Guide to the Milton Barnes papers C0065 Milton Barnes papers

Guide to the Milton Barnes papers C0065

Milton Barnes papers


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George Mason University. Libraries. Special Collections Research Center

Fenwick Library, MS2FL
4400 University Dr.
Fairfax, Virginia 22030
Business Number: 703-993-2220
Fax Number: 703-993-8911
speccoll@gmu.edu
URL: https://scrc.gmu.edu

Eron Ackerman

Repository
George Mason University. Libraries. Special Collections Research Center
Identification
C0065
Title
Milton Barnes papers 1853-1891
Quantity
2 Linear Feet, 4 boxes
Creator
Barnes, Milton, 1830-1895
Language
English .
Abstract
This collection contains two hundred items, mostly correspondence between Milton and Rhoda Barnes during the Civil War. The remainder of the collection consists of documents concerning Milton Barnes as Secretary of State, Rhoda Barnes, and photographs of both.

Administrative Information

Use Restrictions

Public Domain. There are no known restrictions.

Access Restrictions

Collection is open to research.

Alternative Form Available

Some of the correspondence from this collection was digitized and transcribed for the Sesquicentennial Civil War Documents Project.

Preferred Citation

Milton Barnes papers, C0065, Special Collections Research Center, George Mason University Libraries.

Acquisition Information

Mrs. Kathryn Barnes, and her sons James A. Barnes and C. Cortlandt Barnes donated the Milton Barnes Papers to George Mason University in 1975. Mrs. Barnes is the widow of a direct descendant of Milton and Rhoda Barnes.

Processing Information

Processed and transcribed by Daniel Shumate and Robert Hawkes of George Mason University. EAD markup completed by Eron Ackerman and Jordan Patty in April 2009. Updated by Greta Kuriger in July 2011. Finding aid updated by Amanda Menjivar in August 2022.

Biographical Information

Milton Barnes was a recently married lawyer in Cambridge, Ohio, when the Civil War began. He served first as a captain, commanding G Company of the 62nd Ohio Volunteer Infantry Regiment. This unit participated in the first Federal invasion of the Shenandoah Valley in the spring of 1862. When the 62nd Ohio was transferred to the Rappahannock in mid-1862, Captain Barnes was discharged on medical grounds and returned briefly to Cambridge, Ohio.

Later in 1862 he obtained an appointment as lieutenant colonel of the 97th Ohio Volunteer Infantry Regiment and served as its deputy commander and often-acting commander until mustered out in June 1865. Lieutenant Colonel Barnes fought with the 97th Ohio in major engagements in Kentucky, Tennessee, and Georgia until wounded at Kennesaw Mountain, Georgia, in June 1864. He returned to the field in time to take part in the defense of Tennessee against the Confederate re-invasion and was again wounded at Nashville, Tennessee in December 1864. The remainder of his and the 97th Ohio's service was on provost duty at Huntsville, Alabama, and in the East Tennessee mountains on guard against a last possible threat from the failing Confederates in Virginia.

His war letters include first-hand accounts of several battles, notably Stones River (Murfreesboro) and Missionary Ridge at Chattanooga, as well as, details of ordinary life on campaign and in camp. The occasional gaps in the correspondence were mostly the result of several campaigning which left no time for writing. His wife's letters include political news and comments as well as family matters.

After the war, Barnes resumed law practice in Cambridge. In 1867 he was brevetted Colonel in the Volunteer Force, AUS, to date from March 13, 1865 for "gallant and meritorious service" in the war. He was elected Secretary of State for Ohio for two terms (1877-1881) and later served for a year (1891-1892) as special Treasury Agent for Alaska. A lengthy account of his arrival and duties at St. George Island in the Bering Sea is included in the collection.

Scope and Content

This collection contains two hundred items, mostly correspondence between Milton and Rhoda Barnes during the Civil War. The remainder of the collection consists of documents concerning Milton Barnes as Secretary of State, Rhoda Barnes, and photographs of both.

Arrangement

Arranged chronologically.

Related Material

The Special Collections Research Center holds many other Civil War-era collections.

Subjects and Indexing Terms

Significant Persons Associated With the Collection

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Significant Places Associated With the Collection

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Container List

Milton Barnes papers
1853-1891
Scope and Contents note
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