Dates: 1861-1866.
The original Civil War journal and the battle lists are restricted; reference photocopies and typescripts must be used instead.

Biography:

George Washington Arnold

George Washington Arnold, son of Durant Hatch Arnold (1802-1872) and Mary Marshall Roberson Arnold (1808-1876), was born in Mississippi on April 5, 1838. His parents were originally from North Carolina. Durant Hatch Arnold owned thirteen slaves, $1,120 in real estate, and $14,000 in personal property in 1860. George Washington Arnold worked on his fathers farm near Carrollton, Carroll County, Mississippi, before the Civil War.

On April 29, 1861, George Washington Arnold mustered into the Confederate army. He became a corporal in Captain Philip F. Liddells Carroll County Rifles, Company K, Eleventh Regiment, Mississippi Infantry. Arnold fought in a number of major battles, including Gainess Mill, Virginia, in June of 1862; Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, in July of 1863; Bristoe Station, Virginia, in October of 1863; the Wilderness, Virginia, in May of 1864; and Malvern Hill, Virginia, in July of 1864. He was wounded in the right hand at Gainess Mill on June 27, 1862, and in the foot at Bethesda Church, Virginia, on June 2, 1864. As a result of these injuries, he was held in several hospitals in Richmond, Virginia, and he was transferred to the Confederate hospital in Danville, Virginia, on May 27, 1864. In June of 1864, he was furloughed to Mississippi, where he remained until the end of the war.

By 1870, George Washington Arnold was employed as a clerk in A. J. Lockes mercantile store in Carroll County. Sometime before 1872, Arnold married Frances (Fannie) Auter, daughter of Sid Auter, of Mississippi. The Arnolds had four children: Maude Lee (b. 1871), George Locke (b. 1875), William Roberson, and Henry Auter. Arnold was commissioned as an alderman in Leflore County, Mississippi, in April of 1873 and in May of 1874. He was still employed as a clerk, and the Arnolds were living in Leflore County in 1880. Arnold died on November 8, 1887, and he was buried at Oak Grove Cemetery near Carrollton.

William Asbury Burns

William Asbury Burns was born in Lenoir County, North Carolina, in September of 1827. He moved briefly to Paulding County, Georgia, before settling in Coosa County, Alabama. His mother, Margaret Burns, moved with him, and she died in Alabama in 1866. William Asbury Burns married Mary Ann Dunlap (1831-1898) in Coosa County on December 30, 1848. She was the daughter of Thomas C. Dunlap, who was originally from South Carolina. The Burnses had six children: Amanda (Mandy) Elizabeth (b. 1849), Silviah (Sib) (b. 1853), William (Bud) Thomas (1854-1935), Laura (Laree) Louise (1857-1943), Emenia (Ener) A. (1859-1891), and Martha (Marthey) E. Burns (1864-1883). Burns was apparently a tenant farmer in Coosa County before the Civil War.

Around February of 1862, William Asbury Burns mustered into Confederate service in Company C, Fifty-ninth Regiment, Alabama Infantry. He fought in Vicksburg, Mississippi; Knoxville, Tennessee, including the battles of Beans Station and Cumberland Gap; Richmond, Virginia; and Petersburg, Virginia. After a furlough in the fall of 1863, Burns was slightly wounded on August 27, 1864. Burns died during the defense of Petersburg on March 25, 1865, and he was buried in a mass grave.

In late 1869 or early 1870, Tom Dunlap, brother of Mary Ann Dunlap Burns, moved her family from Coosa County, Alabama, to a place near his home in Thrailkill, Choctaw County, Mississippi. Burns died on July 3, 1898, and she was buried at Bethsaida Baptist Cemetery in Montgomery County, Mississippi.

The marriage of the donor, Jonnie Peeler, great-granddaughter of William Asbury Burns, to John L. Arnold apparently united the Arnold and Burns families.

