| Scope and content |
This collection contains copies of transcripts of Charles Fairchild's letters to his mother and sister in Madison, Wisconsin. Early letters give detailed accounts of camp life. Also of interest are his accounts of the march from Camp Scott in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, to Camp McClure in Chambersburg, Pennsylvania, and then to Camp Negley at Hagerstown, Maryland. While in Washington awaiting appointment to the Navy, Charles wrote letters describing in detail his observations of McClellan's arrangement of the army into Grand Divisions and of McClellan's overall command of the six Corp D'Armie. Fairchild joined the U.S. Navy as assistant paymaster and included in his correspondence are a detailed account of his duties. In additional correspondence, Fairchild discusses the possibilities of foreign intervention and gives detailed descriptions of the USS Brandywine. |
| Access restriction | No access restrictions. |
| Cite as |
Charles Fairchild Papers (#676), East Carolina Manuscript Collection, J. Y. Joyner Library, East Carolina University, Greenville, North Carolina, USA. |
| Terms of use | Literary rights to specific documents are retained by the authors or their descendants in accordance with U.S. copyright law. |
| Acquisitions source |
Joyner- Gift of Mr. James A. Morgan III. |
| Biographical note | Charles Fairchild, a Harvard law student from Madison, Wisconsin, enlisted in the 1st Wisconsin Regiment at the outset of the Civil War as the commissary officer. Charles resigned from the U.S. Army in 1861 to seek a better appointment with the Navy. He then served aboard the side-wheel gunboat steamer USS Mahaska. |
