Scope and Content Note
The papers of Pierre Gustave Toutant Beauregard (1818-1893) consist of a diary, personal letterbooks, military records, the manuscript of "Reminiscences" which served as the basis for Alfred Roman's The Military Operation of General Beauregard (1884), scrapbooks, and miscellaneous material spanning the years 1844-1883. All but a few items are dated during or concern the Civil War.
The few early items in the collection relate to Beauregard's career as an engineer in New Orleans and on the staff of General Winfield Scott in Mexico, where Beauregard took part in the siege of Vera Cruz and the battles of Cerro Gordo, Contreras, and Mexico City. The bulk of the correspondence, the military papers, and the "Reminiscences" relate to Beauregard's service as an officer of the Confederate Army. He was in command of the troops at Charleston, South Carolina, when the Civil War began with the siege of Fort Sumter. The papers also document his role in the battles of First Manassas and Shiloh, in the sieges of Corinth, Charleston, and Petersburg, and in the consolidation of Southern forces after the battle of Atlanta.
Material on Beauregard's career as a railroad executive and public official in New Orleans and supervisor of the Louisiana lottery can be found in his letterbooks. Three volumes of scrapbooks of newspaper clippings are devoted almost exclusively to the Civil War.
Principal correspondents include Milledge L. Bonham, Braxton Bragg, Howell Cobb, Samuel Cooper, Jefferson Davis, Augusta J. Evans, Wade Hampton, William Joseph Hardee, Daniel Harvey Hill, John Bell Hood, Joseph E. Johnston, Thomas Jordan, Robert E. Lee, James Longstreet, F.W. Pickens, Leonidas Polk, R. S. Ripley, Joseph Gilbert Totten, Earl Van Dorn, and Leroy Pope Walker.
Dates
- Creation: 1844-1883
- Creation: Majority of material found within ( 1861-1865)
Language of Materials
Collection material in English
Access and Restrictions
The papers of G. T. Beauregard are open to research. Researchers are advised to contact the Manuscript Reading Room prior to visiting. Many collections are stored off-site and advance notice is needed to retrieve these items for research use.
Copyright Status
The status of copyright in the unpublished writings of G. T. Beauregard is governed by the Copyright Law of the United States (Title 17, U.S.C.).
Biographical Note
Biographical Note
- 1818, May 28
- Born near New Orleans, La.
- 1838
- Graduated, United States Military Academy, West Point, N.Y.
- 1841
- Married Laure Villere
- 1846
- Served as an engineer on staff of General Winfield Scott in Mexico
- 1847
- Took part in Mexican War battles of Vera Cruz, Cerro Gordo, Contreras, and Mexico City
- 1853
- Promoted to captain, United States Army
- 1858 - 1861
- Chief engineer in charge of draining the site of New Orleans, La.
- 1860
- Married Caroline Deslonde
- 1861
- Superintendent of United States Military Academy, West Point, N.Y., for five days
- Resigned from United States Army
- Appointed brigadier general, Confederate Army, in command of forces at Charleston, S.C.
- Commanding officer, Department of Alexandria
- Commanding officer, 1st Corps, Army of the Potomac
- Promoted to general, Confederate Army
- 1862
- Assistant to General Albert Sidney Johnston, Confederate Army
- Commander, Army of the Mississippi
- Commanding officer, Western Department
- Commander, Department of South Carolina, Georgia, and Florida, with headquarters at Charleston, S.C.
- 1864
- Commander, Department of North Carolina and Southern Virginia, Confederate Army
- Commander, Military Division of the West
- 1865
- Named second in command to General Joseph E. Johnston
- Chief engineer and general superintendent, New Orleans, Jackson, and Great Northern Railroad
- 1866 - 1870
- President, New Orleans, Jackson, and Great Northern Railroad
- 1866 - 1876
- President, New Orleans & Carrollton Railroad Co.
- 1877 - 1893
- Supervisor, Louisiana lottery
- 1879
- Adjutant general of Louisiana
- 1888
- Commissioner of public works, New Orleans, La.
- 1893, Feb. 20
- Died, New Orleans, La.
