Edward E. Dickerson

A Register of His Papers in the Library of Congress

Prepared by Joseph Sullivan

Manuscript Division, Library of Congress

Washington, D.C.

1997

Contact information: http://lcweb.loc.gov/rr/mss/address.html

Finding aid encoded by Library of Congress Manuscript Division, 2007

Finding aid URL: http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.mss/eadmss.ms007041

Table of Contents

Collection Summary

Selected Search Terms

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Administrative Information

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Scope and Content Note

Arrangement of the Papers

Container List

Collection Summary

Selected Search Terms

The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in the Library's online catalog. They are grouped by name of person or organization, by subject or location, and by occupation and listed alphabetically therein.

Administrative Information

The papers of Edward E. Dickerson, Union army officer, were given to the Library of Congress by Wilton H. Dickerson in 1991.

The status of copyright in the unpublished writings of Edward E. Dickerson is governed by the Copyright Law of the United States (Title 17, U.S.C.).

Researchers wishing to cite this collection should include the following information: Container number, Edward E. Dickerson Papers, Manuscript Division, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.

Scope and Content Note

The papers of Edward E. Dickerson (1831-1914) span the years 1861-1991 and consist of photocopies and typed transcripts of a Civil War diary, 1863-1864, written as a memoir in 1864; three letters to his wife Frances, 1862; Dickerson's Civil War service record, 1861-1864; and a biographical sketch written by Wilton H. Dickerson in 1991. The papers describe Dickerson's service with the Eighteenth and Forty-fourth Wisconsin Volunteer Infantry regiments in the Western campaign in Tennessee in 1862 and with the army of General William T. Sherman in Georgia in 1864. Dickerson's letters to his wife describe his duties, camp life, and skirmishes near Pittsburgh Landing, Tennessee.

His memoir, written from notes in 1864, focuses on his experiences after being captured by Confederates on 6 October 1864, east of Rome, Georgia, near Acworth, guarding rail lines supplying Sherman's army. Dickerson escaped with another officer on 28 October from the Confederate prison camp for Union officers at Columbia, South Carolina. The account continues beyond 11 December 1864, when the pair crossed into Union-held territory and features their survival eluding Confederates.

Also in the collection are a typed biographical sketch and typescript copies of letters from Dickerson to his granddaughter describing his life before and after the Civil War and his reasons for writing the memoir.

Arrangement of the Papers

This collection is arranged alphabetically by type of material.

Container List