Rutherford B.
Hayes Presidential Center
The General J.
B. McPherson Collection
of
Wilfred S. Foerster
LH-14
Introduction
Biographical Sketch
Scope and Content
Inventory
Introduction
The Foerster Collection was
donated to the Center by the Wilfred S. Foerster
Family. In addition to the collection, the James Birdseye McPherson
Collection, the Stem Family Collection, the Thaddeus B. Hurd Collection, the Sardis Birchard Collection, the Lydia Chase
Slocum Correspondence, and numerous Biographical and Local History Files
provide additional correspondence of and information about Major General James
Birdseye McPherson. Selected items may be viewed online at www.sandusky-county-scrapbook-net.
Biographical
Sketch
Born in 1828 near Clyde,
Ohio, James Birdseye McPherson
was the eldest son of William and Cynthia McPherson. Following his father's
death, McPherson clerked in the store and boarded with the family of Robert
Smith of Stemtown (Green Springs, Ohio).
Noting his exceptional intelligence, his employer assisted him in gaining
admission to the Norwalk
Academy. With the backing
of Sardis Birchard and other prominent Sandusky Countians, McPherson received an appointment to the United States Military Academy
from Congressman Rudolphus Dickinson. Despite his
deficient early education, McPherson graduated first in the class of 1853.
Educated as an engineer, McPherson developed and oversaw the construction of
the U.S. Army's defensive fortifications in New York City's
harbor, Pea Island,
and Alacatraz
Island. At the outbreak
of the Civil War, McPherson requested transfer to the east. Receiving an
appointment to Halleck's staff, he reported to St. Louis where he met General William T.
Sherman. Halleck ordered McPherson to act as chief engineer for General Ulysses
S. Grant. McPherson joined Grant before Forts Donelson
and Henry. He later served in the same capacity at the Battle of Shiloh.
Following the Battle of Shiloh, McPherson was promoted to Brigadier-General of
Volunteers and Military Superintendent of Railroads. McPherson commanded the 17th
Corps of the Army of the Tennessee
throughout the Vicksburg Campaign and the Siege of Vicksburg. In 1864, Lincoln appointed Grant
commander of all of the Union forces. Sherman
succeeded Grant as head of the western army and McPherson was appointed major
general of the Department of the Army of the Tennessee. McPherson joined Sherman
in the drive for Atlanta.
On 22 July 1864, McPherson was killed during the opening moments of the Battle
of Atlanta. He was the youngest and the highest ranking Union officer killed in
the civil War. His body was returned to Clyde, Ohio for burial in the McPherson
Cemetery in Sandusky County, Ohio.
Scope and Content
In an effort to gather materials for a proposed biography
of Major General James Birdseye McPherson, William S. Foerster
compiled an extensive collection of notes and photocopies of primary and
secondary sources on the general over a ten-year period. Foerster's
work covers McPherson's personal life as well as his
career as a professional soldier (1828-1864), including original documents,
transcripts, and correspondence at the United States Military
Academy, the Library of
Congress, the Sutro Library, the Chicago Public
Library, the Toledo-Lucas County Public Library, Cincinnati Historical Society,
the Rutherford B. Hayes Presidential Center, and material held by McPherson
family descendants. The collection also includes reproductions of original
photographs and photocopies of published material about McPherson from
publications of veterans' organizations, newspapers, books, military
biographies, etc. The collection provides a comprehensive overview of the
personal life, academic achievements, and military career of Major General
James Birdseye McPherson, including his participation in the Civil War and the
circumstances surrounding his death. The files that are arranged follow a
chronological order.
Inventory
2½ linear feet
Ac. 4416
Box 1 (fldrs. 1-18)
Folders:
1 Family and local history, notes and photocopies
2 Foerster correspondence concerning McPherson
3 Foerster, miscellaneous notes on sources for
McPherson study
4 Foerster, miscellaneous notes on McPherson
5 Transcripts, selected letters, McPherson Papers, Library of Congress
6 Photocopies, selected letters, McPherson Papers, Library of Congress
7 Transcripts, Enoch Moore Statsenberg Papers, Sutro Library
8 Photocopies, Statsenberg Papers, Sutro Library
9 Transcripts and photocopies, McPherson Papers, Chicago Public Library
10 Transcripts and photocopies, McPherson File, Illinois State Historical
Society
11 Transcripts and photocopies, Henry W. Halleck and George G. Pride Papers,
Missouri Historical
Society, St. Louis, MO
12 Transcripts and photocopies, various files, United States Military Academy,
West Point, NY
13 Transcripts, Andrew Hickenlooper Papers,
Cincinnati Historical Society
14 Photocopies, Andrew Hickenlooper Papers,
Cincinnati Historical Society
15 Transcripts and photocopies, selected McPherson Papers, R. B. Hayes
Presidential Center, Fremont,
OH
16 Transcripts, selected Stem Papers, R. B. Hayes Presidential Center, Fremont,
OH
17 Photocopies, selected Stem Papers, R. B. Hayes Presidential Center, Fremont,
OH
18 Transcripts, selected Birdseye Papers, R. B. Hayes Presidential Center,
Fremont, OH
Box 2 (fldrs. 19-27)
Folders:
19 Transcripts, selected McPherson Family Papers,
Toledo-Lucas County Public Library, Toledo, OH
20 Photocopies, selected McPherson Family Papers, Toledo-Lucas County Public
Library, Toledo, OH
21 Transcripts of letters in and notes concerning: Elizabeth J. Whaley, Forgotten
Hero: General James B.