Scope and Content Note:

This collection consists of one bound, unpaginated Civil War journal kept by George Washington Arnold, Civil War battle lists compiled by Arnold, photocopies of the journal and battle lists, and partial typescripts of the journal and battle lists that were transcribed by the donor, Jonnie Peeler Arnold. There is also correspondence from William Asbury Burns, primarily from various Confederate military camps in Tennessee and Virginia, to his wife, Mary Ann Dunlap Burns, in Coosa County, Alabama.

 

Series Identification:

Series 1: Civil War Journal (George Washington Arnold). 1861-1866; n.d. 2 folders.
George Washington Arnold's name and rank are written inside the front cover of the journal. Included in the journal are lists of personal and military accounts, information on Civil War battles, and several miscellaneous lists. Arnold recorded his military accounts with the quartermaster, and he also listed his personal accounts of expenses and gifts. All accounts were kept chronologically, with the year written at the top of each page. The military accounts were for such expenses as flour, oranges, ammunition, and gunpowder, and the personal expenses were for everyday necessities and gifts such as jewelry. Arnold chronologically recorded the names of most of the major battles in which the Confederate army was involved, and he also kept an account of the battles in which Company K, Eleventh Regiment, Mississippi Infantry, fought. He provided the specific names of men who were wounded, killed, or missing, and he usually noted their rank. The miscellaneous lists include a record of the date on which each state seceded from the Union; distances between a number of cities, including Jackson and Meridian, Mississippi; names of flowers; names of about twenty women and their hometowns in Mississippi; and a record of the amount of cotton picked in one season. Several pages are torn or cut out of the journal.

Some of the photocopies of the journal have typescripts added at the bottom of each page. In the typescripts, Jonnie Peeler Arnold provided parenthetical references to the names of each man, if recorded differently on the muster roll of the Carroll County Rifles. Included with the typescripts is one page written by Arnold describing the journal and providing biographical information about George Washington Arnold.

Folder 1: Original journal (restricted).
Folder 4: Reference photocopies and typescripts of original journal.

 

Series 2: Civil War Battle Lists. 1862-1864. 3 folders.
The Civil War battle lists have separate typescripts that briefly describe the battles in which Company K, Eleventh Regiment, Mississippi Infantry, fought, as a continuation of some of the similar lists found in the journal.

Folders 2-3: Original battle lists (restricted).
Folder 5: Reference photocopies and typescripts of original battle lists.

 

Series 3: Correspondence (William Asbury Burns). 1862-1865; n.d. 7 folders.
Almost all of the Civil War correspondence of William Asbury Burns is to his wife, Mary Ann Dunlap Burns, but he also addressed his children in a few letters, encouraging them in their school work and asking the older children to write him. The back of one of the letters to his wife contains a message addressed to her father, Thomas C. Dunlap, asking about financial matters. Most of Burnss letters describe rations, family finances, and various battles, including the names of a number of Confederate soldiers who were killed or wounded. There are typescripts of almost all of the letters, and a number of the typescripts are annotated with handwritten biographical information.

William Asbury Burns often described the shortages of army rations and the specific prices of a large number of food products in several of the cities around which he was stationed. Since most of these cities had higher prices for food, Burns often wrote his wife about the difficulty of obtaining enough to eat while sending her money. Burns also lost letters, money, and other items in the mail, placing a greater strain on family finances.

Burns described a number of the major battles in which he fought, including part of the Vicksburg, Mississippi, campaign in March of 1863; the Knoxville, Tennessee, campaign in 1863; the defense of Richmond, Virginia, particularly in May of 1864; and the Petersburg, Virginia, campaign from at least August of 1864 through February of 1865. He mentioned two of the major battles in the Knoxville campaign: Cumberland Gap, particularly in May and June of 1863, and Beans Station, especially in December of 1863. Burns often told his wife how many miles away he was camped from nearby cities. He also mentioned the names of many Confederate soldiers who were killed or wounded. Some of the more unusual details in the letters include his indecision about deserting and his attempts to recruit an acquaintance to join his regiment so that he could obtain a compensatory furlough.

Folders 6-10: Original correspondence.
Folders 11-12: Typescripts of original correspondence.