Research Arsenal

06/25/2026

The Research Arsenal is proud to be digitizing and adding historical records of Civil War regiments held at the National Archives to our online database so that researchers and historians can access material that previously required a trip to Washington D.C. The 21st Michigan Infantry is one of the many regiments that has been added to our database.

The Research Arsenal is digitizing and adding historical records of Civil War regiments held at the National Archives, and has added the 21st Michigan Infantry

06/24/2026

Instead of a "What's" it Wednesday this week, we thought we'd have some fun with a "Why's" it Wednesday. Here is a studio photograph of an unknown child posed with a chicken. Why do you think the child was photographed with the chicken? A family pet? The photographer's pet? We don't actually know the answer, but we'd love to hear your guesses in the comments!

06/23/2026

The Curious Case of John Sullivan, Deserter

Recently we completed the transcription of a letter book belonging to William M. Shipman, the Provost Marshal for the 3rd Congressional District of New Jersey. As a Provost Marshal, one of William Shipman’s chief duties was the apprehension and return of deserters back to their regiments.

In December, 1863, John Sullivan was arrested as a deserter and brought to William Shipman by a man named William Valentine who wished to receive the reward for his capture. John Sullivan was then promptly sent down to Washington, D.C. to be imprisoned awaiting the return to his regiment.

Problems arose when the adjutant of his regiment, the 19th Massachusetts Infantry, sent a letter stating that John Sullivan had received a discharge for disability on October 12th, 1862, and therefore had not deserted the regiment.

William Shipman forwarded the letter written by the adjutant of the 19th Massachusetts Infantry as well as his own description of events to the Provost Marshal General, James B. Fry.

“I have the honor to return herewith the papers received by me this day, in reference to the arrest of John Sullivan. John Sullivan age 21 hazel eyes dark hair ruddy complexion five feet six inches in height actual measurement was arrested on the 21st of December 1863, and brought to these Head Quarters on the 22nd of the same month by William Valentine of Trenton N.J. I was present at the time and questioned Sullivan myself. He stated that he belonged at the present time to the 19th Massachusetts Vols. Co. K, that he enlisted in said Regiment May 1861: That he left his regiment on the 19th day of December, or thereabouts on furlough which he said that he had lost, having had that and his money stolen from him while asleep in the cars being at the time partially intoxicated. I considered the loss of furlough improbable and as he expressed an entire willingness to return and did not ask to be retained until he could procure evidence from the Regiment of the truth of his statement I returned him as a deserter. I cannot understand if this is the same man why he should have made such a false statement unless it was to obtain the reward for the person who arrested him.

I have paid the reward.

The principal facts contained in the above statement are I believe stated on Descriptive List and forwarded with Deserter.”

By this time, John Sullivan had already been released from imprisonment and was furnished transportation back to New Jersey. But William Shipman was soon able to uncover more information that explained John Sullivan’s strange claim, which he wrote in a new letter to the Provost Marshal General.

“I have the honor to inform you that in examining the Descriptive Lists of Deserters received from your office on the 13th inst I found the name of John Sullivan reported as a deserter from the 4th Independent Battery of New Jersey. From his description he is I think beyond a doubt the same person arrested by me and returned on his own statement as a deserter from the 19th Mass Vol to which he formerly belonged but from which he had been discharged more than a year since. This would account for his giving the false statement, knowing that he would prevent further investigation, at the time, and that if he was returned to the regiment to which he formerly belonged he would be released.”

Afterwards, William Shipman sent a letter to one of his deputies telling him to rearrest John Sullivan. Interestingly, this time Shipman claims that Sullivan deserted from the Invalid Corps, rather than the 4th Independent Battery of New Jersey.

“Information have been received from the Provost Marshal General’s Office that John Sullivan arrested by William Valentine as a deserter from Co. K 19th Mass Vols. and discharged by the authorities at Washington D.C. as not being a deserter from said regiment has been recognized as a deserter from the Invalid Corps and orders received for his re-arrest transportation was furnished him to Amboy.

You will take steps to secure his immediate arrest if he can be found in your district.”

1st Letter to Provost Marshal General: https://app.researcharsenal.com/imageSingleView/78672

2nd Letter to Provost Marshal General: https://app.researcharsenal.com/imageSingleView/78672

Letter to Deputy: https://app.researcharsenal.com/imageSingleView/78661

Photo of Provost Marshal General James B. Fry: https://app.researcharsenal.com/imageSingleView/1247

06/22/2026

Henry Beckwith was born in 1839 to David Beckwith and Eliza (Rathbone) Beckwith of Chesterfield, Connecticut. He enlisted in the US Navy on June 27, 1862 and served as the Third Assistant Engineer on the USS New Ironsides.

The first letter in our collection was written by Henry Beckwith on October 13, 1862 while the USS New Ironsides was near Hampton Roads, Virginia. The USS New Ironsides was a broadside ironclad ship constructed in 1862. In the letter Beckwith described some of his duties as the Third Assistant Engineer of the ship as well as the large amount of coal required to keep it running.

“We have the same duties to do on a Sunday that we have any other day which are not usually very tedious when laying under banked fires as we are at present. But sometimes at sea we see little different times. I mean by banked fires that they are piled up with coal & lays in smothering state but can be raked & in a few minutes will become a good fire. When running, we burn 25 tons of coal per day. Under banked fire, [only] 4 tons. Our engines are sixteen hundred (1600) horse power—that is, they will draw as much as 1600 horses like “Old Tom” on level ground, up or down hill.”

