Scope and Content Note
The papers of Francis Wilkinson Pickens (1805-1869) and Milledge L. Bonham (1813-1890) span the years 1837-1920, with the bulk of the material concentrated in the period 1860-1864. The collection consists of correspondence, reports, resolutions, military papers, applications for office, petitions, administrative papers, memoranda, and newspaper clippings relating primarily to the governorships in South Carolina during the Civil War period of Pickens, 1860-1862, and Bonham, 1862-1864. Topics include military appointments and preparations, slavery, the treatment of slaves and free African Americans, and official proclamations and reports relating to the war.
Correspondents of Governor Pickens include R. C. Barclay, John Forsyth, A. C. Garlington, Robert N. Gourdin, J. W. Hayne, Stephen R. Mallory, M. S. Perry, and L. P. Walker. Correspondents or Governor Bonham include P. G. T. Beauregard, Howell Cobb, William H. Echols, J. W. Hayne, H. Pinckney Walker, and W. S. Walker.