Collection context
Summary
- Creators:
- Hardy, Amos E. (Amos Everett), 1843-1922
- Abstract:
- Personal correspondence of Amos E. Hardy, chiefly to his parents during the Civil War.
- Extent:
- 61 items
- Language:
- The records are in English .
Background
- Scope and content:
-
Letters that Hardy wrote to his parents during his Civil War service constitute the bulk of the collection. The letters describe the work on the defenses of Washington, D.C., including Forts Massachusetts (Stevens), DeRussey, Talbot, Ripley, Alexander, Franklin and Sumner; life in camp, particularly the food, healthcare, and various sports and amusements; the men of his regiment, including the hated regimental surgeon suspected of killing off "weak soldiers" and an "old Hypocrite" of a chaplain' encounters with fugitive slaves, slaveholders, Confederate prisoners, Union conscripts, etc. Hardy also discusses the affairs at home, (including the fate of his dog), and renders his opinion on war news and state and national politics, e.g. the draft and the Copperheads. Longing for a battle, he also shared various schemes that would allow him to be transferred to cavalry or the Navy. The letters also contain accounts of the beginning of Grant's Overland campaign and the battle of Poplar Springs where he lost his arm as well as descriptions of the Columbian Hospital in Washington, D.C. and the Beverly Hospital in New Jersey. The letter of Dec. 25, 1858 describes Christmas in Georgetown, Guyana and briefly recounts Hardy's impression of the West Indies. Also included are: Hardy's letter to his future employer, Mrs. Ames, written from Soldiers' Home in Bangor and detailing his Civil War service; his letters from Tillsonburg, Ont., discussing the town and Hardy's plans for the future; a letter from his son, Robert Samuel Hardy, with a detailed account of festivities in his Bangor, Me. school; a newspaper clipping with Amos E. Hardy's obituary, and an undated letter from G. Low to William Low of Castleton, Vt.
- Biographical / historical:
-
Amos Everett Hardy (1843-1922), hailed from Hampden, Penobscot County, Me., son of Abel and Rebecca Presby Edgerly. Hardy left home at the age of sixteen to sail to Guyana and Martinique onboard of a merchant vessel. On July 19,1862 , he enlisted in Co. F of the 18th Regiment of Main Infantry. The regiment was directed to the defenses of Washington,D.C. On January 6, 1863, the 18th Maine changed its designation to the 1st Regiment of Maine Heavy artillery. With his regiment, Hardy remained on duty on the defenses of Washington, D.C., engaged in building and garrisoning batteries and forts. In August, 1863, he was admitted to the hospital with typhoid fever and "rheumatics." On May 15,1864, the regiment was ordered to Virginia as part of Grant's Overland Virginia Campaign. Four days later, during the battle of the Spotsylvania Court House, Hardy took a minie ball in the right thigh and was sent to Washington,D.C., to the Columbian Hospital. Hardy arrived to Washington shortly before Jubal Early's raid on the capital; because the nurses had been sent to the defenses of the city, he was assigned to take care of the patients. He remained on nurse's duty until he was discharged at the end of August. Hardy rejoined his regiment that by then had been directed to Petersburg, Va. on September 5,1864. On October 2,1864, he was gravely wounded by a shell that tore his shoulder "all to pieces." His right arm was amputated in a field hospital; he was then transported to City Point, and on to Beverly Hospital in New Jersey. Hardy was discharged in September 1865 and soon left for Tillsonburg, Oxford County, Ontario, Canada where he had found work at an oil well belonging to a Mrs. Ames. He later returned home and married Edith Maria Morison; the couple had two sons Robert Samuel Hardy (b. 1873) and George Bradley Hardy (b. 1880). Amos E. Hardy served as the register of deeds and probate for Penobscot County. He died in Bangor in 1922.
- Acquisition information:
- Gift of Victoria Harris, August 2011.
- Arrangement:
-
The collection is arranged chronologically. It is housed in one box.
- Rules or conventions:
- Finding Aid prepared using Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Access and use
- Location of this collection:
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1151 Oxford RoadSan Marino, CA 91108, US
- Contact:
- (626) 405-2191