Scope and Content Note
The papers of Charles Augustus Hill (1833-1902) span the years 1863-1902 and include correspondence, transcripts of the correspondence, and miscellaneous material chiefly documenting his service as a Union army officer in the 1st Colored Infantry Regiment, United States Army. The papers consists primarily of letters written by Hill to his wife Lydia Hill during the Civil War. The subjects covered in Hill’s letters include major battles in which his regiment participated during its two years of service, including the assault on Petersburg, Virginia in June 1864. A letter written in May 1864 refers to the retribution taken by black troops after the Fort Pillow Massacre, Tennessee, in April 1864. Hill often provides his view of the African American troops serving under him and their treatment throughout the war. Other letters describe camp life in the Union army and his time spent as a patient in Chesapeake Hospital, Hampton, Virginia, from July to November 1864. Hill’s letters written between July and September 1865 describe his role as acting superintendent for the United States Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen, and Abandoned Lands in Elizabeth City, North Carolina. The information in these letters provide insight into the political tension in the South immediately following the Civil War, as well as a glimpse into Hill’s view of the early Reconstruction era.
The Hill papers also include family correspondence consisting mostly of letters written by Hill to his family while serving as assistant attorney general of Illinois in 1898.