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Branch family papers

Branch family papers

Descriptive Summary

Title: Branch family papers
Creator: Branch family
Inclusive Dates: 1830-1961
Bulk Dates: 1860-1868
Language(s): English
Extent: 7 Linear Feet (3 document boxes, 4 oversized boxes, 1 flat box)
Collection Number: ms25
Repository: Hargrett Library

Collection Description

Historical Note

Charlotte Sawyer Branch (1814-1894) was the widow of John Henry Salah Branch (d. 1846) and resided in Savannah, Georgia. Her sons, Sanford W., John L., and Hamilton McDevit fought in the Civil War. John L. Branch served first in the 1st Georgia Infantry Regiment (1861) then the 8th Georgia Infantry Regiment and was killed at Manassas, Va.; Sanford W. and Hamilton McDevit served in Company B of the 8th Georgia Infantry Regiment. Sanford was wounded at Manassas and taken prisoner of war, and Hamilton fought at Manassas and in Georgia.

Scope and Content

The collection consists of the papers of the Branch family of Savannah, Georgia from 1830-1961. The bulk of the collection consists of correspondence between Charlotte Sawyer Branch and her sons John L., Sanford W., and Hamilton McDevil Branch, who served mainly in the 8th Georgia Infantry Regiment during the Civil War.

The letters describe the 1st Battle of Bull Run, the death of John, the subsequent capture of Sanford (who had stayed with his dying brother), the Seven Days Battle, the 2nd Battle of Bull Run, and the Battle of Gettysburg, where Sanford was wounded and captured again. Hamilton transferred to the 54th Georgia Infantry Regiment and writes about the regiment's involvement in the Atlanta Campaign, particularly the Battle of Kennesaw Mountain. He also writes from Mississippi, Alabama, and Tennessee while serving with Nathan Bedford Forrest.


Administrative Information

Preferred Citation

Branch family papers, ms25, Hargrett Rare Book and Manuscript Library, The University of Georgia Libraries.

General Note

Donated by Margaret Branch Sexton in 1958-1961.

Conditions Governing Use

The majority of this collection is in the Public Domain. No Copyright – United States: Collection is in the Public Domain under the laws of the United States. http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/NoC-US/1.0/ For additional information, please contact the Special Collections Libraries at sclib@uga.edu.

Finding Aid Publication

Finding aid prepared on: 2009 March 18.

General Notes

Portions of this collection have been digitized and are available online as part of America's Turning Point: Documenting the Civil War Experience in Georgia.


Related Materials and Subjects

Subject Terms

Alabama -- History -- Civil War, 1861-1865
Atlanta Campaign, 1864.
Bull Run, 1st Battle of, Va., 1861.
Bull Run, 2nd Battle of, Va., 1862.
Fort Delaware (Del.)
Fort Pulaski (Ga.)
Georgia -- History -- Civil War, 1861-1865 -- Campaigns.
Gettysburg, Battle of, Gettysburg, Pa., 1863.
Kennesaw Mountain, Battle of, Ga., 1864.
Memorials.
Military administration -- Confederate States of America.
Mississippi -- History -- Civil War, 1861-1865.
Morris Island (S.C.)
Patriotic societies -- Georgia.
Pennsylvania -- History -- Civil War, 1861-1865.
Savannah (Ga.)
Seven Days' Battles, Va., 1862.
Soldiers -- Georgia.
Tennessee -- History -- Civil War, 1861-1865.
United Confederate Veterans
United Daughters of the Confederacy
United States -- History -- Civil War, 1861-1865 -- Prisoners and prisons.
Virginia -- History -- Civil War, 1861-1865 -- Campaigns.
Women -- Georgia -- Societies and clubs.

Series Descriptions and Folder Listing

 
boxfolder
11Correspondence, 1780-1859 Access Online
Includes certificate for supply of flour for the army, State of Maryland specie, various correspondence including with Sarah Sawyer and John L. Branch, wedding certificate Bartlett Douzier and Elizabeth Desmolens Medorr (Chatham Co., 1818), marriage certificate Ellen Martin and [?] Kneeland, certificate of scholarship to Oglethorpe University, certificate appointing John L. Branch as 4th Lieutenant of the Oglethorpe Light Infantry
 
12Correspondence, 1860 Access Online
Include Oglethorpe Light Infantry, John L. Branch to Charlotte Branch, Francis S. Bartow to Joseph E. Brown
 
13Correspondence, 1861 January-May Access Online
Includes Charlotte Branch, H.M. Branch, John L. Branch, Col. Henry Wayne, Fort Pulaski, Oglethorpe Light Infantry, Francis S. Bartow, invoice of ordnance, report of guard at Camp Berrien (lists prisoners), certificate of disability for Private William Parish
 