Extent
6,500 items
54 containers
5.6 linear feet
9 microfilm reels
Abstract
United States and Confederate Army officer, engineer, railroad executive, and public official. Correspondence, scrapbooks, and military papers, including letterbooks, headquarters records, telegrams and dispatches, orders, endorsements, and rosters. The bulk of the papers, 1861-1865, relate primarily to Beauregard's career as a general in the Confederate Army, especially at Fort Sumter and Charleston, South Carolina; Manassas and Petersburg, Virginia; Shiloh, Tennessee; Corinth, Mississippi; and Atlanta, Georgia. Other topics include Beauregard's work as an engineer, public official, and railroad executive in New Orleans and his service under General Winfield Scott in the Mexican War.
Organization of the Papers
The collection is arranged in six series:
Catalog Record
Provenance
The greater part of the papers of G. T. Beauregard, United States and Confederate Army officer, engineer, railroad executive, and public official, was purchased by the Library of Congress in 1915. Other items were donated or purchased from 1909 to 1972.
Microfilm
A microfilm edition of these papers is available on nine reels. Consult reference staff in the Manuscript Division concerning availability for purchase or interlibrary loan. To promote preservation of the originals, researchers are required to consult the microfilm edition as available.
Processing History
The Beauregard Papers were processed in 1963. An addition was made in 1978, and the collection was prepared for microfilming in 1984. The finding aid was revised in 2003.
Source
- Beauregard, G. T. (Gustave Toutant), 1818-1893 (Creator, Person)
Subject
- Beauregard, G. T. (Gustave Toutant), 1818-1893. (Person)
- Bonham, Milledge L. (Milledge Luke), 1813-1890--Correspondence. (Person)
- Bragg, Braxton, 1817-1876--Correspondence. (Person)
- Cobb, Howell, 1815-1868--Correspondence. (Person)
- Cooper, Samuel, 1798-1876--Correspondence. (Person)
- Davis, Jefferson, 1808-1889--Correspondence. (Person)
- Evans, Augusta J. (Augusta Jane), 1835-1909--Correspondence. (Person)
- Hampton, Wade, 1818-1902--Correspondence. (Person)
- Hardee, William Joseph, 1815-1873--Correspondence. (Person)
- Hill, D. H. (Daniel Harvey), 1821-1889--Correspondence. (Person)
- Hood, John Bell, 1831-1879--Correspondence. (Person)
- Johnston, Joseph E. (Joseph Eggleston), 1807-1891--Correspondence. (Person)
- Jordan, Thomas, 1819-1895--Correspondence. (Person)
- Lee, Robert E. (Robert Edward), 1807-1870--Correspondence. (Person)
- Longstreet, James, 1821-1904--Correspondence. (Person)
- Pickens, F. W. (Francis Wilkinson), 1805-1869--Correspondence. (Person)
- Polk, Leonidas, 1806-1864--Correspondence. (Person)
- Ripley, R. S. (Roswell Sabine), 1823-1887--Correspondence. (Person)
- Scott, Winfield, 1786-1866. (Person)
- Totten, Joseph Gilbert, 1788-1864--Correspondence. (Person)
- Van Dorn, Earl, 1820-1863--Correspondence. (Person)
- Walker, Leroy Pope, 1817-1884--Correspondence. (Person)
- Confederate States of America. Army. (Organization)
- United States. Army. (Organization)
Geographic
- Charleston (S.C.)--History--Civil War, 1861-1865.
- Charleston (S.C.)--History--Siege, 1863.
- Corinth (Miss.)--History--Siege, 1862.
- Fort Sumter (Charleston, S.C.)--Siege, 1861.
- Georgia--History--Civil War, 1861-1865.
- Mississippi--History--Civil War, 1861-1865.
- New Orleans (La.)--Officials and employees.
- Petersburg (Va.)--History--Siege, 1864-1865.
- South Carolina--History--Civil War, 1861-1865.
- Tennessee--History--Civil War, 1861-1865.
- United States--History--Civil War, 1861-1865.
- Virginia--History--Civil War, 1861-1865.
Occupation
Topical
- Title
- G. T. Beauregard Papers
- Subtitle
- A Finding Aid to the Collection in the Library of Congress
- Author
- Prepared by Edwin A. Thompson and Aurelia Wolsey Revised by Patrick Kerwin and Lia Apodaca
- Date
- 2005
- Language of description
- English
- Script of description
- Latin
Part of the Manuscript Division Repository
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