Hammond, John Henry (1833-1890) Papers, 1860-1890

Held by The Filson Historical Society

Creator:  Hammond, John Henry, 1833-1890

Title:  Papers, 1860-1890

Rights: For information regarding literary and copyright interest for these papers, contact the Collections Department.

Size of Collection:  .66 cubic feet

Location Number:  Mss. /A/H226

Scope and Content Note

A collection of letters, letter books and diaries covering Hammond’s activities from before the Civil War until his death. The diaries describe his activities during the Vicksburg Campaign. The Civil War letters are mostly from Generals recommending Hammond for a cavalry command. Later letters deal with his business with the railroads, real estate and investments. Two letter books deal with the period when he was Superintendent of Indian Affairs in the Dakota Territory.

Biographical Note

John Henry Hammond was born in 1833 in New York City. He moved to Kentucky with his widowed mother at a young age. He was educated as a civil engineer. He helped lay out the town of Clinton, Iowa.

In 1857 he went to Europe and was there studying diseases of grape vines. In 1859 he moved to California and was employed there until the outbreak of the Civil War. He returned to Kentucky and joined the Union Army. He held various positions including adjutant general to General Sherman until he received his own command of cavalry. He saw action at Shiloh, Corinth, Memphis and Vicksburg. In the cavalry he participated in the battle of Franklin and Nashville. He was mustered out in 1865.

He married Sophia Wolfe in 1864. They had four children. After the war he was in the railroad, banking and real estate business first in the south and later in Wisconsin, Minnesota and the northwest. In 1877 he was appointed Superintendent of Indian Affairs for the Dakota Territories. In late 1878 he returned to Deluth to continue developing the town of Superior. He remained in various business pursuits until he died, age 57, in 1890.

Folder List

Box 1:

Folder 1: Correspondence, 1860-1861.
Folder 2: Correspondence, 1863.
Folder 3: Correspondence, 1864-1868. [click here for PDF of entire contents]
Folder 4: Correspondence, 1871-1889. [click here for PDF of entire contents]
Folder 5: Loose letters from Letter Books, 1872, 1875-76. [click here for PDF of entire contents]
Item 6: Journal, 1 June-21 July 1862.
Item 7: Journal, 21 September 1862-31 December 1863.
Item 8: Letter book, April 1877-May 1878. [click here for PDF of contents: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, Part 6]

Box 2:

Item 9: Letter book, March-November 1878.
Item 10: Notebook of correspondence, November-December 1878.
Item 11: Code book, ca. 1870-80.
Folder 12: Miscellaneous, 1861-1890.
Item 13: Book – Military Orders of William T. Sherman 1861-1865.

Transferred to the library from the Hammond Collection: Revised Regulations for the Army of the U.S. 1861.