Hipple (Samuel) Quartermaster Account Ledgers, 1862-1865

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Summary

Title:
Samuel Hipple quartermaster account ledgers
Dates:
1862-1865
Abstract:
Five ledgers kept by U.S. Army Quartermaster Captain Samuel Hipple, containing records of the civilians and non-combatants, including the formerly enslaved persons known as contrabands, employed at the Union military installations at Cape Girardeau, Missouri.
Extent:
1.71 Linear Feet (2 boxes)
Language:
Materials are in English.
Preferred citation:

[Identification of item]. Samuel Hipple quartermaster account ledgers, The Huntington Library, San Marino, California.

Background

Scope and content:

Five account ledgers kept by Samuel Hipple, recording the civilians employed at the Union military installations at Cape Girardeau, Missouri. The ledgers contain accounts of formerly enslaved persons known as contrabands, Irish and German immigrants, refugees, destitute soldiers' families, civilian scouts, and Secret Service agents. The ledgers also contain accounting-related information including matters of logistics, supply chains, and transportation. Volumes 2 and 5 contain lists of civilians employed at Fort Girardeau's headquarters, stables, hospital, bakery, store, and trading posts in various positions, including clerks, agents, bakers, cooks, nurses, carpenters, wheelwrights, blacksmiths, wagon masters, teamsters, laborers, and contractors. Volume 3 was used to record incoming communications received by Hipple, and includes requests for transportation for troops, provisions for troops, prisoners of war and their guards, and others. Also listed are women and children and other families, refugees, and destitute soldiers' widows. The ledger also included records of purchases of supplies for wagon trains and lists of horses received by Hipple from July 25 to September 22, 1864.

Biographical / historical:

Samuel Hipple (1821-1875) was born in Landisburg, Perry County, Pennsylvania, to Joseph Hipple (1798-1868) and Catherine Dubbs Hipple (1802-1866). In 1854, he was elected and in 1856 reelected to the Pennsylvania House of Representatives. In 1857, he moved to Kansas. He acquired a farm near present day Monrovia, Atchison County, set up a saw and grist mill, invested in railroads, and was engaged in the shipping business that took him to St. Louis, Missouri. He was also the founding partner of Hipple and Larkins Cattle Dealers. In July 1858, Hipple was a delegate to the Wyandotte Constitutional Convention. In the first months of the Civil War, he served as the county recruiting commissioner. In the summer of 1862, he was accused of kidnapping three Black persons from their Missouri enslavers.

In 1863, Hipple accepted the position of Assistant Quartermaster. Assigned to Cape Girardeau, Missouri, Hipple reported to the Chief Quartermaster in St. Louis. The Union garrisons at Cape Girardeau housed numerous refugees and self-emancipated Black Americans known as contrabands. Hipple remained at Cape Girardeau until late summer of 1865.

After the war, Hipple was elected to the Kansas State Senate in 1868. In the 1870s, he was joined by his brother Charles Hipple (1828-1885), who had commanded a company of the 69th Regiment of Pennsylvania Infantry. Samuel Hipple died in 1875 in Monrovia, Kansas.

Acquisition information:
Purchased from Dan Casavant Rare Books, October 2024.
Processing information:

Processed at the time of accessioning by Kelly Kress in January 2025.

Arrangement:

Arranged chronologically, with oversize at the end.

Rules or conventions:
Describing Archives: A Content Standard

About this collection guide

Collection Guide Author:
Kelly Kress
Date Encoded:
This finding aid was produced using ArchivesSpace on 2025-01-16 10:17:31 -0800 .

Access and use

Restrictions:

Open for use by qualified researchers and by appointment. Please contact Reader Services at the Huntington Library for more information.

Terms of access:

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]. Samuel Hipple quartermaster account ledgers, The Huntington Library, San Marino, California.

Location of this collection:
1151 Oxford Road
San Marino, CA 91108, US
Contact:
(626) 405-2191
reference@huntington.org
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