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Collection Number: 05011-z

Collection Title: Horace K. Ford Papers, 1862-1863 and undated

This is a finding aid. It is a description of archival material held in the Wilson Library at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Unless otherwise noted, the materials described below are physically available in our reading room, and not digitally available through the World Wide Web. See the Duplication Policy section for more information.


Funding from the Watson-Brown Foundation, Inc., supported the microfilming of this collection.

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Size 11 items
Abstract Horace K. Ford was an enlisted Union soldier from New Hampshire, stationed from 19 October 1862 to 15 April 1863 at New Bern, N.C. By 17 June 1863, Ford was at Hammond Hospital in Beaufort, N.C., where he was a patient and served as a nurse. Ford's wife and daughter Celia lived at Strafford Corner or Rye, N.H., during the war. Though he complained of bad health, Horace K. Ford survived the Civil War into old age. The collection consists of seven letters, 19 October 1862-17 June 1863, written by Horace K. Ford from either New Bern or Beaufort, N.C., to his wife and daughter in either Strafford Corner or Rye, N.H. In the letters, Ford detailed his daily life as an enlisted soldier in the Union army. He commented on camp life and on his stay at Hammond Hospital in Beaufort, both as a patient and as a nurse. The collection includes a group photograph of four elderly men, apparently Ford and his brothers, all of whom were Civil War veterans. Also included are a black silk sash with "C. W. Sawyer Post, No. 17, Dover, New Hampshire" printed in silver; a metal Grand Army of the Republic pin; and small cream-colored card with an engraving labeled "General MacClellan."
Creator Ford, Horace K.
Curatorial Unit Southern Historical Collection
Language English
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Restrictions to Access
No restrictions. Open for research.
Copyright Notice
Copyright is retained by the authors of items in these papers, or their descendants, as stipulated by United States copyright law.
Preferred Citation
[Identification of item], in the Horace K. Ford Papers #5011-z, Southern Historical Collection, Wilson Library, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Alternate Form of Material
Microfilm copy (filmed July 2005) available.
  • Reel 1: Entire collection
Acquisitions Information
Received from Charles Apfelbaum of Watchung, N.J., in January 2000 (Acc. 98546).
Sensitive Materials Statement
Manuscript collections and archival records may contain materials with sensitive or confidential information that is protected under federal or state right to privacy laws and regulations, the North Carolina Public Records Act (N.C.G.S. § 132 1 et seq.), and Article 7 of the North Carolina State Personnel Act (Privacy of State Employee Personnel Records, N.C.G.S. § 126-22 et seq.). Researchers are advised that the disclosure of certain information pertaining to identifiable living individuals represented in this collection without the consent of those individuals may have legal ramifications (e.g., a cause of action under common law for invasion of privacy may arise if facts concerning an individual's private life are published that would be deemed highly offensive to a reasonable person) for which the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill assumes no responsibility.
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Processed by: Aletha Andrew, July 2000

Encoded by: Aletha Andrew, July 2000

Revisions: Finding aid updated in May 2005 by Nancy Kaiser.

Funding from the Watson-Brown Foundation, Inc., supported the microfilming of this collection.

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The following terms from Library of Congress Subject Headings suggest topics, persons, geography, etc. interspersed through the entire collection; the terms do not usually represent discrete and easily identifiable portions of the collection--such as folders or items.

Clicking on a subject heading below will take you into the University Library's online catalog.

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According to his letters, Horace K. Ford was an enlisted Union soldier from New Hampshire, stationed from 19 October 1862 to 15 April 1863 at New Bern, N.C. By 17 June 1863, Ford was at Hammond Hospital in Beaufort, N.C., where he was a patient and served as a nurse. During this time, he addressed letters to his wife and daughter Celia either at Strafford Corner or Rye, N.H. Ford recorded that his health suffered constantly from exposure to the unfamiliar, damp climate of lowland North Carolina, and the generally poor health of his fellow soldiers. From the group photograph of four elderly men taken some time after the war, inscribed as "William Henry, Jacob, Noah, Horace Kimball Ford, all Civil War Veterans. Brothers," it appears that bad health notwithstanding, Horace K. Ford survived the Civil War into white-haired old age.

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The collection consists of seven letters, 19 October 1862-17 June 1863, written by Horace K. Ford from either New Bern, N.C., or Beaufort, N.C., to his wife and daughter Celia in either Strafford Corner, N.H., or Rye, N.H. In the letters, Ford detailed his daily life as an enlisted soldier in the Union army. He commented on camp life, variations in uniforms, conduct during drills and parades, performing picket duty and guard duty, and and on his stay at Hammond Hospital in Beaufort, both as a patient and as a nurse. Ford recorded that his health suffered constantly from exposure to the damp climate of lowland North Carolina and the generally poor health of his fellow soldiers. He discussed the difficulties in obtaining a discharge or furlough and problems of traveling home and mailing food packages. Also included is a group photograph of four elderly men, apparently Ford and his brothers, all of whom were Civil War veterans; a black silk sash with "C. W. Sawyer Post, No. 17, Dover, New Hampshire" printed in silver; a metal Grand Army of the Republic pin; and small cream-colored card with an engraving labeled "General MacClellan."

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Contents list

expand/collapse Expand/collapse Papers, 19 October 1862-17 June 1863 and undated.

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