Collection #

M 0728

James leeper
Papers, 1855–1912; bulk 1861–1865

Collection Information

Biographical Sketch

Scope and Content Note

Contents

Cataloging Information

Processed by

Paul Brockman
22 October 1998
Revised 23 January 2002
Updated 9 March 2004

Manuscript and Visual Collections Department
William Henry Smith Memorial Library
Indiana Historical Society
450 West Ohio Street
Indianapolis, IN 46202-3269

www.indianahistory.org

COLLECTION INFORMATION

VOLUME OF COLLECTION:	1 manuscript box
COLLECTION DATES:	Inclusive, 1855–1912, bulk 1861–65
PROVENANCE:	Robert & Margo Kline, 1205 Danlion, Garland, Texas 75043, 2 September 1998
RESTRICTIONS:	None
COPYRIGHT:
REPRODUCTION RIGHTS:	Permission to reproduce or publish material in this collection must be obtained from the Indiana Historical Society.
ALTERNATE FORMATS:	None
RELATED HOLDINGS:	None
ACCESSION NUMBER:	1998.1130
NOTES:

BIOGRAPHiCAL SKETCH

James Leeper of Charlestown, Clark County, Indiana, enlisted in the 49^th Indiana Regiment in October 1861, and was commissioned a captain in Company B.  In November 1861, he was promoted to major, and subsequently lieutenant colonel in October 1864.  When the regiment reenlisted in Texas in 1864, Leeper remained with the veterans as colonel.

Source: Terrell, Report of the Adjutant General, Indiana, v. 2, pp. 481–484.

SCOPE AND CONTENT NOTE

The collection is primarily concerned with Leeper's correspondence and military documents while serving as an officer in the 49^th Indiana Regiment.  Among the items are letters from Leeper to friends and family in Indiana and Kentucky from Vicksburg, Mississippi; Louisiana; Texas; Kentucky; and Indiana.  Information includes accounts of the siege of Vicksburg, camp life, political views, the local conditions of the areas they occupy, and an account of a potential insurrection among black troops over the whipping of two of their number.  Other materials comprise reports, orders, and other military documents regarding invoices for stores, and a report on the loss of men at Champions Hill, Mississippi.  The collection also contains the Infantry Field Order Binder for the 49^th Indiana from August 1864 to June 1865, made up of 73 orders regarding the daily operations of the regiment including troop assignments, leaves, muster orders, desertions, and discharges.

Non-military materials in the collection include several letters to Leeper from Liberty Hargus in Cannelton, Perry County, Indiana, and Henry County, Kentucky regarding political beliefs, 1856–1861; Leeper's personal account ledger, July–October 1855; and a document admitting Leeper to the Grand Temple of Honor, Ohio Falls Temple Number 3, Jeffersonville.

Other items in the collection includes correspondence, stock certificates, and printed materials for the Paracamph Manufacturing Company of Louisville, Kentucky, producers of a general household medicine remedy, 1905–1912.

CONTENTS

CONTENTS	CONTAINER
Correspondence, 1856–61	Folder 1
Correspondence, 1862–63	Folder 2
Correspondence, 1864–68	Folder 3
Documents & records, 1855–63	Folder 4
Documents & records, 1864–65	Folder 5
49^th Indiana Field Orders, Oct. 1864–June 1865	Folder 6
War Department Orders (2), 1864–65	Folder 7
Zachariah Chandler, Senate Speech, Feb. 21, 1870	Folder 8
Paracamph Manufacturing Co., records, 1905–12	Folder 9
Paracamph Manufacturing Co., stock certificates, 1910–11	Folder 10
Genealogical information, n.d.	Folder 11

CATALOGING INFORMATION

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, M 0728).

5. When you find the collection, go to the "Full Record" screen for a list of headings that can be searched for related materials.