Dates: 1862-1866.

Biography:
David Chalmers Glenn

David Chalmers Glenn, probably the son of John Wilson and Sarah Lanier Chalmers Glenn, was born in North Carolina around 1824. After the death of his father around 1840, Glenn and brothers James Chalmers (b. ca. 1818), Archibald (b. ca. 1827), and Chalmers Lanier (b. ca. 1830) were sent to live with their uncle, Joseph Williams Chalmers, in Holly Springs, Marshall County, Mississippi. David Chalmers Glenn studied law with his uncle and was admitted to the Mississippi bar in 1842. He moved to Jackson, Hinds County, Mississippi, in 1844 and established a law practice. Glenn married Patience B. Wilkinson of Holly Springs on November 27, 1846. The couple resided in Jackson where they had two children: Margaret W. (b. ca. 1848) and Fanny C. (b. ca. 1850).

While living in Jackson, Glenn took an active interest in politics and was elected as state attorney general in 1849 and served two terms. He was a member of the 1860 Charleston Democratic Convention and the 1861 Mississippi Secession Convention. During the Civil War, Glenn served as a colonel on the general staff of the Confederate army and rose to the rank of general by June 1863. He was residing in Harrison County, Mississippi, in June 1867. Glenn died in September 1868.

Archibald Glenn

A. Glenn, probably Archibald Glenn, the brother of David Chalmers Glenn, married Louisa Henderson around 1849. They lived in Harrison County, Mississippi, and New Orleans, Orleans Parish, Louisiana. The Glenns had at least four children: E. H. (b. ca. 1851), Archibald (b. ca. 1859), Kate (b. ca. 1862), and David Chalmers, Jr. (b. ca 1864). Glenn briefly served in the Confederate army about 1862. He died around 1869. Louisa Henderson Glenn was residing in Washington, St. Landry Parish, Louisiana, in May 1872.

 

Scope and Content Note:

This collection consists of papers of brothers David Chalmers and Archibald Glenn of Mississippi and Louisiana. Only one letter is addressed to David Chalmers Glenn. It was written by George B. Wilkinson of Yazoo City, Yazoo County, Mississippi, on December 9, 1862, in reply to a request from Glenn for information on the Yazoo Delta area. Wilkinson relates intelligence on Grant and Sherman’s forces, including details on blockades, guns, and troop movements, in the vicinity of Grenada, Grenada County; Vicksburg, Warren County; and the Yazoo Pass. He also discusses the possibility of Vicksburg being captured by the Union army.

There are two letters, a promissory note, and four bank drafts of Archibald Glenn. The first letter was written by Glenn to his brother, probably David Chalmers Glenn, on December 5, 1862. He discusses efforts to obtain a discharge and invites his brother and “Bun,” probably Patience B. Wilkinson Glenn, for the Christmas holidays. The second letter, promissory note, and bank drafts concern business transactions of Archibald Glenn with Pike, Lapeyre, and Brother, a New Orleans, Louisiana, banking house, between 1865 and 1866.

 

Series Identification:

Series 1: David Chalmers Glenn Letter. 1862.

Series 2: Archibald Glenn Papers. 1862-1866.