Series 2. General James Barnes (1827-1995, bulk 1827-1869)
Scope and Content
The collection includes correspondence to General Barnes, a memorial booklet printed at his death, photos of General Barnes in uniform, information from a researcher using the Collection, and a recent library relocation notice. The correspondence includes regimental orders, permission to raise troops, introductions to other officers, notes from family members of his soldiers, and reports submitted to him. The 1869 condolence materials include a copy of a letter from his son, John Sanford Barnes, to General H.C. Lee, thanking him on behalf of the Barnes family for Lee's condolences. The materials in this collection have been digitized and are available online to on-site researchers and to users affiliated with subscribing institutions via EBSCOhost.
Biographical Note
James Barnes was born in Boston in 1809. After graduating from West Point in 1829, with classmates including Robert E. Lee and Joseph E. Johnson, he taught infantry tactics there and then served in the military garrison in Charleston Harbor. At the outbreak of the Civil War he raised the 18th Regiment of Massachusetts Volunteers and was appointed Colonel, later serving at the battles of Antietam, Fredericksburg, Chancellorsville, and Gettysburg, where he commanded a division and was wounded. He then was in command of the Union prisoner of war camp at Point Lookout, Maryland (see Series 37), for the remainder of the War. His last public service positions were as a commissioner of the Pacific Railroad and Superintendent of the Western Massachusetts Railroad. He died in Springfield, Massachusetts, in 1869.
Related Materials at The New-York Historical Society
Two maps, a "Sketch of Military Reconnaissance" and "Map of the Rebel Intrenched Camp near Norfolk", were removed from this collection and placed with the Certificates (Y-1862 Barnes).