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Burrud (John B.) Papers
mssHM 75115-75334  
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Collection Details
 
Table of contents What's This?
  • Conditions Governing Access
  • Conditions Governing Use
  • Preferred Citation
  • Immediate Source of Acquisition
  • Biographical / Historical
  • Scope and Contents
  • Processing Information
  • Arrangement

  • Contributing Institution: The Huntington Library
    Title: John B. Burrud papers
    Creator: Burrud, John B.
    Identifier/Call Number: mssHM 75115-75334
    Physical Description: 5 Linear Feet (4 boxes)
    Date (inclusive): 1862-1870
    Date (bulk): 1862-1865
    Abstract: Papers belonging to cobbler and Civil War soldier John B. Burrud.
    Language of Material: Materials are in English.

    Conditions Governing Access

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

    Conditions Governing Use

    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]. John B. Burrud papers, The Huntington Library, San Marino, California.

    Immediate Source of Acquisition

    Letters were a gift of Richard White, April 1980, and the diaries were a gift George H. Shoaks, October 1980.

    Biographical / Historical

    John B. Burrud (1828-1883) was born in Blakeney, Norfolk, England, son of John A. (1794-1869) and Sarah Ann Burrud (1794-1878). In the early 1830s, his family immigrated to the United States and settled in Wayne County, New York. Burrud's parents were engaged in farming; he was apprenticed to a shoemaker and taught singing. On February 2, 1853, he married Ocena A. Newton, daughter of Buckley Newton. The couple had four children: Ella Burrud Howell (born 1854); Newton J. Burrud (born 1859) Lucinda Burrud Calhoun, and William Burrud. In September 1862, Burrud raised a company that was later designated Company D of the 160th New York Regiment. The regiment left the state for New Orleans in December 1862. Burrud fought in the expeditions to Bayou Teche (1863 January 12-15 and April 11-20); operations on Bayou Plaquemine (1863 February 12-28); operations in Western Louisiana (1863 April 19-May 14); expedition to Alexandria and Simsport (1863 May 15-17), and the siege of Port Hudson (1863 May 25-June 18). At the end of June, Burrud was admitted to St. James Hospital in New Orleans with an "old lung complaint" and remained there until the end of August when he was granted a furlough and went home. In November 1863, Burrud returned to the regiment that was then posted on duty at New Iberia, Louisiana. In 1864, he led his company in the operations in Western Louisiana, Banks's Red River and Sheridan's Shenandoah Valley campaigns. In April 1865, the unit was assigned to the defenses of Washington' following the Grand Review (May 23-25), the men left for Savannah and then Hawkinsville, Pulaski County, Georgia, and remained there until mustered out on November 1, 1865. After the war Burrud taught "vocal music" in Marion Collegiate Institute and was a member of the Grand Army of the Republic. He died in Marion in 1883. John B. Burrud's brother William G. Burrud, corporal of Company E of the 111th Regiment of New York Infantry, was killed at Gettysburg.

