Colton Greene Collection, Revised Processed by John Jones, Intern—1983 Revised by Doug McQuirter—2017 Memphis and Shelby County Room Memphis Public Libraries 3030 Poplar Ave. Memphis, TN 38111 Colton Greene Collection, Revised Biographical Note Colton Greene (1832-1900) A leading citizen of Memphis in the decades after the Civil War, Colton Greene is best remembered as the originator of the Memphis Mardi Gras. Little is known of Greene’s early life other than his 1832 birth in South Carolina. A resident of St. Louis, Missouri, Greene enlisted in the Confederate Army in 1861 and took part in an unsuccessful effort to seize the U.S. Arsenal in that city. He served as commander of the 3rd Missouri Cavalry Brigade throughout the war, taking part in many battles in the Trans-Mississippi Military District. General D. Frost commended Greene’s action at the Battle of Pea Ridge. Greene served in General Marmaduke’s Missouri campaign of 1863 and assisted in the defense against the expedition of General Frederick Steele. Greene served most of the war with the rank of colonel, although many of his superiors had recommended his promotion. After the fall of Vicksburg, Mississippi, to the Union Army, communications were severely disrupted between the Trans-Mississippi region and the Confederate capital in Richmond, Virginia. Because of this circumstance, General E. Kirby Smith assumed the power to appoint officers to the rank of brigadier general without prior approval of the Confederate Congress and President. Thus, although no official sanction was ever given to Greene’s promotion to brigadier general, he may have been one of those officers accorded that rank by Kirby Smith near the end of the war. After the war, Greene began a successful career in the insurance business. He was employed by the Memphis branch of the Knickerbocker Life Insurance Company of New York and established his own firm, Greene & Lucas, in 1871. Greene became one of Memphis’ leading citizens during the decade of the 70’s, founding and serving as first president of the State Savings Bank and helping to organize the Tennessee Club. During the difficult years of growing debt and devastation from three yellow-fever epidemics, which forced the city to surrender its charter in 1879, Greene provided enlightened civic leadership. Along with other concerned citizens including Elias Lowenstein and John Overton, Jr., he served on a Water Committee which was formed to investigate the feasibility of plans for the construction of a municipal water works. In his Report On a Public Water Supply for the City of Memphis (Memphis: S.C. Toof & Co., 1886), Greene recognized the need for a water facility that was publicly owned and operated since the owners of the private systems had failed to reinvest enough profits to keep pace with the city’s growing demand for an adequate and safe supply of water. In the report, Greene also identified the need for sound fiscal management to restore the city’s credit within the financial community. Perhaps Greene’s most original civic accomplishment was the organization of the Memphis Mardi Gras. When the Memphis newspaper, The Appeal, called for a public discussion of ideas to attract business to the community, he proposed that the city celebrate Mardi Gras and established the Mystic Society of Memphi to promote the social events. With the help of others, notably David P. Hadden, Greene persuaded railroad companies to lower fares during the celebrations, hired fashionable artists and costumers and succeeded in attracting huge crowds for the grand parades. The first festival was held in 1872, and the Memphis celebrations rivalled those of New Orleans and Mobile in magnificence throughout the decade. From 1882 until the turn of the century, the tradition continued but on a diminished scale. More information on the historical background to the 2 Colton Greene Collection, Revised Biographical Note, continued Memphis Mardi Gras and the Mystic Memphi may be found in the Memphis Information File in the Library’s Memphis and Shelby County Room. A world traveler and a highly educated man, Greene was an avid collector of books. His bequest to the Cossitt Library upon his death in 1900 included over five-hundred titles, including a large selection of the classics as well as many of the latest works of the time in the fields of history, science, and philosophy. 