Henry T. Bartlett Letter, 1888, Ms.1989.031

Special Collections and University Archives, Virginia Tech

Special Collections and University Archives, University Libraries (0434)
560 Drillfield Drive
Newman Library, Virginia Tech
Blacksburg, Virginia 24061
Business Number: 540-231-6308
specref@vt.edu
URL: http://spec.lib.vt.edu

John M. Jackson

Abstract

Letter of Henry Thurlow Bartlett (1839-1898), formerly a bugler in Companies H and F, 1st Massachusetts Cavalry during the American Civil War and later vice-president of the Cavalry Corps in the Society of the Army of the Potomac (S.A.P.), written to Samuel E. Chamberlain, president of Cavalry Corps, S.A.P., in 1888, urging the nomination of a cavalryman as the next S.A.P. president and describing the importance of cavalry at the Battle of Gettyburg.

Administrative Information

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Conditions Governing Access

The collection is open to research.

Preferred Citation

Researchers wishing to cite this collection should include the following information: [identification of item], [box], [folder], Henry T. Bartlett Letter, Ms1989-031, Special Collections and University Archives, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, Va.

Source of Acquisition

The Henry T. Bartlett Letter was donated to Special Collections and University Archives in 1989.

Processing Information

The processing and description of the Henry T. Bartlett Letter commenced and was completed in January 2022.

Biographical Note

Henry Thurlow Bartlett, son of Samuel W. and Caroline J. Bartlett, was born in Holliston (Middlesex County) Massachusetts on November 19, 1839. Bartlett married Jennie G. Farquhar (1839-1924) in Medford, Massachusetts on August 1, 1862. On August 18, he enlisted in the Union Army at Holliston. That same year, he married Jennie Grant Farquhar (1839-1924). Bartlett served as a bugler in companies H and F of the 1st Massachusetts Cavalry and was mustered out in Washington D. C. on June 26, 1865. By 1876, the Bartletts were living in Brooklyn, New York, where Henry Bartlett worked for George W. Read & Co. lumber dealers. Succeeding the Read Company around 1883, Bartlett entered into a partnership before liquidating the business in 1891. Throughout his later life, Bartlett remained active in post-war veterans organizations and commemorations. He served as vice-president of the Cavalry Corps in the Society of the Army of the Potomac and as president of the 1st Massachusetts Cavalry Association. Henry Thurlow Bartlett died in Montclair (Essex County), New Jersey on October 24, 1898, and was buried in Lake Grove Cemetery, Hollister, Massachusetts.

Scope and Content

This collection consists of a single letter from Henry T. Bartlett, formerly a bugler in companies H and F, 1st Massachusetts during the American Civil War, written in 1888 to Samuel E. Chamberlain, of Wether[s]field, Connecticut, president of the Cavalry Corps, Society of the Army of the Potomac (S.A.P.). Writing as vice-president of the S.A.P. Cavalry Corps, Bartlett urges Chamberlain to nominate a cavalryman as the next S.A.P. president at the upcoming S.A.P. meeting and describes the role of the cavalry at the Battle of Gettysburg. Bartlett mentions having failed to interest General Henry Eugene Davies in the nomination and suggests General Pleasanton. The letter is written on the stationery of MacAlister and Bartlett, New York lumber dealers.