Biographical/Historical Sketch
Processed by
Pamela Tranfield
8 June 2001
Revised 18 April 2002
Updated 18 March 2004
Manuscript and Visual Collections Department
William Henry Smith Memorial Library
Indiana Historical Society
450 West Ohio Street
Indianapolis, IN 46202-3269
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VOLUME OF |
1 manuscript box and 1 artifact folder; 1 reel of microfilm |
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COLLECTION |
1863-1865 |
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PROVENANCE: |
James H. Nuner, 29 Quail Court, Hamburg, New Jersey, April 1999, August 1999. |
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RESTRICTIONS: |
None |
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COPYRIGHT: |
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REPRODUCTION |
Permission to reproduce or publish material in this collection must be obtained from the Indiana Historical Society. |
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ALTERNATE |
None |
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RELATED |
None |
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ACCESSION |
1999.0348; 1999.0587 |
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NOTES: |
Volney Bingham (E. Volney Bingham) was born on 1 August 1844 in Mishawaka, St. Joseph County, Indiana. He attended school in St. Joseph County and later worked in a furniture factory. Bingham mustered with the Forty-Eighth Regiment, Indiana Volunteers, Company G, on 19 March 1864. He was placed in the recruiting service at Mishawaka from 22 March to April 1864, then ordered to active service in Huntsville, Alabama. Bingham mustered out on 15 July 1865 as a sergeant major and settled in Mishawaka where he was employed in a grocery store.
Bingham married Hattie Grimes in December 1872 and the union bore four children. He was admitted to the Bar of St. Joseph County in 1875, and served as state senator for St. Joseph and Starke Counties in 1893 and 1907, and for St. Joseph County in 1909. He died on 23 April 1922.
Newton Bingham (1841-1868), brother to E. Volney Bingham, was commissioned as a second lieutenant with the Forty-Eighth Regiment, Indiana Volunteers, Company H, on 25 July 1862. He was promoted to the rank of colonel on 21 May 1865. Bingham died in November 1868, predeceased by his wife Emma L. (Hudson) Bingham in July 1868.
The Forty-Eighth Regiment, Indiana Volunteers organized at Goshen, Indiana, on 6 December 1861. The regiment re-enlisted in January 1864 and moved to Cartersville, Georgia where its main duty was to protect the railroads during General Sherman’s campaign against Atlanta. The regiment marched with the First Brigade, Third Division of the Fifteenth Army from Atlanta to Savannah and mustered out on 15 July 1865.
Sources:
Material in the collection.
Census of Indiana, 1860.
“Died,” The National Union [South Bend, Indiana] 28 November 1868, p. 2, col. 2.
Howard, Timothy Edward. A History of St. Joseph County, Indiana, Vol. 1. Chicago: Lewis Publishing Co., 1907.
Shepherd, Rebecca A., and Alan January. A Biographical Directory of the Indiana General Assembly, Vol. 1, 1816-1899. Indianapolis: Select Committee on the Centennial History of the Indiana General Assembly, 1980.
Terrell, W. H. H. Report of the Adjutant General of the State of Indiana, Vol. 2 and Vol. 5. Indianapolis: R. W. Holloway, 1865.
Vital Statistics Index to St. Joseph County, Indiana Newspapers, Vol. 1, 1831-1912. South Bend: Northern Indiana Historical Society, 1995.
The collection includes three diaries written by brothers Volney and Newton Bingham between 2 November 1863 and 31 December 1865. The Bingham brothers served in the Forty-Eighth Regiment, Indiana Volunteers, during the Civil War.
Newton Bingham’s diary dates from 2 November 1863 to 24 June 1865. Written in pencil and ink, the entries describe troop movements and activities, camp life, and visits to cities such as Chicago and Washington. Bingham mentions answering and receiving letters from siblings, his father, and “Emm.” “Emm” is likely Emma L. Hudson, his future wife. Entries written after January 1865 mention court martials, marches, and regimental activities associated with General Sherman’s campaign against Atlanta.
Volney Bingham’s diaries were written between 1 January 1864 and 31 December 1864, and between 1 January 1865 and 31 December 1865. The 1864 diary is written in pencil, and describes camp life and routine duties. Bingham writes and receives letters from his siblings and from Hattie Grimes, whom he would marry in 1872. The 1865 diary, also written in pencil, includes descriptions of regimental activities associated with General Sherman’s campaign against Atlanta. Entries also describe Bingham’s activities following his return to St. Joseph County in July 1865. He visits with friends, travels to Chicago, and secures a job in a grocery store in Mishawaka.
Correspondence in the collection consists of a letter from Volney Bingham to an unidentified brother and sister (24 July 1864) and a note to Newton Bingham from Thomas J. Collins regarding a financial debt (11 August 1865). The letter from Volney Bingham describes the countryside around Kingston, Georgia. He remarks that he has not seen a stream of clear water since leaving Indiana, and that the beautiful fields of the south have been “cut all to pieces.” The letter and note were originally tucked between the back cover and end paper of Newton Bingham’s diary. Other manuscript material includes a Special Order to Volney Bingham from the Indiana Volunteer Recruiting Service (22 March 1864). The order places Bingham in the recruiting service at Mishawaka for the month of March 1864.
Non-manuscript material in the collection consists of a lock of hair, originally tucked between the back cover and end paper of Volney Bingham’s 1864 diary. This item was placed in artifacts storage for conservation reasons. The hair is wrapped in a piece of paper that appears to be torn from the diary. The hair may be from Volney Bingham or his future wife, Hattie Grimes.
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CONTENTS |
CONTAINER |
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Volney Bingham, Special Order, 22 March 1864 |
Box 1, Folder 1 |
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Letter, Volney Bingham to Siblings, 24 July 1864 |
Box 1, Folder 2 |
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Note to Newton Bingham from Thomas J. Collins, 11 August 1865 |
Box 1, Folder 3 |
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Civil War Diary of Newton Bingham, 2 November 1863-24 June 1865 |
Box 1, Folder 4 |
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Civil War Diary of Volney Bingham, 1 January 1864-31 December 1864 |
Box 1, Folder 5 |
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Civil War Diary of Volney Bingham, 1 January 1865-31 December 1865 |
Box 1, Folder 6 |
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Lock of Hair, Volney Bingham? Hattie Grimes? |
Artifacts: Accession no. 1999.0348 |
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Microfilm of collection |
F 1669 |
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 0757).
5. When you find the collection, go to the "Full Record" screen for a list of headings that can be searched for related materials.