The Source By Michael K. Shaffer
Papers of the Military Historical Society of Massachusetts – Part One “Our principal object in writing the foregoing pages has been to draw a few of the military inferences and conclusions which, it seems to us, the narrative of the admitted facts warrants. For it is only by clearly perceiving and frankly recognizing the lessons taught by our own experience that we can hope to apprehend correctly the military problems of the future.” The words of John Codman Ropes, founder of the Massachusetts Historical Society, and frequent lecturer to the group, which started meeting in his Boston home before moving to a leased location in the armory of a long-standing militia company, the First Corps of Cadets. Ropes and his fellow members attracted noted speakers from across the country. Former officers, North and South, addressed the group from the founding in 1876 until 1918. Later in the life of the Society, active officers spoke to the group on, then, current military affairs taking place in WWI.
October 2017
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large, fold out design; researchers will want to make a copy of the ‘Map of Military Railroads,’ found in volume 13, for use as a handy-reference when studying various campaigns. William Marvel wrote the introduction to the index and included biographies on each contributor. Many of the papers contain accounts from actual participants, and their recollections represent, as one bibliography states, “…outstanding analyses of various actions.”
in Virginia, Maryland, and Pennsylvania, 1862-1863,’ the title of the third volume. They recalled the fighting at Antietam, Fredericksburg, Chancellorsville, Gettysburg, Bristoe, and Mine Run. Of note, the third volume contains no maps. Battles of the Wilderness, Spotsylvania Courthouse, and Cold Harbor provide the subject matter for the fourth installation, which includes accounts from, among others, Theodore Lyman, Francis Barlow, and Thomas Livermore. The title of this volume, ‘Wilderness Campaign,’ does not adequately capture the subject matter detailed within. Speaking to the Society in Boston, at various times, Francis Walker and William F. Smith, along with other participants, delivered thoughts on the ‘Battles of Petersburg, Chancellorsville, and Gettysburg,’ volume five’s title. ‘Shenandoah Campaign of 1862 and 1864 and Appomattox Campaign,’ the title of volume six, contains the recollections of Hazard Stevens, Charles H. Porter, and other veterans, who
Map of Mobile. Sample view of the maps found in this volume. Volume one, entitled ‘Campaigns in Virginia, 1861-1862,’ contains papers on Patterson’s Shenandoah Campaign; the Penninsula Campaign; and action in the Shenandoah Valley, March 10 – June 9, 1862. Contributors include Ropes, John Palfrey, and several others. ‘Virginia Campaign of 1862 Under General Papers of the Military Historical Pope,’ volume two, counts SamSociety of Massachusetts uel Quincy, George H. Gordon, book cover. Stephen Weld, and others writing Collecting a printed copy of on Second Manassas and Cedar each speaker’s talk, the Society Mountain. The first two volumes amassed 186 papers and 66 maps, represent the only books in the set which eventually filled 14 vol- with a ‘Books Cited in this Volumes. Between 1989 and 1990, ume’ section at the front. Reading Broadfoot Publishing released the sources, which these individthe entire collection, listed erra- uals consulted in the latter part of ta for each volume, and added a the nineteenth century, provides useful index. Most of the volumes valuable insight today! contain maps, which Broadfoot Alexander Webb, George included at the back of the book. Davis, and other veterans Several of them consist of a delivered talks on ‘Campaigns
spoke about Cedar Creek, Five Forks, and Sailor’s Creek. Moving to the Western Theater, the seventh volume covers Fort Donelson, Shiloh, the Kentucky Campaign, Murfreesboro, Chickamauga, Chattanooga, the East Tennessee Campaign, Franklin, and Nashville. Contributors for this title, ‘Campaigns in Kentucky and Tennessee, including the Battle of Chickamauga,’ include Henry Stone, Ephraim Otis, and H.V. Boynton. The next installation, number eight, carries the title ‘The Mississippi Valley, Tennessee, Georgia, Alabama, 1861-1864.’ William F. Smith, Thomas Livermore, John Palfrey, and others provide accounts of Missouri 1861-1862, Port Hudson, the Red River Expedition, Buell’s Campaign Against Chattanooga, the Battle
John Codman Ropes. of Chattanooga, the Atlanta Campaign, After the Fall of Atlanta, Mobile, and Burnside’s East Tennessee Campaign. Next month, we will explore the final six volumes and the index! Those seeking printed copies of the set can obtain them from Broadfoot Publishing, at http:// www.broadfootpublishing.com, or check WorldCat http://www. worldcat.org/ for help in finding the collection in a local library. A few websites contain digitized versions of some individual Papers, including the Internet Archive at http://archive.org/search.php?query=creator%3A%22Military%20Historical%20Society%20of%20 Massachusetts%22 and Hathi Trust at https://catalog.hathitrust. org/Record/009793905. At both sites, users can view pages online, conduct searches, or download different file formats. Please keep suggestions for future ‘The Source’ columns coming; send them to the e-mail address shown below. Continued good luck in researching the Civil War! Michael K. Shaffer is a Civil War historian, author, lecturer, and instructor, who remains a member of the Society of Civil War Historians, Historians of the Civil War Western Theater, and the Georgia Association of Historians. Readers may contact him at mkscdr11@gmail.com, or to request speaking engagements via his website www.civilwarhistorian.net. Follow Michael on Facebook www.facebook.com/ michael.k.shaffer and Twitter @ michaelkshaffer.
Papers of the Military Historical Society of Massachusetts book spine.
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