Scope and Content Note
The papers of Daniel O. Drennan (circa 1840-1905) span the years 1775-1904, with the bulk concentrated in the period 1861-1895. The collection mostly consists of copies of correspondence, military dispatches, reports and other documents, as well as original letters, newspaper clippings, reports, notes, architectural drawings, memorabilia and printed matter. The material was compiled by Drennan whose duties as military secretary to Philip Henry Sheridan from 1865-1888 probably provided routine access to many of the original documents that are reproduced.
The papers center primarily on the military career of Sheridan and related events. Copies of correspondence and military dispatches exchanged between Sheridan and other military and government officers span the period 1864-1868 and document Sheridan's battlefield command in Virginia in the last months of the Civil War, administration of Reconstruction policy, and actions along the Mexican border. A file of newspaper clippings comprises the bulk of the collection and contains a range of topics including the Civil War, military officers, Reconstruction, Indian affairs, Yellowstone National Park, and the Great Chicago Fire of 1871. Copies of annual reports by General of the Army William T. Sherman to the secretary of war report on military activities in the West, the Nez Perce uprising, and other Indian affairs. Other documents relate to military administration, the Wounded Knee Massacre in South Dakota, and Fort Dearborn, Illinois. Also included is a muster roll of militia volunteers from New York dated April 26, 1861, and an account of the Battle of Cedar Creek, Virginia, by A. S. Tracy.