Collection Guide
Collection Title:
Collection Number:
Get Items:
Harris (Francis B.) Papers
mssHarris
View entire collection guide
Search this collection
Table of contents
Contributing Institution:
The Huntington Library
Title: Francis B. Harris papers
Creator:
Harris, Francis B., 1831-1915
Identifier/Call Number: mssHarris
Physical Description:
0.4 Linear Feet
(1 box)
Date (inclusive): 1862-1913, 2000
Date (bulk): 1862-1864
Abstract: Papers belonging to American Civil War Union soldier Francis B. Harris of New Jersey.
Language of Material: Materials are in English.
Open for use by qualified researchers and by appointment. Please contact Reader Services at the Huntington Library for more
information.
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.
[Identification of item]. Francis B. Harris papers, The Huntington Library, San Marino, California.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Gift of Thomas R. Harris, M.D., and Kimhuor Tieng, November 2019.
Francis B. Harris was born in January 1831 in Bridgeton, Cumberland County, New Jersey, the eldest child of John Bunyon Harris
(1808-1887), a farmer, and Sarah Ann Shriner Harris (1806-1894). The family later moved to Pittsgrove Township, Salem County,
New Jersey. In 1856, Harris married Margaret H. Gibson (1828-1908), a German-born widow with a son, Henry. The couple had
five children together, with three sons surviving to adulthood: Brenner M. Harris (1859-1936), Wilbur J. Harris, and Elwood
Harris. In August 1862 Harris enlisted into the 12th Regiment of New Jersey Infantry, as a private of Company A. Attached
to the Defenses of Baltimore, the regiment left the state in September for Ellicott's Mills, where it remained until December
1862. Harris' regiment then joined the Army of the Potomac and was on duty at Falmouth, Virginia, to April 1863. Harris was
wounded on his left arm on June 3, 1862, in the Battle of Chancellorsville. He spent four months at Lincoln General Hospital
in Washington, D.C., going home on a forty-day furlough in early June. He was discharged in September 1863 and rejoined his
company for the Bristoe campaign, October 1863. In the summer of 1864, Harris fought in the battles of the Wilderness, Laurel
Hill, Spotsylvania, Po River, Spotsylvania Court House, "Bloody Angle," North Anna River, and Totopotomoy Creek. Harris was
again wounded at the Battle of Cold Harbor and transferred to the army hospital in Newark, New Jersey, and remained hospitalized
until the end of the war. He was discharged in May 1865, still in the hospital. After the war, the family moved to Kansas,
and in 1902, the family moved to Long Beach, California, where Harris died in January 1915.
The small collection contains diaries, letters, documents, and a cabinet photograph of Francis B. and Margaret Harris, taken
in Long Beach before 1908. Harris's diaries and letters, mostly written to his wife, Margaret, cover the entire period of
his military service in Maryland and Virginia, including accounts of the battles of Chancellorsville, Bristoe Station, Mine
Run Campaign, and the 1864 Overland Virginia campaign, as well as his extended stay at Lincoln Hospital in Washington, D.C.,
in the summer of 1863. The documents include Harris's military and pension records, a certificate of the Grand Army of the
Republic, and a list of soldiers in Upper Pittsgrove, New Jersey, written by Harris in June 1866. Accompanying the collection
are some transcripts of parts of the collection done by various historians and national park employees that had access to
the original material. Much of the material is in fragile condition.
Processed by Brooke M. Black in April 2024.
Arranged chronologically.
Subjects and Indexing Terms
Bristoe Station, Battle of, Va., 1863 -- Personal narratives
Cold Harbor, Battle of, Va., 1864 -- Personal narratives
Mine Run Campaign, Va., 1863 -- Personal narratives
Maryland -- History -- Civil War, 1861-1865 -- Sources
New Jersey -- History -- Civil War, 1861-1865 -- Sources
United States -- History -- Civil War, 1861-1865 -- Regimental histories -- New Jersey -- Sources
United States -- History -- Civil War, 1861-1865 -- Medical care
United States -- History -- Civil War, 1861-1865 -- Personal narratives
Virginia -- History -- Civil War, 1861-1865 -- Personal narratives
Washington (D.C.) -- History -- Civil War, 1861-1865 -- Sources
Cabinet photographs
Diaries
Documents
Letters (correspondence)
Harris, Margaret H., 1828-1908
Lincoln Hospital (Washington, D.C.)
United States. Army. New Jersey Infantry Regiment, 12th (1862-1865)