FERGUSON (SAMUEL WRAGG) PAPERS (Mss. 1416, 1576) Inventory Louisiana and Lower Mississippi Valley Collections Special Collections, Hill Memorial Library Louisiana State University Libraries Baton Rouge, Louisiana State University Reformatted 2003 Revised 2011 FERGUSON (SAMUEL WRAGG) PAPERS Mss. 1416, 1576 1857-1915, undated LSU Libraries Special Collections CONTENTS OF INVENTORY SUMMARY .................................................................................................................................... 3 BIOGRAPHICAL/HISTORICAL NOTE ...................................................................................... 4 SCOPE AND CONTENT NOTE ................................................................................................... 5 COLLECTION DESCRIPTION .................................................................................................... 6 INDEX TERMS ............................................................................................................................ 13 CONTAINER LIST ...................................................................................................................... 14 Use of manuscript materials. If you wish to examine items in the manuscript group, please fill out a call slip specifying the materials you wish to see. Consult the Container List for location information needed on the call slip. Photocopying. Should you wish to request photocopies, please consult a staff member. The existing order and arrangement of unbound materials must be maintained. Publication. Readers assume full responsibility for compliance with laws regarding copyright, literary property rights, and libel. Permission to examine archival materials does not constitute permission to publish. Any publication of such materials beyond the limits of fair use requires specific prior written permission. Requests for permission to publish should be addressed in writing to the Head, Public Services, Special Collections, LSU Libraries, Baton Rouge, LA, 70803-3300. When permission to publish is granted, two copies of the publication will be requested for the LLMVC. Proper acknowledgement of LLMVC materials must be made in any resulting writing or publications. The correct form of citation for this manuscript group is given on the summary page. Copies of scholarly publications based on research in the Louisiana and Lower Mississippi Valley Collections are welcomed. Page 2 of 14 FERGUSON (SAMUEL WRAGG) PAPERS Mss. 1416, 1576 1857-1915, undated LSU Libraries Special Collections SUMMARY Size. 61 items Geographic South Carolina, Georgia, Mississippi, Tennessee, Kentucky, Louisiana, locations. Oregon, Washington, Utah, Kansas Inclusive dates. 1857-1915, undated Bulk dates. N/A Language. English Summary. Confederate general and lawyer of Charleston, South Carolina, and Greenville, Mississippi. Letters, memoirs, and writings describe student life at West Point; the settlement of Kansas; religious missions and the life of missionaries in the Oregon territory; and the hostility of Native Americans and the fate of settlers bound for California and Oregon. Civil War materials include records of Ferguson's Confederate military service, descriptions of participation in several battles, and a description of the collapse of the Confederate government. Restrictions on If microfilm is available, photocopies must be made from microfilm. access. Related Samuel Wragg Ferguson Letter, Mss. 2177 collections. Percy Ferguson Papers, Mss. 1416 Kate Lee Ferguson Papers, Mss. 1416, 1576 Copyright. Copyright of the original materials is retained by descendants of the creators in accordance with U.S. copyright law. Citation. Samuel Wragg Ferguson Papers, Mss. 1416, 1576, Louisiana and Lower Mississippi Valley Collections, LSU Libraries, Baton Rouge, La. Stack location(s). T:13 Page 3 of 14 FERGUSON (SAMUEL WRAGG) PAPERS Mss. 1416, 1576 1857-1915, undated LSU Libraries Special Collections BIOGRAPHICAL/HISTORICAL NOTE Brigadier General Samuel W. Ferguson was born in Charleston, South Carolina, in 1834, and graduated from West Point in 1857. As a lieutenant, Ferguson participated in Albert Sidney Johston’s Utah expedition and later went on duty at Fort Walla Walla, Washington until 1860. Upon learning of the outcome of the 1860 election, Ferguson resigned his commission and entered the service of the Confederate States. Captain Ferguson served as an aide-de-camp to General Beauregard, where he took an active part in the battle of Shiloh and other confrontations. Ferguson also held the rank of lieutenant-colonel of the 28th Mississippi cavalry regiment where he fought the advance of Federal transports to Vicksburg and other Mississippi locations. In 1863, he was promoted to brigadier-general, and