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Amos E. Hardy correspondence
mssHM 81771-81832
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Title: Amos E. Hardy correspondence
Dates: 1858-1922
Collection Number: mssHM 81771-81832
Creator OR Collector:
Hardy, Amos E. (Amos Everett), 1843-1922
Extent:
61 items
Repository:
The Huntington Library, Art Collections, and Botanical Gardens
Manuscripts Department
The Huntington Library
1151 Oxford Road
San Marino, California 91108
Phone: (626) 405-2203
Fax: (626) 449-5720
Email: reference@huntington.org
URL: http://www.huntington.org
Abstract: Personal correspondence of Amos E. Hardy, chiefly to his parents during the Civil War.
Language of Material: The records are in English.
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[Identification of item], Amos E. Hardy correspondence, The Huntington Library, San
Marino, California.
Gift of Victoria Harris, August 2011.
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.
The collection is arranged chronologically. It is housed in one box.
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.
Hardy, Abel, 1803-
Hardy, Amos E. (Amos Everett), 1843-1922
Hardy, Rebecca Presby Edgerly, 1816-
Columbian Hospital (Washington, D.C.) -- History -- Civil War, 1861-1865 -- Sources
United States. Army. Maine Heavy Artillery Regiment, 1st (1863-1865)
United States. Army. Maine Infantry Regiment, 18th (1862)
United States. General Hospital (Beverly, N.J.)
Fugitive slaves -- Virginia
Bangor (Me.) -- History -- 19th century -- Sources
Maine -- History -- Civil War, 1861-1865 -- Sources
Maine -- History -- Civil War, 1861-1865 -- Regimental histories -- Sources
Petersburg (Va.) -- History -- Siege, 1864-1865 -- Sources
Tillsonburg (Ont.) -- History -- 19th century -- Sources
United States -- History -- Civil War, 1861-1865 -- Hospitals
United States -- History -- Civil War, 1861-1865 -- Regimental histories -- Maine -- Sources
United States -- History -- Civil War, 1861-1865 -- Sources
Virginia -- History -- Civil War, 1861-1865 -- Sources
Washington (D.C.) -- History -- Civil War, 1861-1865 -- Sources
West Indies -- Description and travel
Letters (correspondence) -- United States -- Civil War, 1861-1865
Obituaries -- United States -- 19th century