Collection View
Consists mostly of George B. Bacon's letters to his wife, Lavinia, during his service in the American Civil War. A few letters predate the war and document Bacon's early service with the U.S. Navy, specifically voyages to the west coast of Africa in relation to the slave trade.
Arranged chronologically by sender and by document type.
Letters to Lavinia, 1860
Letters to Lavinia, Including Time as Commander of Several Gunboats and the USS Louisville, 1864
Envelopes, circa 1862-1864
Consists mostly of letters from Rear Admiral Samuel Phillips Lee to Bacon during the latter's service toward the end of the war with the Mississippi Squadron. There is also some correspondence from Bacon and various superior officers, including orders, assignments, commendations, and reports of activity.
Organized by sender or type of document in chronological order.
Consists of typed transcriptions of many of Bacon's letters to his wife, which include a couple whose originals are missing from the collection; and biographical materials such as clippings, research, and accounts of Bacon's life, most likely written and compiled by his daughter, Mary Bacon Brown.
Arranged by document type.
- Scope and Contents
The collection consists mostly of Lieutenant Commander George B. Bacon's letters to wife, Lavinia, during his service with the U.S. Navy during the American Civil War. In his letters, Bacon writes about battles and engagements in which he was directly involved as well as other battles and events, strategic plans, and personal matters, among other things.
A fair number of letters document his time stationed off the coast of South Carolina as commander of the USS Commodore McDonough when he participated in several engagements. In recounting an attack on Fort Wagner during the Battle of Morris Island, Bacon writes, "The Storming Party from our side made the attack and then commenced one of the most terrible fights I ever expect to witness. Our regiment got on the walls of the Fort, but the Rebels being strongly reinforced, we were at last driven from it with the loss of about one thousand officers and men killed and wounded. All of our Generals were wounded except Gen. [Quincy A.] Gillmore and after service this morning I went on shore to see the wounded. Oh it was a terrible sight.(July 19, 1863)"
Also included in the collection is official wartime correspondence, including letters and orders from Rear Admiral Samuel Phillips Lee to Bacon written during the latter's service with the Mississippi Squadron towards the end of the war. There are also a few letters that predate the war documenting Bacon's early service with the Navy. A couple of these document Bacon's voyage to the west coast of Africa on the USS Relief in relation to the slave trade.
There are also transcriptions of many of Bacon's letters to his wife as well as biographical materials such as clippings, research, and accounts of Bacon's life, most likely written and compiled by his daughter, Mary Bacon Brown.
- Arrangement
The collection is organized into the following series:
- Collection Creator Biography:
Bacon
George Bement Bacon (1835-1890), a descendant of several early and distinguished American families, was one of several children born in Ogdensburg, New York, to William Bacon and Virginia Thornton. In 1850 at the age of 15, he was admitted as a cadet into the Naval Academy at Annapolis; he graduated in 1856. Beginning as a student, Bacon served on several tours to various parts of the world, including voyages to Brazil, the Mediterranean, the Caribbean, Southeast Asia, and the west coast of Africa.
A lieutenant at the start of the Civil War, Bacon was assigned in November 1861 to the river-gunboat USS Itasca, which established a distinguished record during the war. Part of the West Gulf Blockading Squadron, the Itasca played a key role in events leading up to the Capture of New Orleans (April 25-May 1, 1862) as its men were assigned to cut the chains the Confederacy had positioned across the Mississippi below New Orleans to block passage up the river.
Shortly after this engagement, Bacon contracted malaria and was ordered home to recover. During his recovery, Bacon married Mary Lavinia Chapin (1840-1918), the daughter of David Madison Chapin (1806-1879), and Mary Elsie York (1817-1891), with whom he had three children: Mary Chapin Bacon (b. 1863) who married Silas E. Brown, Sophia Louise Bacon (b. 1866), and Fanny Hastings Bacon (b. 1872).