was active in the Atlanta campaign. Ferguson also played a vital role in assisting the evacuation of Savannah, and later operated in southern Georgia until ordered to escort President Jefferson Davis to Washington, Georgia, where his command was disbanded. After the war, Ferguson made his home in Greenville, Mississippi, where he practiced law. In 1894, he returned to Charleston, and devoted himself to civil engineering. He died in 1917. Page 4 of 14 FERGUSON (SAMUEL WRAGG) PAPERS Mss. 1416, 1576 1857-1915, undated LSU Libraries Special Collections SCOPE AND CONTENT NOTE Letters, memoirs, and writings (with some repetition between memoirs and writings) describe student life at West Point Academy (1852-1857); the confusion connected with the settlement of Kansas (1857-1858); religious missions and the life of missionaries in the Oregon territory (1859); the hostility of Native Americans and the fate of settlers destined for California and Oregon (1857-1860); and an expedition under command of Albert Sidney Johnston against Mormons in 1857. Civil War materials include records of Ferguson’s Confederate military service as an aide to General P. G. T. Beauregard and as commander of the 28th Mississippi Cavalry Regiment in the Atlanta Campaign; descriptions of participation in the bombardment of Fort Sumter, the first Battle of Bull Run, the Battle of Shiloh, the raids of Nathan B. Forrest, and the Atlanta Campaign (1861-1865); and a description of the collapse of the Confederate government (1865). Post War materials refer to Ferguson’s law practice and his affiliation with the United Confederate Veterans. Also included in the collection are photographs of the Ferguson family, Mississippi state senators, Fitzhugh Lee, and General Beauregard. Page 5 of 14 FERGUSON (SAMUEL WRAGG) PAPERS Mss. 1416, 1576 1857-1915, undated LSU Libraries Special Collections COLLECTION DESCRIPTION Date Contents 1857-1887 11 items: Letters from Samuel Wragg Ferguson to his godmother, Frances Baker, relating his activities as a student at West Point Military Academy and during an expedition against the Mormons, describing the Plains and Rocky Mountain areas, army life on the western frontier, and relating the expectation of a war with the Mormons (Feb. 16, 1857, Jan. 31, Apr. 4, 1858); Copy of an extract from report of Captain J. H. Simpson, topographical Engineer on the Utah expedition, citing Ferguson for efficient performance of duty (Jan. 3, 1859); Confederate bills issued by the State of Mississippi (May 1, Nov. 1, 1862); Appointment of Ferguson to rank of Colonel of Cavalry, Okalona, Miss. (July 23, 1863); Copy of inscription on monument at South Battery, Charleston, South Carolina, erected by the Daughters of the Confederacy and the Memorial Association of Charleston (1865); Letter from Mrs. Samuel Wragg Ferguson to Colonel Slater, Commander of the Kentucky Regiment, relating the theft of her Arabian mare by Federal soldiers (May 22, 1865); Letter from Ferguson to General W. T. Sherman relating the theft of his wife’s mare and other property and requesting restoration of property (May 27, 1865); Letter from Horatio Rogers, Providence, Rhode Island, to Ferguson relative to family genealogy (July 19, 1887) 1898-1915 12 items: Letter relating Ferguson’s election as honorary member of Camp No. 250 of the United Confederate Veterans (Oct. 17, 1898); Printed copy of regulations issued by U. S. War Department relating to claims for property taken by federal troops (Apr. 26, 1902); Newspaper clipping concerning final meeting of the Confederate cabinet (Sept.- 6, 1903); Letters from the U.S. Department of War relating to Ferguson’s claim for property taken at the close of the Civil War and his reimbursement for that property (Feb. 13, 23, Aug. 16, 22, 1904); Newspaper clipping describing the explosion of the Mississippi steamer W. R. Carter (May 1, 1904); Semi-centennial Civil War edition of the Richmond (Virginia) Times Dispatch (Apr. 9, 1911); Letter (June 14, 1913) from Theodore G. Barker, Charleston, S.C., to John Sharp Williams, U.S. Senator from Miss., referring to a letter from General Samuel Wragg Ferguson requesting that Barker bring to the attention of the President of the U. S. facts showing the services of General Ferguson to the Democratic Party of South Carolina in 1876; Page 6 of 14 FERGUSON (SAMUEL WRAGG) PAPERS Mss. 1416, 1576 1857-1915, undated LSU Libraries Special Collections Date Contents Letter from Ferguson to General Fremont Hower relating incidents which occurred during their Confederate Army service and mentioning the service of his sons in the Spanish American War and during the insurrection in the Philippines (July 23, 1914); Letter from Ferguson to a relative (name not given) relating his Confederate War service and