How do I find Burgwyn Papers, NCDAH?

RMK.genealogy

Private
Joined
May 6, 2011
Location
Charlotte, NC
I found this FOOTNOTE in several books. In one book, it said:

"1 Henry Heth to W. N. Starke, September 13, 1863, OR 27(2):637; J.
T. C. Hood statement, April 8, 1896, Burgwyn Papers, NCDAH;
Elmore, "Torrid Heat and Blinding Rain," 10–11; Linebach diary, July
1, 1863, SHC-UNC."

In another book, it gives the same "J.T.C. Hood statement, April 8, 1896," but following this footnote, it continues and says "and transcript of losses in Company F from Richmond Examiner, Burgwyn Papers, NCDAH;..."

In the 1st footnote in one book, there seem to be 3 references in this one footnote. In the 2nd footnote in a different book, there are 7 references in the one footnote (assuming each ; is a separate reference in that one footnote). I am looking for the J.T.C. Hood statement, April 8, 1896. After each of these footnotes, it says, Burgwyn Papers, NCDAH, so I would assume that is where the J.T.C. Hood statement first appeared. Can anyone help me out and tell me where to look to find this 1896 J.T.C. Hood statement? What is NCDAH? I have a research background and I'm coming up stumped on this one.

I have already found articles mentioning J.T.C. Hood in The Times Dispatch, Richmond, VA, May 17, 1903 and in The National Tribune, Washington, D.C., July 2, 1903, but I cannot find this original 1896 J.T.C. statement. I also have a typed letter that was a 1st person account of his experiences in Gettysburg but that was in July 1896 in a Lenoir newspaper. I'm just stumped on how to find this April 8, 1896 statement. I can find plenty of books and newspaper articles referencing J.T.C. Hood statements. But I am particularly looking for this April 8, 1896 statement. J.T.C. Hood is also the man who coined the phrase used in so many Civil War books -- something to the effect that they mowed us down like like wheat before the sickle (I just don't want to take time to look up the exact words he said). He was an orderly sergeant in the Co. F., 26th Regiment, N.C.T. Can anyone help or tell me where to look and what the initials NCDAH stand for?

Thanks for your help.
 
Thanks be to Google! NCDAH stands for North Carolina Division of Archives and History. It appears to be an old organizational designation; they now term themselves the North Carolina Office of Archives and History (http://www.history.ncdcr.gov/) . However, they don't appear to have the Burgwyn papers at this site, so I checked out the archives.

At the State Archives website ( http://www.archives.ncdcr.gov/default.htm ) I did a search on their MARS catalog page. That came up with the following listing for "Burgwyn Papers":
Letters and papers of W. H. S. Burgwyn, Halifax Co. lawyer and banker, including his letters (1856-1860) from school at Chestnut Hill, Md., Georgetown College, D.C., and UNC. Letters and three diaries (Aug., 1862-Mar., 1865) describe Captain Burgwyn's service in Co. H, 35th Regt. NCT, his capture and imprisonment in Old Capitol Prison and Ft. Delaware, and affairs at the plantation in Weldon and include descriptive company roll and accounts of the death of his brother, Col. Henry K. Burgwyn, Jr., at Gettysburg. Most of Burgwyn's postwar correspondence is with veterans and with the historian of the Union's "Iron Brigade" in order to gather material for speeches and articles on Confederate history, especially history of the 35th and 26th N.C. regiments, battles of Gettysburg and New Bern, and Generals Matt W. Ransom and Thomas L. Clingman. Other topics include impeachment of W. W. Holden, establishment of a chair of history at UNC, and Burgwyn's appointment as colonel, 2nd Regt. N.C. Volunteers (1898). Also in this collection are three Virginia land grants (1803); Halifax Co. deeds; Confederate stocks and bonds; a sketch of the UNC class of 1868; Burgwyn's estate papers; and papers (1933-1936) concerning his widow's Spanish-American War pension. Correspondents include Kemp P. Battle, Walter Clark, Josephus Daniels, and Varina Davis.​
 
