Charles B. Johnson Papers
Scope and Content of the Collection
Correspondence, agreements, orders, accounts, reports, returns, receipts, etc., dating mainly from 1859 through 1865.
Concerns the work of Charles B. Johnson as C.S.A. quartermaster’s agent and of Johnson and Grimes as U.S. and C.S.A. contract provisioners to the leased district Indians of the Wichita Agency and also to the Seminole and Osage tribes in northern Texas, Arkansas, and Indian Territory. Also some personal and business documents of Johnson, and of Johnson and Grimes, dating from 1841. Letters, which also contain local news, and war news and rumors, are chiefly from business partner Marshall Grimes. Other correspondents and Indian and military officials of the C.S.A. Trans-Mississippi Dept. with whom Johnson dealt include Elias Rector, William M. Quesenbury, A.S. Cabell, J.J. Sturm, Matthew Leeper, D.H. Cooper, Thomas Lanigan, John Shirley, and Hickory Rogers.
Dates
- Creation: 1841-1888
- Creation: Majority of material found within 1859 - 1865
Creator
- Johnson, Charles B., 1819-1870 (Person)
Language
Materials are in English.
Conditions Governing Access
The Charles B. Johnson Papers are open for research in the Special Collections Reading Room; 1 box at a time (Priority III).
Ownership and Literary Rights
The Charles B. Johnson Papers are the physical property of the Newberry Library. Copyright may belong to the authors or their legal heirs or assigns. For permission to publish or reproduce any materials from this collection, contact the Roger and Julie Baskes Department of Special Collections.
Biography of Charles B. Johnson
Military and Indian provision contractor and quartermaster’s agent.
Residing during the 1840s at Fort Smith, Ark., and moving ca. 1860 to Sherman, Tex., Johnson and his business partner, Marshall Grimes (Johnson and Grimes) contracted with the U.S. in 1859 to provide subsistence to the Indians of the Wichita Agency. From 1861 until his resignation in Feb., 1863, Johnson acted as C.S.A. quartermaster’s agent in Sherman, Tex., and obtained supplies for the Confederate army and the Wichita Agency Indians. In Dec., 1863, Johnson and Grimes entered into another contract with the C.S.A. to deliver daily rations to the Wichita Reserve Indians and the Osages and Seminoles. Claiming that his provisioning activities preserved peace among the Indians of the Old Southwest, Johnson in 1866 sought reimbursement from the U.S. commissioner of Indian affairs.
Extent
0.4 Linear Feet (1 box)
Abstract
Military and Indian provision contractor and quartermaster's agent. Correspondence, agreements, orders, accounts, reports, returns, receipts, etc. concerning his work with the Indians of the Wichita Agency and the Seminole and Osage tribes in northern Texas, Arkansas, and Indian Territory.
Arrangement
Materials arranged chronologically.
Collection Stack Location
VAULT 25 1
Provenance
Purchase, 1936.
Processed by
Virginia H. Smith, 2011.
Subject
- Cabell, A. S. (Person)
- Confederate States of America. Bureau of Indian Affairs. Wichita Agency (Organization)
- Cooper, Douglas H., 1815-1879 (Person)
- Grimes, Marshall (Person)
- Johnson and Grimes (Organization)
- Johnson, Charles B., 1819-1870 (Person)
- Lanigan, Thomas (Person)
- Leeper, Matthew, -1882 (Person)
- Quesenbury, William Minor, 1822-1888 (Person)
- Rector, Elias, 1802-1878 (Person)
- Shirley, John (Person)
- Sturm, J. J. (Person)
- United States. Office of Indian Affairs. Wichita Agency -- History -- 19th century -- Sources (Organization)
- Title
- Inventory of the Charles B. Johnson Papers, 1841-1888, bulk 1859-1865
- Status
- Completed
- Author
- Martha Briggs and Virginia H. Smith
- Date
- ©2011.
- Language of description
- English
- Script of description
- Latin
Repository Details
Part of the The Newberry Library - Modern Manuscripts and Archives Repository
60 West Walton Street
Chicago Illinois 60610 United States
312-255-3512
reference@newberry.org