Archives Center, National Museum of American History

Guide to the Samuel Adams Papers

Summary

Collection ID:
NMAH.AC.1310
Creators:
Adams, Sam
Dates:
1862-1933
bulk 1862-1865
Languages:
English
.
Physical Description:
0.15 Cubic feet
1 box
Repository:
The Samuel Adams Papers document a surgeon's perspective on several major battles and events occurring during the United States Civil War.

Scope and Contents

Scope and Contents
This collection is divided into four series and includes letters and other papers of the Civil War surgeon Samuel Adams, as well as two CDs containing scans of the letters and transcriptions, and other documentation. The letters were sent to Adams's family and were written from the sites of major battles of the Civil War, including Antietam, Fredericksburg and Gettysburg. One letter mentions Lincoln's assassination. The collection contains medical papers written by Adams, a military pass, and a list of "maxims" written by Adams's body servant, WIlliam. Additionally, genealogical information connecting the collection donor to Samuel Adams, transcriptions of all handwritten documentation, and a copy of Grandfather to Grandson, which is a collection of letters written by the donor's great-grandfather during the Great Depression, are included.

Arrangement

Arrangement
Collection is arranged into four series.
Series 1: Supplemental Documentation, 1862-1933, undated
Series 2: Civil War Letters, 1862-1865 (bulk 1862-1863)
Series 3: Medical Papers, undated
Series 4: Miscellaneous Documents, 1861 July 16, undated

Biographical / Historical

Biographical / Historical
Samuel Adams was born in Maine around 1839, and was a surgeon for the Union Army during the United States Civil War. Adams enlisted on April 16, 1862 as an assistant surgeon, and was commissioned into the U.S. Army Medical Staff as part of the regular Army. Adams received two promotions by brevet during the war to Captain and then to Major. He was present during the battles of Antietam, Fredericksburg, and Gettysburg, and died of yellow fever on September 9,1867 in Galveston, Texas.

Administration

Author
Chelsea Bucklin
Processing Information
Processed by Chelsea M. Bucklin, intern, 2015; supervised by Alison Oswald, archivist.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Collection donated by Robert K. Hollingsworth on September 26, 2013.
Existence and Location of Copies
Series 1: Supplemental Documentation, contains a compact disc with transcriptions for all of the handwritten letters, medical papers, notes, and genealogical information.

Using the Collection

Preferred Citation
Samuel Adams Papers, Archives Center, National Museum of American History.
Conditions Governing Access
Collection is open for research.
Conditions Governing Use
Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives Center makes no guarantees concerning copyright restrictions. Other intellectual property rights may apply. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.

More Information

Bibliography

Bibliography
Heitman, Francis Bernard. Historical Register and Dictionary of the United States Army, from Its Organization, September 29, 1789, to March 2, 1903. Washington: Government Printing Office, 1903.
The Seventh Census of the United States, 1850. Washington: Government Printing Office, 1853.


Keywords

Keywords table of terms and types.
Keyword Terms Keyword Types
Fredericksburg (Va.) Geographic Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Antietam, Battle of, Md.,1862 Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Assassinations Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Gettysburg, Battle of, Gettysburg, Pa., 1863 Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Fredericksburg, Battle of, Fredericksburg, Va.,1862 Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Civil war -- United States Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Surgeons -- United States Occupation Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Medical sciences Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Medical notes Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Letters (correspondence) -- 1860-1870 Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Gettysburg (Pa.) Geographic Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Compact discs Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Antietam (Md.) Geographic Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Hollingsworth, Robert K. Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Lincoln, Abraham, 1809-1865 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid

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