    Scope and Contents

    In the letters to his wife, John B. Burrud, shared his war experiences, political views, religious sentiments, and intense longing for his home and family. The letters, many written over two or three days, cover the regiment's organization in Auburn, New York in September 1862; training in New York City; the voyage to Louisiana; the 1863 campaigns in Louisiana and duty at Morgan City, Bayou Boeuf, and Pattersonville; Burrud's month-long stay in St. James Hospital in New Orleans; the Red River and the Shenandoah Valley Campaigns of 1864, including the battles of Pleasant Hill (April 9), the third Winchester (September 19), Fisher's Hill (September 22-23), and Cedar Creek (October 19); duty at Middletown and Winchester, Virginia (1864 October27-1865, April), and Washington, D.C. (1865 April-June); the Grand Review (1865 May 23-25); and duty at Savannah and Hawkinsville, Georgia (1865 June-November). In addition to the detailed accounts of the campaigns and battles and discussion of the commanding officers (Weitzel, Banks, Grant, Sheridan, and others), Burrud's letters contain descriptions of Louisiana, Virginia, Maryland, and Georgia countryside, especially historical sites (e.g. the remains of the Jamestown church; the place of John Brown's execution; Blakely, a farm near Charles Town, West Virginia that belonged to George Washington's family, museums, public building, and gardens of Washington, D.C., or a Creek Indian mounds in Pulaski County), and natural wonders and various species of wildlife. He also reports, often in elaborate detail, encounters with residents, particularly enslaved people, contrabands, and women ("Yaller Gals"), who flocked to the Union lines as well as members of freedmen's aid associations and Union sympathizers. Burrud shares his thoughts on a wide range of subjects: slavery ("most damnable man degrading, soul killing, God dishonoring Institution that ever was permitted to exist on the face of the earth"); the Union cause ("the good of Mankind and the world and the Maintenance of the best and the Only true form of Government of the face of the Earth"); the Confederate government ("Jeff Davis's Empire"); Copperheads ("Political Miscreants"), African American soldiers whom he considered superior to white soldiers from "9 month regiments" and substitutes; guerrilla warfare, and race relations. He also at length discusses personal concerns and troubles of "the Boys" in his company, including an outbreak of sexually transmitted diseases and an alarming rate of marital infidelity that seems to have affected most of soldiers' wives of Wayne County; the role of women in the war effort; news from home (including his profound disappointment in the lack of patriotism and respect for the Union uniform on the part of the people of his hometown); war and political news; recruiting and draft; home front, religious revival in Marion; etc. Burrud, a staunch Republican, avidly followed political news, especially the New York state elections of 1863 and the 1864 elections. The letters also contain news from the 111th Regiment of New York Infantry where his brother William G. Burrud and his brother-in-law, Joseph Newton served as privates. An accomplished musician, Burrud also at length discusses music and army bands. Three pocket diaries cover the years of 1863, 1864, and 1865; the entries contain accounts of campaign and battles, duties, detachments, and details; and war and political news.

    Processing Information

    Processed by Olga Tsapina. In 2020, Brooke M. Black created a finding aid.

    Arrangement

    Organized in the following series: 1. Diaries and 2. Correspondence.

    Subjects and Indexing Terms

    British Americans -- New York (State) -- Correspondence
    Cedar Creek, Battle of, Va., 1864 -- Personal narratives
    Red River Expedition, 1864 -- Personal narratives
    Shenandoah Valley Campaign, 1864 (August-November) -- Personal narrative
    Fugitive slaves -- Louisiana -- History -- Sources
    Military hospitals -- United States -- History -- Civil War, 1861-1865 -- Personal narratives
    Military spouses -- United States -- Correspondence
    Music teachers -- New York (State) -- Archives
    Slaves -- Louisiana -- History -- Civil War 1861-1865
    Georgia -- Description and travel
    Georgia -- History -- Civil War, 1861-1865 -- Personal narratives
    Louisiana -- Description and travel
    Louisiana -- History -- Civil War, 1861-1865 -- Personal narratives
    Marion (N.Y.) -- History -- Sources
    New Orleans (La.) -- History -- Civil War, 1861-1865 -- Personal narratives
    New York (State) -- History -- Civil War, 1861-1865 -- Personal narratives
    New York (State) -- History -- Civil War, 1861-1865 -- Regimental histories -- Sources
    Pulasky County (Ga.) -- History -- Sources
    Savannah (Ga.) -- History -- 19th century -- Personal narratives
    Teche, Bayou (La.) -- History -- Sources
    United States -- History -- Civil War, 1861-1865 -- African Americans -- Sources
    United States -- History -- Civil War, 1861-1865 -- Music and the war -- Personal narratives
    United States -- History -- Civil War, 1861-1865 -- Personal narratives
    United States -- History -- Civil War, 1861-1865 -- Regimental histories -- New York (State) -- Sources
    United States -- History -- Civil War, 1861-1865 -- Women -- Personal narratives
    Virginia -- Description and travel
    Virginia -- History -- Civil War, 1861-1865 -- Personal narratives
    Washington (D.C.) -- History -- Civil War, 1861-1865 -- Personal narratives
    Diaries -- United States -- Civil War, 1861-1865
    Letters (correspondence) -- United States -- Civil War, 1861-1865
    Personal papers -- New York (State) -- 19th century
    Songbooks -- United States -- 19th century
    Burrud, Ocena A. Newton, 1830-
    Burrud family
    United States. Navy. New York Infantry Regiment (111th : 1862-1865)