George Cornwell and William Mead correspondence

This collection comprises a series of letters written by George Cornwell and William Mead during the Civil War. The collection contains photo copies of originals and typed transcripts of three letters written by George Cornwell while he was at Fort Federal Hill, Baltimore MD. One letter was to his mother and two were to Miss Sarah Dickeman. These letters are concerned with pro-secessionist sentiments and riots in Baltimore, aspects of military life and the aftermath of the battle of Gettysburg. The bulk of the collection contains copies of typed transcripts compiled by Lloyd E. Stevenson and Marjorie Keane Stevenson in 1976 of ta series of letters written by William Mead, a private in the 127th NYV Regiment, to Louisa white. These letters range in date from Sept. 13, 1862 to June 9, 1865 and originated from various sites in VA and SC. Discussions concerning religion, military life, weather, food, Mr. McMillan(an Evangelist minister in Yorktown) and military service can be found in the majority of letters. In addition to these, the Mead letters contain major sections concerning women, blacks, military campaigns(notably the Fort Johnson Expedition, siege of Fort Sumpter, and the Ashepoo River Expedition) and economic conditions of the South. Some important events are also discussed, such as the election of 1864 and the assassination of President Lincoln.