Read the rest on our blog!

Henry Beckwith was born in 1839 to David Beckwith and Eliza (Rathbone) Beckwith of Chesterfield, Connecticut. He enlisted in the US Navy on June 27, 1862 and

06/21/2026

How Both the Union and Confederacy Have a Tie to Father's Day

Mother's Day was the first holiday created honoring a parental figure, but what about fathers? That's exactly what Sonora Smart Dodd thought when she began the push for a national holiday honoring fathers across the country.

Her father, William Jackson Smart, had been married twice and widowed twice, raising 14 children as a single father. In 1909, Sonora attended one of the first Mother's Day celebrations at her church in Spokane, Washington. She immediately felt a similar holiday should be held for fathers, and organized one the following year in 1910 in Spokane. For the next 60 years she campaigned presidents and congressmen and rallied as much media as she could to her cause. In 1972, President Richard Nixon signed the Congressional resolution declaring the third Sunday in June Father's Day. Sonora was 90 years old at the time and lived another 6 years.

So how does this connect with both the Union and the Confederacy? Sonora's father, William Jackson Smart had the distinction of being a veteran of both sides of the Civil War. He drove wagons for the Confederacy before being captured at the Battle of Pea Ridge in 1862. He then enlisted in the 1st Arkansas Light Artillery. After the war he was a member of a local GAR post, and his daughter Sonora was a member of both Daughters of Union Veterans and United Daughters of the Confederacy.

As you celebrate Father's Day this year, raise a glass to Sonora Smart Dodd and her father William Jackson Smart--a veteran of both sides of the Civil War!

Photo: Sonora Smart Dodd and her father, William Jackson Smart: The Spokesman-Review – June 13, 1943

06/19/2026

This week's What's it Wednesday asked you to identify the object referenced in the 1865 Quartermaster Manual--the answer is "Fringe for colors and standards." Below is the full description.

"Fringe for colors and standards-of yellow silk, 2 1/2 inches deep; made of a 3 strand cord, twisted, of sewing silk; each strand with a knot tied in it and the end unravelled [unraveled]." https://app.researcharsenal.com/quartermaster-manuals/24

Photo: Regimental flag of the 2nd MA Cavalry: https://app.researcharsenal.com/imageSingleView/3710

06/18/2026

Tomorrow, on June 19th, Americans commemorate Juneteenth, a holiday that marks one of the most important milestones in the history of the Civil War and the abolition of slavery in the United States. While many people know Juneteenth as the day enslaved people in Texas learned they were free, the story is deeply rooted in the Civil War itself. The holiday represents not only the end of slavery in Texas but also the culmination of years of military struggle, political change, and the efforts of hundreds of thousands of soldiers who fought to preserve the Union and destroy the institution of slavery.

Every year on June 19, Americans commemorate Juneteenth, a holiday that marks one of the most important milestones in the history of the Civil War and the

06/17/2026

For our What's it Wednesday this week, can you identify the following item from its description in the 1865 Quartermaster Manual?

"of yellow silk, 2 1/2 inches deep; made of a 3 strand cord, twisted, of sewing silk; each strand with a knot tied in it and the end unravelled [unraveled]."

Post your guesses below and check back Friday for the answer!

06/16/2026

Thomas Griffith was born in 1846 to William and Clarinda Griffith of Gowanda, New York. He was very young when he enlisted in August, 1862, around the age of 15 or 16 years old, although he gave his age as older on the muster rolls. In this collection of six letters to an unnamed aunt, Thomas Griffith details the twisted path that led to his enlistment in the 116th New York Infantry.

A frequent topic of the letters Thomas Griffith wrote was how he came to be enlisted in the 116th New York Infantry, along with his hope that he would soon be able to get a discharge. In his first letter written on September 1, 1862, Thomas Griffith made the sad declaration of, “My father is dead. He died about four months ago.”

In another letter written on March 14, 1863, Thomas Griffith gave an account that suggests his enlistment was related to the death of his father and a relative named John whom he did not want to live with. The girls mentioned in the passage are Thomas Griffith’s three younger sisters, Anna, Louisa, and Rosa.

“About the girls coming up there, I should think that John would send them up there. He has had the care of all the stuff that was left and I think he has sold a good deal of the things. He wanted me to come and live with him but I would not do it after he had acted so mean to me. He hired Quint for him and then he wanted me but I would not go. I will never step inside of his door so long as I live. He has acted mean to me. He never noticed [me] till he wanted me to go and work for him. He thought that I was of no account but he found out that I was for I had as good a suit of clothes as any boy in Gowanda that work and fought.

I went to Buffalo, went on board the Towanda and went on one trip to Chicago and then I—like a fool—enlisted. I could of got out of the regiment if I had a mind to. I wish I had. I thought first that I would enlist [in] the Irish Brigade.”

Read more on the blog!

Thomas Griffith was born in 1846 to William and Clarinda Griffith of Gowanda, New York. He was very young when he enlisted in August, 1862, around the age of

06/11/2026

Over the past year or so, the Research Arsenal has been digitizing regimental books from Records Group 94 at the National Archives and adding them to our searchable database. But for those who many not be familiar with Records Group 94 and its contents, we thought it might be wise to put a bit of a primer out on it.

Over the past year or so, the Research Arsenal has been digitizing regimental books from Records Group 94 at the National Archives and adding them to our