Collection Information
Historical Sketch
Scope and Content Note
Folder and Contents Listing
Cataloging Information
Processed
by:
Ellen Swain
14 July 1992
Updated 15 May 2004
Manuscript and Visual Collections Department
William Henry Smith Memorial Library
Indiana Historical Society
450 West Ohio Street
Indianapolis, IN 46202-3269
VOLUME OF COLLECTION: 3 folders
COLLECTION DATES: 1861-1865; 1888-1891
PROVENANCE: Pearl Mills, Paoli, IN
RESTRICTIONS: None
REPRODUCTION RIGHTS: Permission to reproduce or publish material in this collection must be obtained in writing from the Indiana Historical Society
ALTERNATE FORMAT: None
OTHER FINDING AIDS: None
RELATED HOLDINGS:
ACCESSION NUMBER: 1992.0242x
Jesse B. White, son of Harrison White, was born circa 1847 in Orange County, Indiana. In 1861, White joined the Thirty Eighth Indiana Infantry. After spending the winter (1861) at Camp Nevin, Kentucky, the Thirty Eighth marched with General Buell's Army to Louisville and later fought in the battles of Perryville and Stone River. On December 18, 1863 (date taken from discharge papers. Terrell cites January 8, 1864.) White was mustered into Company D Sixty Sixth Indiana Infantry. Joining Sherman's March, the Sixty Sixth fought in the battles of Resacca, Lay's Ferry, Rome Cross Roads, Dallas, and Kenesaw before laying siege to Atlanta on July 22, 1864. After resting in Rome, Georgia, the regiment joined the army at Atlanta and proceeded to march through the Carolinas and Virginia. On June 12, 1865, the Sixty Sixth reached Indianapolis where it was officially welcomed home in an address by Governor Morton. White and the other remaining recruits were transferred to the Fifty Ninth Indiana Infantry and served until its muster-out at Louisville, Kentucky on July 17, 1865.
Source:
Terrell, W.H.H. Report of W.H.H. Terrell Adjutant General, Indiana. vol. II Indianapolis: W.R. Holloway, 1865.
Terrell, W.H.H. Report of W.H.H. Terrell Adjutant General,
Indiana. vol. V, VI Indianapolis: Samuel M. Douglass, 1866.
Material found in the Collection.
The collection contains twenty one letters (1861-1865) written by White to his parents in Orange County, Indiana. The bulk of the letters are written in 1864. A young boy, White expresses his desire for mail and for his family's good health. He also describes camp life, tiresome marches, and regiment movement. White is particularly descriptive in his account of the battle of Atlanta. Also included are White's discharge papers (1865), a poem (n.d.), a republican ticket (n.d.), and a Grover Cleveland ticket (1888). Pension material includes a booklet published by the G.A.R., an announcement of quarterly payment changes (1891), a "Pension and Bounty Guide" newspaper article (1891), and a pension information sheet (n.d.). Three tintypes, one or two possibly of White, are stored in Visual Collections.
FOLDER CONTENTS
1 Letters, 1861-1864
2 Letters, 1865; Discharge Papers, 1865;
Election and Pension Material, 1888-1891
3 (VC) Tintypes, circa Civil War (cased image storage)
For additional information on this collection, including a list of subject headings that may lead you to related materials:
1. Go to the Indiana Historical Society's online catalog: http://157.91.92.2/
2. Click on the "Basic Search" icon.
3. Select "Call Number" from the "Search In:" box.
4. Search for the collection by its basic call number (in this case, SC 0643).
5. When you find the collection, go to the "Full Record" screen for a list of headings that can be searched for related materials.