Timeline extended for launch of Wilson Library facilities work.

Collection Number: 00503

Collection Title: George Anderson Mercer Diary, 1851-1889

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.


This collection was rehoused and a summary created with support from the National Endowment for the Humanities; this finding aid was created with support from NC ECHO.

expand/collapse Expand/collapse Collection Overview

Size 0.5 feet of linear shelf space (approximately 5 items)
Abstract George Anderson Mercer (1835-1907) was a Confederate officer and lawyer of Savannah, Ga. Mercer kept his diary intermittently during his time as a student in Savannah, Ga., and New Haven, Conn., at Princeton University, and at the University of Virginia, where he studied law. Included are entries relating to hunting and observations of birds; accounts of his Confederate military experiences in Savannah, 1861-1864, the Atlanta Campaign, 1864, service with Mercer's and Wright's division in Georgia and South Carolina, his capture in Macon, Ga., and return from prison to Savannah, 1864-1865; and his postwar work, social life, family affairs, reading and study, and reactions to current events and ideas.
Creator Mercer, George Anderson, 1835-1907.
Curatorial Unit University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Library. Southern Historical Collection.
Language English
Back to Top

expand/collapse Expand/collapse Information For Users

Restrictions to Access
No restrictions. Open for research.
Restrictions to Use
No usage restrictions.
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 George Anderson Mercer Diary, #503, Southern Historical Collection, The Wilson Library, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Alternate Form of Material
Typescript copy available. Microfilm copy available.
Acquisitions Information
Gift of George A. Mercer, Jr. of Savannah, Ga., in 1937, and John H. Mercer of Los Angeles, Calif., in 1962
Additional Descriptive Resources
A copy of the original finding aid for this collection is filed in folder 1a.
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.
Back to Top

expand/collapse Expand/collapse Processing Information

Processed by: SHC Staff

Encoded by: Noah Huffman, December 2007

Updated by: Adam Fielding, Kate Stratton, and Jodi Berkowitz, September 2010

This collection was rehoused and a summary created with support from the National Endowment for the Humanities.

This finding aid was created with support from NC ECHO.

Back to Top

expand/collapse Expand/collapse Subject Headings

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.

Back to Top

expand/collapse Expand/collapse Biographical Information

George Anderson Mercer (1835-1907) was a Confederate officer and lawyer of Savannah, Ga. He was a student in Savannah, Ga., and New Haven, Conn., at Princeton University, and at the University of Virginia, where he studied law. His military experiences include the Atlanta Campaign, 1864; service with Mercer's and Wright's division in Georgia and South Carolina; and his capture in Macon, Ga. Early in the Civil War Mercer married Nannie Maury Herndon of Fredereicksburg, Va. After the war he practiced law in Savannah.

Back to Top

expand/collapse Expand/collapse Scope and Content

Mercer kept his diary intermittently during his time as a student in Savannah, Ga., and New Haven, Conn., at Princeton University, and at the University of Virginia, where he studied law. Included are entries relating to hunting and observations of birds; accounts of his Confederate military experiences in Savannah, 1861-1864, the Atlanta Campaign, 1864, service with Mercer's and Wright's division in Georgia and South Carolina, his capture in Macon, Ga., and return to Savannah, 1864-1865; and his postwar work, social life, family affairs, reading and study, and reactions to current events and ideas.

Back to Top

Contents list

expand/collapse Expand/collapse George Anderson Mercer Diary, 1851-1889.

Back to Top

expand/collapse Expand/collapse Items Separated

Back to Top