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Collection Number: 04767

Collection Title: Eldridge B. Platt Papers, 1862-1866

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 encoding of this finding aid and microfilming of this collection.

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Size 0.5 feet of linear shelf space (approximately 110 items)
Abstract Eldridge B. Platt (b. 1847) enlisted as a drummer in the 2nd Connecticut Light Battery on 12 August 1862. By 11 November 1862, he was serving as a cannoneer. He was discharged 10 August 1865. After the Civil War, Platt became successful in the tool and die making business. The collection consists of letters, 1862-1866, primarily from Eldridge B. Platt to his parents, Enoch Platt and Sallie Bronson Platt, in Waterbury, Conn. In general, the letters describe camp conditions, food, and troop movements. They document Platt's tour through the South, as well as his involvement in the battle at Gettysburg. Other posts included Wolfrun Shoals, Va.; New Orleans, La.; and Mobile, Ala. Construction of artillery shells, the occupation of New Orleans, and the capture of Fort Blakely in Alabama are described in the letters. Also included are copies of two photographs--one of Eldridge Platt with his brothers (one in uniform) and the other of Platt about 20 years after the Civil War--and a copy of Platt's discharge papers.
Creator Platt, Eldridge B.
Curatorial Unit University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Library. 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 Eldridge B. Platt Papers #4767, Southern Historical Collection, Wilson Library, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Alternate Form of Material
Microfilm copy (filmed 2007) available.
  • Reel 1: Entire collection
Alternate Form of Material
Typed transcripts of letters are available.
Acquisitions Information
Received from Hubert Henderson of Lexington, Ky., in August 1995 (Acc. 95105)
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: Tim Pyatt, 1995

Encoded by: Nancy Kaiser, April 2005

Funding from the Watson-Brown Foundation, Inc., supported the encoding of this finding aid and 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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expand/collapse Expand/collapse Biographical Information

Eldridge B. Platt (b. 1847) enlisted as a drummer in the 2nd Connecticut Light Battery on 12 August 1862. By 11 November 1862, he was serving as a cannoneer. He was discharged 10 August 1865. After the Civil War, Platt became successful in the tool and die making business.

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expand/collapse Expand/collapse Scope and Content

The collection consists of about 90 letters from Eldridge B. Platt, a member of the 2nd Connecticut Light Battery during the Civil War, to his parents, Enoch Platt and Sallie Bronson Platt, in Waterbury, Conn. Also included are two letters from Eldridge to sister Adelah Platt (23 April 1863 and 21 June 1863), one to his sister Emogene Platt (7 September 1864), and one to his brother Sylvester Platt (29 May 1863). An additional 16 letters to their parents and other family members from Eldridge's sisters Jane Platt, Sophronia Platt Hazard, Emogene Platt, and Adelah Platt; his brothers Sylvester Platt, Franklin Platt, and Deloss Platt; and his brother-in-law George Hazard (husband of Sophronia) are interfiled with Eldridge's letters to his parents (see transcript in folder 13 for a list of dates).

Most of the Eldridge Platt letters were written from his posts in Washington, D.C.; Wolfrun Shoals, Va.; New Orleans, La.; Brashear City, La.; and Mobile, Ala. A letter to his parents dated 22 May 1864 includes a printed brochure on how to collect bounties and pensions; a 13 May 1865 letter contains drawings and descriptions of an artillery shell. In general, the letters describe military life, food, and troop movements. The names of soldiers in Platt's detachment are listed in a 12 March 1863 letter. A 6 July 1863 letter describes his involvement in the battle of Gettysburg, where he was blinded for two days from a near miss by an exploding shell. His early 1864 letters document the occupation of New Orleans. A letter from 10 April 1865 describes the capture of Fort Blakely in Alabama. His last letter, 16 July 1865, informs his parents that he will be mustered out shortly.

Folder 13 contains a transcript of the entire collection done by the donor. The transcript also includes a chronological list of the letters and copies of two photographs: Eldridge Platt with his brothers Sylvester and Deloss (in uniform) and Eldridge about 20 years after the Civil War. A copy of Eldridge Platt's discharge from the Union Army is also included.

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Contents list

expand/collapse Expand/collapse Letters, 1862-1866.

110 items.

Arrangement: chronological.

Folder 1

1862

Folder 2

1863: January-March

Folder 3

1863: April-July

Folder 4

1863: August-December

Folder 5

1864: January-February

Folder 6

1864: March-May

Folder 7

1864: June-August

Folder 8

1864: September-December

Folder 9

1865: January-March

Folder 10

1865: April-May

Folder 11

1865: June-August

Folder 12

1866

Folder 13

Transcripts

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