Scope and Content Note
The papers of Daniel Read Larned (born 1828), Civil War Union officer, span the years 1861-1878 and consist principally of letters by Larned to his sisters and brother-in-law concerning General Ambrose Everett Burnside’s expedition to North Carolina.
Larned, Burnside’s private secretary, describes the battles of Roanoke Island, New Bern, Beaufort, and Fort Macon, North Carolina. His letters also include information concerning the Antietam, Fredericksburg, Knoxville, Wilderness, Spotsylvania, Cold Harbor, and Petersburg campaigns; the pursuit of General John Hunt Morgan in Ohio; Burnside’s relationship with Generals Henry Halleck, George B. McClellan, and William S. Rosecrans; and military organization, disputes over rank, discipline, morale, marches, depredations, African-American life, African-American troops, entertainment, prisoners of war, foraging expeditions, disease, inflation, furloughs, military appointments, and the effect of the war on noncombatants in the South. Also included is a book inscribed by Burnside to Larned and two photographs of Larned.