, Elbert, William, and Thomas, who are serving with the Confederate Army in Virginia. In one letter Robert asks his father to locate a substitute for him, offering to dispose of all his possessions in order to gain release from the army. Other letters complain of poor food, high prices, deteriorating health of the men, and high death rates at Camp Winder Hospital in Virginia. William Carpenter writes of inflated food prices, the abortive Maryland campaign, and the necessity of stealing food to stay alive while on the campaign. The Battle of Fredericksburg (1862) and its results were noted by William, a participant. Elbert Carpenter writes of the deaths of brothers James and Wiet [Wyatt], the wretched conditions in the battle areas, and the poor health of his remaining brothers.

Letters from Arkansas (1859 and 1868) give descriptions of that state, telling of prices of property and crops, richness and availability of land, and productivity of farms. The correspondent reports the state favorably and encourages others to join him.

Other items in the collection include tax and school receipts, an oath of allegiance to the United States government (1865), and a lien bond. The oversized file contains a newspaper (Raleigh, N.C., The Daily Constitution, August 19, 1876).