3 Colton Greene Collection, Revised Scope and Contents The Colton Greene Collection, Revised contains four boxes and is 1.04 linear feet in size. The collection spans from a letter dated 1857, to a commemorative invitation replica from the 1990s. The bulk of the collection comes from either the American Civil War or the records of the Society of the Memphi in the 1870s and 1880s. Box one contains correspondence, a painted portrait of Greene, and hand drawn maps from Greene’s involvement as a Confederate officer in the Civil War. Of particular interest within this portion is a number of letters regarding a disciplinary investigation against Greene known as the “mule imbroglio.” In 1864, Greene was accused of encouraging officers under his command to disobey an order requiring all soldiers to turn over their mules to the Confederate government. This accusation came to naught when a military court examined the evidence, completely exonerating Greene of this charge. Box two contains the financial records, bills, receipts, correspondence, and advertisements related to the Mardi Gras celebrations, as well as undated envelopes, cards, and other ephemera from this period. Box three contains invitations, envelopes, and sketches from Mardi Gras and other festive events. Most objects in this box pertain to specific events and are dated. Many of these objects were intricately designed by highly-skilled artists, including Carl Gutherz, a Memphis painter who taught at Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri. Box four contains oversized objects. These include Greene’s United States passport (containing a written description of his physical features), his CSA officer’s commission originating from Missouri, conceptual drawings of Mardi Gras costumes, and pages from Frank Leslie’s Illustrated Newspaper describing Memphis’s 1878 Mardi Gras celebration. Single photocopies or scans of unpublished writings in these papers may be made for purposes of scholarly research. Memphis and Shelby County Room rights statement While the Memphis Public Library & Information Center may house an item, it does not necessarily hold the copyright on the item, nor may it be able to determine if the item is still protected under current copyright law. Users are solely responsible for determining the existence of such instances and for obtaining any other permissions and paying associated fees that may be necessary for the intended use. Any image from the library’s collection published in any form must cite as the source: Memphis and Shelby County Room, Memphis Public Library & Information Center. For all requests, please contact the History Department at 901-415-2742 or [email protected]. 4 Colton Greene Collection, Revised Container List Box Folder Folder Name Number Number 1 1 Correspondence 1 2 Portrait 1 3 Military Affairs and Correspondence 1 4 Military Campaign Maps 1 5 Correspondence regarding the “Mule Imbroglio” 2 1 Receipts and Correspondence 2 2 Mardi Gras Correspondence and Expenses 2 3 Documents regarding Mardi Gras Designers C. Gutherz and Maison Nonnon 2 4 Society of Memphi-Memoranda and Envelopes 2 5 Miscellaneous Personal Items 2 6 Statements of Expenditures 2 7 Receipts 2 8 Advertisements 2 9 Plaque 2 10 Dance Cards 2 11 Cards 2 12 Invitation Covers 2 13 Engraving Photograph 2 14 Invitations, undated 2 15 Envelopes 3 1 Invitation-1872 3 2 Invitations and Envelopes-1872 3 3 Reproduction of 1873 Invitation from 1998 3 4 Invitation-1873 3 5 Invitation-1873 3 6 Invitation-Knights of Momus 1873 3 7 Tickets; 1879,1874, unknown 3 8 Bulletins-1874 3 9 Invitation-1875 3 10 Invitation-1875 3 11 Newspaper Article-1875 3 12 Invitations-1876 3 13 Invitations-1876 3 14 Invitations-1876 3 15 Invitations-1877, 1878 3 16 Invitations; Ticket-1877; 1880 3 17 Libretto, 1877 3 18 Newspaper Articles-1877, 1876, 1876, unknown 3 19 Book-1878 5 Colton Greene Collection, Revised Container List, continued Box Folder Folder Name Number Number 3 20 Libretto-1878 3 21 Invitation-1878 3 22 Invitations-1878, 1881 3 23 Invitation-1878 3 24 Invitations and Envelopes-1880 3 25 Invitations-1881 3 26 Invitation-1884 3 27 Invitation-1888 3 28 Invitation-1888 3 29 Illustrations-1892 3 30 Booklet-1911 3 31 Book-1956 3 32 List of Proposed Floats-1874 3 33 Programs for Mardi Gras-1876 4 1 Cover Sheet 4 2 Poster-1872 4 3 Poster-1875 4 4 Invitation-1876 4 5 Envelope-1876 4 6 Photographs of Mardi Gras Sketches 4 7 Opera House Tickets 4 8 Sketch by Carl Gutherz 4 9 Mardi Gras Costume Design Drawings 4 10 Invitation-1878 4 11 Frank Leslie’s Illustrated Newspaper (in German) 4 12 Frank Leslie’s Illustrated Newspaper 4 13 Passport 4 14 Map 4 15 Handwritten Song 4 16 Commission Document 4 17 Ulks Procession Sketch 6 Colton Greene Collection, Revised Box 1—Civil War Papers Folder Folder Name Number Description of Contents Number of Items 1 Correspondence 12 Includes letters both written to and from Greene by Albert Gallatin Jenkins, Trusten Polk, an unidentified female friend, Col. Campbell, T.D. Wooten, Lonegan, A.R. Walker, B.W. Duke with envelope. Correspondence dates range from 5/9/1857 to 11/4/1886. 2 Portrait 1 A portrait of Colton Greene in CSA uniform. Color, painted, undated, unsigned. 3 Military Affairs 21 Includes letters and dispatches to and from Greene by Br.