14Correspondence, 1861 June-July Access Online
Includes Oglethorpe Light Infantry, Charlotte Branch, John L. Branch, Sanford W. Branch, H. M. Branch, and others; Harper's Ferry, Manassas Junction, First Battle of Bull Run (Battle of First Manassas)
 
15Correspondence, 1861 August-December Access Online
 
16Correspondence, 1862 Access Online
 
17Correspondence, 1863 Access Online
 
18Correspondence, 1864 January-June Access Online
 
19Correspondence, 1864 July-December Access Online
 
boxfolder
21Correspondence, 1865 Access Online
 
22Correspondence, 1866 Access Online
 
23Correspondence, 1867-1868 Access Online
 
24Correspondence, 1870-1900 Access Online
 
25Margaret Branch Sexton Correspondence, 1900-1950 Access Online
Includes Confederate Monument in Savannah, Sons of Confederate Veterans, and United Confederate Veterans
 
26Margaret Branch Sexton Correspondence, 1960-1961 Access Online
 
27Correspondence, undated Access Online
Includes various correspondence, certificate Washtington National Monument Society
 
28Sanford W. Branch letters (copies), 1861-1863 (copies)
 
29Photographs
Includes Confederate Generals, Commanders, reunions, and memorials; Savannah scenes
 
210United Daughters of the Confederacy (UDC) material
 
boxfolder
31Hamilton M. Branch letters to his mother (typescripts), 1861-1865
 
32Hamilton M. Branch letters, resolutions, rosters (typescripts), 1861-1899
 
33Branch-Sexton genealogy
 
box
4Certificates and memorials
Includes United Confederate Veterans, United Sons of Confederate Veterans, United Daughters of the Confederacy, In Memoriam Charlotte S. Branch, Memorial Proceedings of Confederate Veterans Association in honor of Capt. Branch (1899), In Memoriam Hamilton McDevit Branch, Confederate States of America $500 Bond and Coupons
 
4Photographs and pictures
Includes Confederate reunions, Rotary Club (Athens, Ga. 1927), Tiffany Window - Rise and Fall of the Confederacy (Rhodes Memorial Hall), Five Beautiful Doorways (Savannah), Sponsors and Officers of Savannah Busch Zouaves (drill at Tybee Island, 1891)
 
4Programs
Includes Memorial Services of Jefferson Davis (Savannah, 1889), Dinner at Mills House (Savannah, 1860), Grand Civic and Military Ball at Newell's Hall (1859), Chatham Artillery, Graduation Exercises Savannah High School (1884-1885)
 
4Broadsides
Includes In Memory of Howell Cobb
 
4Mementos and souvenirs
Includes Francis S. Bartow Camp No. 93 ribbon, Confederate Veterans Association ribbon, Daughters of the Confederacy Charter Chapter Georgia Division ribbon, Jefferson Davis Monument fund, paper doll clothes
 
4Maps
 
4Poems and writings
 
4Marriage licenses and legal documents
Includes marriage certificates for Henry Dickerson and Margaret Drummond, John H. Branch and Charlotte Sawyer, Hamilton M. Branch and Marie Dickerson, Robert Foote Griggs adn Lottie Branch, James Lester Sexton adn Margaret Dickerson Branch; indenture between Evergreen Cemetery Company of Bonaventure adn H. M. Branch
 
4Scrapbook pages - John L. Branch Special Order No. 63 and General Order No. 6; permission to be absent from post, 1861-1864
 
box
4aRoll of Oglethorpe Light Infantry, John L. Branch, 1857
 
4aAutograph book, Charlotte Sawyer, 1830-1833
 
4aAutograph book, Meta D. Branch, 1879-1882
 
4aAddress and list book, S. W. Branch, 1864
 
4aScrapbook, West Point pictures and clippings, 1890
 
4aScrapbook, West Point pictures and clippings, Lottie Branch, 1890
 
4aFamily Ancestral Album, Branch family, compiled by Hamilton McDevit Branch
 
4aScrapbook of clippings, Lottie H. Branch, 1877
 
4aScrapbook of obituaries, etc., 1861-1876
 
box
5Treasurer's book, UDC, Margaret Branch Sexton, 1899-1908
 
5Application book, UDC, Marie E. Branch, 1894-1899
 
5Genealogy - Branch family
 
5Rosters (incomplete) of various Georgia companies including Oglethorpe Light Infantry Co. F, 22 nd Georgia Pulaski Guards
 
5Scrapbook of clippings, 1855-1860
 
5Letterbook, Margaret D. Branch, UDC, 1900
 
5Autograph book [confederate veterans?]
 
5Diary, Margaret Branch, trip to England, 1894
 
5Diary, Margaret Branch, 1895 trip to Italy
 
box
6Scrapbook compiled by H. M. Branch and Margaret Branch Sexton, 1860-1927
 
box
7Confederate Battle Flag (reproduction; stars and bars)
 
oversized_folder
1Map of Georgia identifying Confederate units