Overview of the Collection
Access
Administrative Information
Biographical Note
Scope and Content
Arrangement
Indexing Terms
Overview of the Collection
Title: Henry I. Colyer Correspondence
Dates (inclusive): 1862-1865
Collection Number: mssHM 28943-29056
Creator:
Colyer, Henry I. (Henry Isaac), approximately 1841-
Extent:
146 pieces in 2 boxes + copies and transcripts in 2 binders and 1 box.
Repository:
The Huntington Library, Art Collections, and Botanical Gardens.
Manuscripts Department
1151 Oxford Road
San Marino, California 91108
Phone: (626) 405-2129
Email: reference@huntington.org
URL: http://www.huntington.org
Abstract: This collection contains the Civil War correspondence of Union soldier Henry I. Colyer,
consisting chiefly of letters to his parents, siblings, and friends in Chittenango, New York.
Language: English.
Access
Open to qualified researchers by prior application through the Reader Services Department. For more information, contact Reader
Services.
Administrative Information
Publication Rights
The Huntington Library does not require that researchers request permission to quote from or publish images of this material,
nor does it charge fees for such activities.
The responsibility for identifying the copyright holder, if there is one, and obtaining necessary permissions rests with the
researcher.
Preferred Citation
[Identification of item]. Henry I. Colyer Correspondence, The Huntington Library, San Marino, California.
Provenance
Purchased from Clifford Couch Colyer, 1966-1970.
Biographical Note
Henry Isaac Colyer (also spelled Collier), a Civil War Union soldier. Resident of Chittenango, Madison Co., New York, he enlisted
in 157th N.Y. Volunteers in 1862. Until Nov. 1, 1862,
the Regiment was assigned to the defenses of Washington, D.C., and then moved to Centreville, Virginia, and took part in the
advance to Fredericksburg, Virginia, (Dec. 8-17). In late December,
Colyer was hospitalized with a heart and lung condition, and remained in King St. Hospital in Alexandria, Virginia, until
Aug. 1863. After that he served in the Veteran Reserve
Corps for remainder of the war. Until March 1864, he was on guard duty at United States Draft Rendezvous (known as the Conscript
Camp) at New Haven, Conn., and then served in
Alexandria, Fairfax, Fort Williams, Va. and Washington, D.C. He was discharged in July 1865 and returned home.
Scope and Content
The Colyer Collection contains the Civil War correspondence of Union soldier Henry I. Colyer, consisting chiefly of letters
to his parents, siblings, and friends in Chittenango, New York.
The letters discuss war, political, and family news and contain detailed
factual accounts of the camp life -- rations, barracks, soldiers' finances, conscripts and substitutes, desertions, drinking,
courts martial, hospital, prisons, demobilization, etc.
Arrangement
Original letters arranged chronologically in 2 boxes, followed by transcriptions of letters and envelopes in 1 box and 2 binders.
Indexing Terms
Subjects
Colyer, Henry I, (Henry Isaac), approxiamtely 1841 -- Correspondence.
United States. Army -- Recruiting, enlistment, etc. -- Civil War, 1861-1865.
United States. Army. New York Infantry Regiment, 157th (1862-1865)
New Haven (Conn.) -- History -- 19th century -- Sources.
New York (State) -- History -- Civil War, 1861-1865 -- Regimental histories -- Sources.
United States -- History -- Civil War, 1861-1865 -- Personal narratives.
United States -- History -- Civil War, 1861-1865 -- Sources.
United States -- History -- Civil War, 1861-1865 -- Hospitals -- Personal narratives.
Virginia -- History -- Civil War, 1861-1865 -- Sources.
Washington (D.C.) -- History -- Civil War, 1861-1865 -- Sources.
Forms/Genres
Letters (correspondence) -- United States - Civil War, 1861-1865.
Personal papers -- New York (State) -- 19th century.