William Henry Proctor Papers

Includes diaries, correspondence, government documents, land deeds, newspaper clippings, photographs, and a personal account documenting William Henry Proctor's Civil War experiences and his life following the War up until 1908.

Three diaries exist covering the years of 1862, 1863, and 1865. The entries describe day-to-day life in the camps and related duties, including participation in major battles. Proctor writes of military reviews by such noted figures as Abraham Lincoln, Ambrose E. Burnside, Joseph Hooker, and Hiram Berdan. The earliest diaries, dated 1/1/1862 - 1/9/1863 and 1/1/1863 - 12/24/1863, describe the activities of the Second United States Sharpshooters, including a dispute between Berdan and the troops over the issuance of Colt rifles, participation in battles, vaccinations and illnesses amidst the troops, and changes in command and dress. Major events, such as General George B. McClellan's removal from command and the death of Thomas "Stonewall" Jackson, following the battle of Chancellorsville, are recounted. In the second diary, Proctor depicts life in an army hospital, where he is temporarily laid up. In his third diary, dated 3/11/1865 - 12/18/1865 and written while serving as Second Lieutenant of the 24th Regiment of the United States Colored Troops, he records his experiences as a white northerner interacting with African-Americans, observing that the Regiment "learns as quickly as white troops." He writes of his time overseeing captured Confederate Prisoners of War at the Point Lookout camp in Maryland and administering the oath of allegiance to the United States to them. The remainder of the final diary, following the last entry, contains inventories of farm items and expenses and of men and ordinances lost during the War.

A memoir, or personal account, written following the War contains Proctor's recollections of the days between 8/8/1862 and 8/30/1862 and his descriptions of battles from Rappahannock Station to Second Bull Run . Proctor's correspondence consists of letters written to his parents between the years 1862 and 1865 outlining his participation in the War. A single letter from William to his parents dated 1869 describes his purchase of farmland in Cold Water, Michigan.

Other documents include an undated license for William to teach school in Fair Haven, Vermont; records of his various Civil War appointments; a record of Proctor's marriage to Mary Marsh (possibly a page from a family Bible) in 1867; a homestead receipt from the 1870's; news clippings and official records relating to his appointment to the Special Examiner's Pension Bureau, dated from 1893 to 1904; deeds for land in Nebraska dated 1898 and 1899; and documents accepting Proctor into the Sons of the American Revolution. Two photographs identified by the donor as "unknown Proctor men" are also included.

Two letters written from the areas of Briggsville and Lewiston, Wisconsin were interfiled with Proctor's correspondence. One, dated 1855, is addressed to "Brother and Sister" and is signed Harvey Briggs. The second, dated 1862, is addressed to Betsey Proctor of Fairhaven, Vermont, as "Sister Betsey" and is signed A. B. Higgins. Both letters describe the settlement and farming conditions of the area, fill the recipients in on news about mutual acquaintances, and make references to Vermont. The second letter refers to Native American uprisings in the Midwest.

Handwritten transcriptions of the 1862 and 1863 diaries and of several of Proctor's letters to his parents accompany the original documents. These appear to have been prepared by the donor and may contain some inconsistencies. The materials that comprise the collection bear the accession numbers 13,071 through 13,078 and 13,100 through 13,107.