Duncan McKercher papers, 1855-1889, bulk 1855-1865

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Summary

Creators:
McKercher, Duncan
Abstract:
A collection of material related to Duncan McKercher, American Civil War officer.
Extent:
0.25 Linear Feet (1 box)
Language:
Materials are in English.
Preferred citation:

[Identification of item]. Duncan McKercher papers, The Huntington Library, San Marino, California.

Background

Scope and content:

The collection includes three pocket diaries kept by McKercher from January 1, 1862 to March 3, 1865, detailing his military service and his imprisonment. Also included are memoirs, based on the diaries that McKercher composed later, and some additional regimental records. There is also a group of 41 notes from South Carolina enslavers requesting various forms of punishment for enslaved persons. The requests are addressed to the Master of the Charleston "workhouse," the city's notorious jail for enslaved persons. McKercher apparently took these papers while incarcerated in Charleston jail on his way to Libby Prison. Also included is a military commission issued by Governor of Alabama, May 29, 1861, a special instruction for officers guarding Libby Prison, April 30, 1864, and a letter from Theodore Schock, a prospector of Needleton, Colorado describing his wife's suicide, written on January 9, 1889.

Biographical / historical:

Duncan McKercher (1819-1900) was a Union Civil War Officer. He was born in York, Livingston County, New York, and was educated in Geneseo Academy; in 1843, McKercher married Betsy Benedict. In 1848, the McKerchers moved to Wisconsin. In July 1861, McKercher was mustered in as Captain of Company H of the 10th Regiment of Wisconsin Volunteers, and soon was promoted to Major. In July 1863, he was appointed Colonel, but was never mustered in. The 10th Wisconsin was attached to 9th Brigade, Army of the Ohio (December 1861 to November 1862) and then to 1st Brigade, 1st Division, 14th Army Corps, Army of the Cumberland (November 1862 to October 1864). McKercher served in Kentucky, Tennessee, Alabama, and Georgia, taking part in the battles of Perryville and Stones River, and in the Chickamauga campaign. At the Battle of Chickamauga, McKercher was captured and spent the next eighteenth months in Confederate prisons, ten months of that time was in Libby Prison. He was exchanged in March 1865 and honorably discharged soon afterwards. In 1870, he and his family moved to Peabody, Kansas.

Acquisition information:
Purchased from Mrs. Helen N. Ogilvie, February 1961.
Processing information:

Processed by Huntington Library staff in approximately 1965; in August 2024, Gayle M. Richardson created the finding aid.

Arrangement:

Arranged in the following manner: 1. Civil War diaries and memoirs of Duncan McKercher; 2. Records of Charleston Workhouse; 3. Miscellaneous manuscripts and ephemera.

Rules or conventions:
Describing Archives: A Content Standard

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]. Duncan McKercher papers, 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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