Thanks for your research. I did find one Burgwyn letter on the Web and wondered why such a thing would ever mention J.T.C. Hood. And what you found does not mention J.T.C. Hood either nor mention the 1896 date. Now that I see your research, I am wondering if both footnotes in both books should have used a semi-colon instead of a comma (after the date in the footnote I gave) to end that reference, like they did other places to separate references. I even cut and pasted the footnote so I know my punctuation above is correct. Another rabbit trail to follow. Thanks so much for your help. [RMK]
 
In looking at the State Archives site, it appears the "Burgwyn Papers" contain about 400 items. These include letters and diaries, but also might include newspaper clippings or other items Burgwyn didn't himself write. The "Papers" collection might just be a big folder of items of historic interest kept by Burgwyn and then donated to the archives after his death. The info indicated by the footnote may have been some data pulled from a clipping or other paper that Burgwyn saved, not necessarily something that he wrote himself.

By the way, I had the opportunity to go through the "Hunt-Morgan-Hill Family Collection" at the Museum of the Confederacy earlier this year. I was helping a writer out in California do some research on John Hunt Morgan. The collection was a set of letters, pictures, newspaper clippings, pamphlets, etc, all held in a file folder; they were donated to the museum by the family perhaps in the 1950's. I found it very moving to hold an actual letter penned by J. H. Morgan shortly before his death. If you're really interested in the info contained in the Burgwyn Papers, I suggest you contact the archives per the contact info on their website. You might be able to make a trip to Raleigh and go through the papers yourself to find the JTC Hood statement.
 
Would you believe it was under my nose the whole time. The News-Topic in Lenoir, N.C. printed the April 8, 1896 first hand account of Gettysburg by J.T.C. Hood back in 1996. I hate it when I have things and don't connect 2 pieces of information with each other. And then one day, there it is and I think why didn't I see that before. This is at least the 3rd time it has happened since I started genealogy research back in March 2011. Another example: I knew I had an original hand written tribute from back in the late 1800s from when a young bride died. Then after months and months I realized I had the exact newspaper article. I guess they had it put in the paper and then sent the original of it to the parents. I am so slow at times as with seeing the 1896 article written again in 1996. The Lenoir Topic had printed it back on that date in 1896 so very many years ago. Thanks guys for all your help. Hope you have a very Merry Christmas.
 
Would you believe it was under my nose the whole time. The News-Topic in Lenoir, N.C. printed the April 8, 1896 first hand account of Gettysburg by J.T.C. Hood back in 1996. I hate it when I have things and don't connect 2 pieces of information with each other. And then one day, there it is and I think why didn't I see that before. This is at least the 3rd time it has happened since I started genealogy research back in March 2011. Another example: I knew I had an original hand written tribute from back in the late 1800s from when a young bride died. Then after months and months I realized I had the exact newspaper article. I guess they had it put in the paper and then sent the original of it to the parents. I am so slow at times as with seeing the 1896 article written again in 1996. The Lenoir Topic had printed it back on that date in 1896 so very many years ago. Thanks guys for all your help. Hope you have a very Merry Christmas.

Glad to hear that you found it. In the words of Commander Peter Quincy Taggart of the sci-fi comedy Galaxy Quest, "Never give up, never surrender."
 
Welcome to the club. I've been doing genealogy since 2004 and can't remember how many times I was slow to connect the dots.
 
It has been a long while since I have been on this website. I just wanted to note that I found a copy of the actual J.T. C. Hood statement, dated April 8, 1896. It was an article he wrote for the Lenoir Topic. What I had found earlier was just a reprint in that1996 article in the Lenoir Topic article. Now I have a copy of the actual 1896 article. I went to the library in his county and found it there. I assume it was just later reprinted in the "Burgwyn Papers" but I still have not found that. But I hope to go to the State Archives later this year.
 
Back
Top