Timeline extended for launch of Wilson Library facilities work.

Collection Number: 04939

Collection Title: John J. Metzgar Papers, 1861-1867, 1879, ca. 1918

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.

expand/collapse Expand/collapse Collection Overview

Size 0.5 feet of linear shelf space (approximately 100 items)
Abstract John J. Metzgar of Granville, Ohio, served in the 76th Ohio Volunteer Infantry Regiment from 1861 through the end of the Civil War. That unit became part of the Army of the Tennessee, serving under the command of Ulysses S. Grant and William Tecumseh Sherman. The regiment fought at Fort Donelson, Tenn.; Shiloh, Tenn.; Vicksburg, Miss.; Jackson, Miss.; Corinth, Miss.; Lookout Mountain, Tenn.; Ringgold, Ga.; Resaca, Ga.; and Kennesaw Mountain, Ga.; among other places. It also participated in Sherman's March to the Sea and Sherman's March through the Carolinas. The collection includes letters John J. Metzgar wrote to his wife documenting his experiences during the Civil War; photocopies of letters relating to Metzgar's request for a leave of absence after he was injured in 1863; photocopies of muster rolls showing Metzgar's location and status during the war; a history of the 76th Ohio Infantry Regiment; an 1879 business letter; a picture postcard, circa 1918, of Sergeant William D. Metzgar with the American Expeditionary Forces in France during World War I; and other items.
Creator Metzgar, John J.
Curatorial Unit Southern Historical Collection
Language English
Back to Top

expand/collapse Expand/collapse Information For Users

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 John J. Metzgar Papers #4939, Southern Historical Collection, Wilson Library, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Alternate Form of Material
Microfilm copy (filmed June 2005) available.
  • Reel 1: Entire collection
Acquisitions Information
Purchased from Charles Apfelbaum on 28 May 1998 (Acc. 98151).
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: Arturo S. Bagley, August 1998

Encoded by: Arturo S. Bagley, August 1998

Revisions: Finding aid updated in May 2005 by Nancy Kaiser

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

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

John J. Metzgar, a resident of Granville, Ohio, a town in Licking County, served in the Union Army during the Civil War, enlisting as a private in Company B of the 76th Ohio Volunteer Infantry Regiment at Newark, Ohio, on 15 October 1861. In November 1861, he was appointed Regimental Quartermaster Sergeant, in which position he served as the regiment took part in the siege of Fort Donelson, the battle of Shiloh, and the siege of Corinth, Miss. The regiment then traveled to Memphis, Tenn.; Helena, Ark.; Pilot Brook, Mo.; and Camp Stub, Miss. At the end of the year, Metzgar received a commission as a 2nd lieutenant and was assigned to Company C, in which unit he served at the siege of Vicksburg in December 1862 and January 1863.

On 11 January 1863, Metzgar took command of Company C when its senior officer was wounded. Company C took part in the siege of Jackson, Miss., returned to Vicksburg, and then went back to Jackson in July. After completing a recruiting trip back to Ohio, Metzgar rejoined his regiment in Memphis in September and took part in the battle of Tuscumbia, Ala., in September. After arriving at Chattanooga with General Sherman in November, Metzgar and the 1st Division reported to General Joseph Hooker, taking part in the Battle of Lookout Mountain, the storming of Missionary Ridge, and the battle of Ringgold, in which Metzgar was wounded in the arm and afterward received a leave of absence.

Metzgar was back with the regiment when it gathered at Camp Chase, Ohio, and traveled to Nashville in March 1864. After stopping at Camp Paint Rock in Woodville, Ala., the division fought to take the road to Chattanooga and arrived in that city in May. That same month, it occupied Resaca and Adairsville, both in Georgia. It also reached Dallas, Ga., and, then in June, Acworth, Ga., and fought at Kennesaw Mountain. After passing through other parts of Georgia, Metzgar and his fellow soldiers reached Savannah in December 1864.

Early 1865 found Metzgar headed north. He was in Beaufort, S.C., in January; Goldsboro, N.C., in March; and Raleigh, N.C., in April.

Back to Top

expand/collapse Expand/collapse Scope and Content

The collection is divided into two series, the larger of which consists mostly of letters written by John J. Metzgar to his wife that document his experiences as a soldier with the 76th Regiment Ohio Volunteer Infantry during the Civil War. The regiment fought at, among other places, Fort Donelson, Tenn.; Shiloh, Tenn.; Vicksburg, Miss.; Jackson, Miss.; Corinth, Miss.; Lookout Mountain, Tenn.; Ringgold, Ga.; Resaca, Ga.; and Kennesaw Mountain, Ga.; and participated in Sherman's March to the Sea and Sherman's March through the Carolinas. Also included are an 1879 business letter and a picture postcard, ca. 1918, of Sergeant William D. Metzgar with the American Expeditionary Force in France during World War I.

The second series contains photocopies of letters relating to Metzgar's request for a leave of absence after he was injured in 1863, photocopies of muster rolls documenting Metzgar's location and status during the Civil War, and a typed copy of a history of the 76th Ohio Infantry Regiment written by one of its officers.

Back to Top

Contents list

expand/collapse Expand/collapse Series Quick Links

expand/collapse Expand/collapse Series 1. Correspondence, 1862-1867, 1879, circa 1918, and undated.

About 80 items.

Arrangement: chronological.

Letters, most of which were written by John J. Metzgar to his wife Carrie documenting Metzgar's experiences during the Civil War. Of interest for gaining an overview of Metzgar's military career is a letter dated 22 August 1864 outlining his service up to that point.

The only items not relating to the Civil War are an 1879 business letter and a picture postcard, circa 1918, of Sergeant William D. Metzgar with the American Expeditionary Forces in France during World War I.

Folder 1

1862

Folder 2

1863

Folder 3

1864

Folder 4

1865

Folder 5

1879, circa 1918

Folder 6

Undated

Back to Top

expand/collapse Expand/collapse Series 2. Military Records, 1861-1867.

About 20 items.

Arrangement: alphabetical.

Photocopies of letters relating to Metzgar's request for a leave of absence after his injury at the Battle of Ringgold in 1863, photocopies of muster rolls documenting Metzgar's location and status during the war, and a typed copy of a history of the 76th Ohio Infantry Regiment written by one of its officers.

Folder 7

Leave of absence

Folder 8

Muster rolls

Folder 9

History

Back to Top