Frank J. Bramhall Civil War collection
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Abstract
Materials relating to Brooklyn's military and public contributions to the Union cause during the American Civil War, compiled by Frank J. Bramhall in preparation for publication of a work documenting these efforts.
Historical note
Following the end of the American Civil War (1861-1865), the War Fund Committee of the City of Brooklyn and County of Kings began to document the numerous aspects of local participation during the War. To this end, the Committee undertook to publish a comprehensive account of these efforts, to be entitled Kings County in the War. This work planned to include the official record of each military unit from Kings County, the operations and activities of local commissions and aid societies, and reports of soldiers and others with first-hand accounts of battles, camp life, and prisons.
The Committee selected Frank J. Bramhall (1846-1907), Superintendent of the Naval Division of the Bureau of Military Record, and an author and historian of the Civil War, to compile the work, and publicized the project in various newspapers and through mailings. Bramhall distributed numerous forms and questionnaires to servicemen and other individuals in order to obtain personal accounts and official military reports of their participation in the War. He also gathered newspaper clippings containing information regarding Brooklyn's military units and War-related activities.
It is not known whether Kings County in the War was ever published. No copy is held at CBH.
Arrangement
The materials are arranged by subject and type.
Scope and Contents
The bulk of this collection consists of information on various Kings County Civil War military units and servicemen. The military unit records include completed questionnaires, numerous official military reports, muster rolls, as well as many hand-written histories of specific units. Information on individual servicemen is contained in completed questionnaires, many handwritten accounts of their experiences in the War, and family correspondence. Numerous clippings, primarily from the Brooklyn Daily Union, contain information on individuals or units from Kings County and provide supplementary accounts of local participation in the War.
Eighteen specific Kings County army units are documented in the collection. Of particular interest in this material is a detailed account by William James Morris of his experiences as a prisoner in Andersonville (6th New York Cavalry), a 94-page history of the 84th New York Volunteer Infantry Regiment (also known as the 14th Regiment of the New York State Militia, or the "Fighting 14th"), and a printed funeral sermon in memory of Robert Sedgwick Edwards, killed at Fort Wagner, SC (48th NY Volunteer Infantry). The collection also contains some records of local involvement in the United States Navy.
Kings County's non-military involvement in the War is documented by materials of various local commissions, aid societies, and events. These include a handwritten history of the Brooklyn and Long Island Branch of the United States Christian Commission, clippings from the Brooklyn and Long Island Sanitary Fair, and statistics regarding recruitment from Brooklyn. Information on activities in Greenpoint during the Civil War, as well as printed material and clippings for various relief efforts for veteran soldiers and their families, are also included.
The "notes and correspondence" folder contains various handwritten accounts submitted to compiler Frank J. Bramhall, as well as some of Bramhall's own notes and correspondence regarding the project. Of particular interest among these materials is an account of a Brooklyn militia unit's participation in quelling the draft riots that were widespread in New York City during July of 1863. Other noteworthy accounts of involvement in the War include those of Ada W. Smith, a Kings County woman who served as an Army nurse, and of Richard Thompson, a Brooklyn man who was in Charleston, SC during the early part of the War and attempted to transmit reports to the North on Confederate activities from his position there.
The collection also includes various Civil War clippings collected by Bramhall and copies of printed questionnaires and forms created to execute this project.
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Conditions Governing Access
Open to users without restriction.
Conditions Governing Use
The materials in this collection are in the public domain.
While many items at the Center for Brooklyn History are unrestricted, we do not own reproduction rights to all materials. Be aware of the several kinds of rights that might apply: copyright, licensing and trademarks. The researcher assumes all responsibility for copyright questions.
Preferred Citation
Identification of item, date (if known); Frank J. Bramhall Civil War collection, 1977.006, Box and Folder number; Brooklyn Public Library, Center for Brooklyn History.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Gift of the War Fund Committee of Kings County, 1864.
About this Guide
Processing Information
This collection was originally processed to the file level in November 2005 by Deena M. Schwimmer under the supervision of Marilyn H. Pettit and Lelani Dawson. The finding aid's collection-level information was entered into the Brooklyn Historical Society's collections management system during the 2010-2011 project "Uncovering the Secrets of Brooklyn's 19th Century Past: Creation to Consolidation." The file-level information was re-added and the finding aid revised by Dee Bowers in 2026.