McPherson (NY: Consolidated Book Producers,
Inc., 1955)
22 Transcripts of letters and documents in printed sources (arranged by date)
23 Photocopies, booklets, and manuals concerning McPherson (filed by sources)
24 Newspapers (unarranged)
25 Engravings and printings (arranged)
26 Photographs (unarranged)
27 Maps (unarranged)
Box 3 (fldrs. 28-30)
Folders:
28 Printed Sources -- articles pertaining to McPherson
(unarranged)
29 Printed Sources -- articles concerning the Civil War in general (unarranged)
30 Printed Sources -- articles in M.O.L.L.U.S. publications (Military Order of
the Loyal Legion of the
United States), (unarranged)
Box 4 (fldrs. 31-36)
Folders:
31 Foerster Notes --
bibliographic key to sources used in Foerster's notes
32 Foerster Notes -- biographical notes, filed
alphabetically
33 Foerster Notes -- miscellaneous notes on Civil War
topics (unarranged)
34 Foerster Notes -- notes on McPherson and Civil
War, 1860 - May 18, 1863
35 Foerster Notes -- notes on McPherson and Civil
War, May 19, 1863 - May 25, 1864
36 Foerster Notes -- notes on McPherson and Civil
War, May 26, 1864 - 1865
Box 5
(printed materials)
Civil War Times Illustrated, May - August, October - December, 1975; January, February
and April, 1976; The Campaign for Atlanta;
The Common Soldier of the Civil War; and Gettysburg!
Booklets:
Bearss, Edwin C. The Fall of Fort Henry, Tennessee
(Reprinted from The West Tennessee Historical Society, Vol. XVII, 1963).
30pp.
Cullen, Joseph P. Where a Hundred Thousand Fell: The
Battles of Fredricksburg, Chancellorsville,
The Wilderness, and Spotsylvania
Court House. National Park Service
Historical Handbook Series No. 39. Washington,
DC, 1966
Dillahunty, Albert. Shiloh
National Military Park, Tennessee.
National Park Service Historical Handbook Series No. 10. Washington, DC,
1955 (reprint 1961)
Eason, Nicholas J. Shiloh Environmental Trail: Hiker's
Guidebook. Shiloh Military Trail, Inc., 1969
Everhart, William C. Vicksburg National Military Park, Mississippi. National Park Service Historical Handbook Series No. 21. Washington, DC,
1954 (reprint 1961)
Grim, Herbert L. and Roy, Paul L. Human
Interest Stories of the Three Days' Battles at Gettysburg. Gettysburg,
PA: Times and News Publishing
Co., 1969
[Hollister, John L.]. Vicksburg
on Your Own: An Illustrated Guide to the Battlefield. Battlefield Guide
Publishers, 1971
[Hollister, John L.]. Shiloh
on Your Own: An Illustrated Guide to the Battlefield. Battlefield Guide
Publishers, 1973
Kurtz, Wilbur G. The Atlanta
Cyclorama: The Story of the Famed Battle of Atlanta. Atlanta: The City of Atlanta,
Georgia, 1974
Motheral, J. G. Fort Point: "Gibraltar of the Pacific." Fort
Point Museum
Association, 1971
Price, William H. The Civil War
Handbook. Fairfax,
VA: Prince Lithograph Co., Inc.,
1961
Storrick, W. C. The Battle of Gettysburg: The Country,
the Contestand, the Results. Harrisburg, PA:
The McFarland Co., 1972
Guides:
National Archives and Records Service. Civil War Maps in the National
Archives. Washington, DC: U.
S. Government Printing Office, 1964
Printed materials transferred to the Library of the R. B.
Hayes Presidential Center:
Goode, James M. The Outdoor Sculpture of Washington, DC:
A Comprehensive Historical Guide. Washington,
DC: Smithsonian Institution
Press, 1974
Goode, W. A. M. With Sampson through the War: Being an
Account of the Naval Operations of the North Atlantic
Squadron during the Spanish American War of 1898. New York: Doubleday & McClure Co., 1899
Green
Springs, Ohio Centennial. Green Springs, OH:
The Green Springs Echo, 1972
Official Souvenir Book of the Norwalk [Ohio]
Sesquicentennial. Norwalk,OH, 1967
Wright, Adeline. Pioneers' Progress: The First 25 Years
of Lyme Township and Strongs
Ridge.
The Historic Lyme
Church Association, 1972