In August 1862, Bacon was promoted to lieutenant commander, and in October of that year began to serve with the South Atlantic Blockading Squadron. As commander of USS Commodore McDonough, Bacon was put in charge of the Stono River fleet off the coast of South Carolina and participated in several battles and engagements, including the Battle or Morris Island and the burning expedition of the town of Bluffton, S.C.
Beginning in December 1863, Bacon was given charge of several different gunboats before being reassigned around October 1864 to the Mississippi Squadron where he served until the end of the war. For most of this time, Bacon commanded the Squadron's 6th district, which extended from just above the Arkansas River to Vicksburg, from aboard the USS Louisville stationed at Skipwith's Landing.
Almost immediately upon the war's end, Bacon resigned from the Navy in order to tend to property he owned in Kentucky, which had suffered seriously during the war. Bacon moved his family to Kentucky and entered the lumber business. They stayed there until 1869 when Bacon was appointed U.S. Weigher in the New York Custom House and the family moved to Brooklyn. Bacon held this position until he was removed by the Cleveland Administration in 1885. Bacon died suddenly during a visit to his hometown of Ogdensburg.
- Acquisition:
Gift of Josephine C. Brown (granddaughter), 1970 (AM 20267).
- Appraisal
No material was separated during 2014 processing.
- Processing Information
During 2014 processing, multiple items in the collection were treated for mold.
Folder inventory added by Nicholas Williams '2015 in 2012. Expanded by Hilde Creager '2015 in 2013.
This collection was reprocessed by Faith Charlton in 2014. Finding aid updated by Faith Charlton in 2014.
- Conditions Governing Access
The collection is open for research.
- Conditions Governing Use
Single copies may be made for research purposes. To cite or publish quotations that fall within Fair Use, as defined under U. S. Copyright Law, no permission is required. For instances beyond Fair Use, it is the responsibility of the researcher to determine whether any permissions related to copyright, privacy, publicity, or any other rights are necessary for their intended use of the Library's materials, and to obtain all required permissions from any existing rights holders, if they have not already done so. Princeton University Library's Special Collections does not charge any permission or use fees for the publication of images of materials from our collections, nor does it require researchers to obtain its permission for said use. The department does request that its collections be properly cited and images credited. More detailed information can be found on the Copyright, Credit and Citations Guidelines page on our website. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact us through the Ask Us! form.
- Physical Characteristics and Technical Requirements
For preservation reasons, original analog and digital media may not be read or played back in the reading room. Users may visually inspect physical media but may not remove it from its enclosure. All analog audiovisual media must be digitized to preservation-quality standards prior to use. Audiovisual digitization requests are processed by an approved third-party vendor. Please note, the transfer time required can be as little as several weeks to as long as several months and there may be financial costs associated with the process. Requests should be directed through the Ask Us Form.
- Credit this material:
George B. Bacon Civil War Correspondence; Manuscripts Division, Department of Special Collections, Princeton University Library
- Permanent URL:
- http://arks.princeton.edu/ark:/88435/08612n575
- Location:
-
Firestone LibraryOne Washington RoadPrinceton, NJ 08544, USA
- Storage Note:
- ReCAP (scarcpxm): Box 1-2
- Bibliography
McPherson, James M. War on the waters : the Union and Confederate navies, 1861-1865. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 2012. Mahon, John K. "The Civil War Letters of Lieutenant Commander George Bacon," American Neptune 12, (1952): 271-81.
- Subject Terms:
- Husband and wife -- United States -- 19th century -- Correspondence
Morris Island, Battle of, S.C., 1863 (July 10-September 7) -- Personal narratives.
New Orleans (La.) -- History -- Capture, 1862 -- Personal narratives.
South Carolina--History--Civil War, 1861-1865--Personal narratives. - Genre Terms:
- Correspondence -- 19th century
- Names:
- United States. Navy
United States. Navy. Mississippi Squadron
United States. Navy. South Atlantic Squadron
United States. Navy. West Gulf Squadron
Relief (Store ship)
Lee, Samuel Phillips (1812-1897)
