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Holliday Family Civil War Correspondence

 Collection
Collection number: ahc.MSS116

Scope and Content

This collection contains forty-two original letters written by A. T. Holliday to his wife, Elizabeth (Lizy). These letters were written between July 6, 1864 and September 10, 1864 during Mr. Holliday's service in the Georgia Militia in the Atlanta Campaign. Two additional letters in the collection were written by Elizabeth to A. T. Holliday during the same time period. The letters from A.T. include his reports of skirmishes along the Chattahoochee River and behind picket lines surrounding Atlanta during the months of July and August, 1864. His letters include reports and rumors about troop movements, military engagements, and the capture of enemy soldiers, the condition of Union soldiers at Andersonville prison, and his opinions on the war in general. In addition,his letters contain information on the difficulty obtaining food, money, and other necessary supplies, drunkenness of the officers, his attempts at securing a furlough, his various ailments, and instructions to his wife for maintaining his farm in Washington, Georgia. The collection also includes photocopies of two letters from A. T. Holliday to Governor Joseph E. Brown dated July 22, 1863 and July 29, 1864. The earlier letter is a plea to the Governor to make some sort of provision for the protection of the women and children of Wilkes County while their husbands and fathers were serving in the army. He alludes to the “nature” of Negroes who are unsupervised and expresses great concern for the safety of his wife and five children. The second letter is a petition for a furlough for the purpose of attending to the estate of his deceased mother.

Dates

  • 1863-1864

Creator

Conditions Governing Access

The collection is open for research.

Conditions Governing Reproduction and Use

Unpublished manuscripts are protected by copyright. All requests to publish, quote or reproduce must be submitted through the Kenan Research Center.

Administrative/Biographical History

A.T. Holliday (b. 1829?) and Elizabeth Holliday (1833? – ca. 1910) lived in Washington, Georgia, owned a large farm, and had numerous slaves. They had five children, Willie, Otis, Alice, Flora, and Peter. A. T. Holliday served as a private with Company A. 1st Regiment, 1st Brigade, Georgia Militia, which was called into action in May, 1864. His unit served in Atlanta and Griffin, Georgia.

Extent

.415 linear ft. (one document case)

Language

English

System of Arrangement

This collection is arranged chronologically with a separate folder for the Governor Joseph E. Brown letters.

Immediate Source of Acquisition

The estate of Edith Holliday, gift, 1977 (1977.397)

Existance and Location of Originals

The original letters written by A.T. Holiday to Governor Joseph E. Brown are the property of the Georgia Department of Archives and History. Seven original letters are represented by transcripts only. The originals were retained by the donor. Existence and Location of

Existance and Location of Copies

Hand-written and typed transcriptions of original letters contained in folders 1-10.

General

America's Turning Point: Documenting the Civil War Experience in Georgia received support from a Digitizing Historical Records grant awarded to the Atlanta History Center, Georgia Historical Society, Hargrett Rare Book and Manuscript Library, and the Digital Library of Georgia by the National Historical Publications and Records Commission.

Description Control

Collection processed in 2005

Title
Holliday Family Civil War Correspondence: ahc.MSS 116
Subtitle
An Inventory of Their Papers at the Kenan Research Center at the Atlanta History Center
Author
Inventory prepared by Paul Crater
Description rules
Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Language of description
English
Script of description
Latin
Language of description note
Finding aid written in English.

Repository Details

Part of the Kenan Research Center at Atlanta History Center Repository

Contact:
130 West Paces Ferry Road
Atlanta GA 30305
404-814-4040