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:
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:
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:
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.
Provenance:
Collection donated by Robert K. Hollingsworth on September 26, 2013.
Restrictions:
Collection is open for research.
Rights:
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.
Material is subject to Smithsonian Terms of Use. Should you wish to use NASM material in any medium, please submit an Application for Permission to Reproduce NASM Material, available at Permissions Requests
Collection Citation:
William Mitchell Trial Scrapbooks, Acc. 1992.0013, National Air and Space Museum, Smithsonian Institution.
