Christopher C. Augur Papers
Collection
Identifier: VAULT-Ayer-MS-3008
Scope and Content of the Collection
Correspondence (1848-1896); printed and manuscript military orders and reports (1838-1882); some accounts and receipts; newspaper clippings; a small notebook/scrapbook kept in Oregon (1852-1854); three large official administrative letter-books of the Departments of Texas and the Gulf; two maps (Kansas 1866 and U.S. 1877); two speeches and Augur's thoughts on Indian wars; a few historical manuscript documents; a collection of memorabilia, some poems, and photograph proofs of Augur's son, Col. Jacob A. Augur.
Correspondents include military figures Nathaniel P. Banks, Winfield Scott Hancock, John P. Hatch, Guy V. Henry, Ranald Mackenzie, Alexander McD. McCook, Innis N. Palmer, Henry AV Post, and Joseph H. Potter. There is also a letter written by Battle of Cedar Mountain Confederate captive Henry W. Prince. Augur's correspondence consists of drafts of his letters written between 1870 and 1885.
Among subjects covered are railroad surveys of the West (1853), the Battle of Cedar Mountain (1862), Civil War spy Pardon Worsley, Sioux and Cheyenne campaigns, published reports on conditions in the West by P.H. Sheridan and William T. Sherman (1878 and 1882) plus a report of an official meeting with Sitting Bull in 1877, departmental administrative matters and endorsements, troop morale and deportment, court-martials, Texas-Mexico border depredations and unrest in Louisiana and Mississippi.
Among miscellaneous manuscript documents is one relevant to the calling out of circulation Maryland bills of credit (1780), a copy of an 1863 treaty between the U.S. and mixed bands of Bannock and Shoshone Indians, and a hand-written roster of the troops moved to join the Army of the Potomac to defend Washington, May-June, 1863.
Correspondents include military figures Nathaniel P. Banks, Winfield Scott Hancock, John P. Hatch, Guy V. Henry, Ranald Mackenzie, Alexander McD. McCook, Innis N. Palmer, Henry AV Post, and Joseph H. Potter. There is also a letter written by Battle of Cedar Mountain Confederate captive Henry W. Prince. Augur's correspondence consists of drafts of his letters written between 1870 and 1885.
Among subjects covered are railroad surveys of the West (1853), the Battle of Cedar Mountain (1862), Civil War spy Pardon Worsley, Sioux and Cheyenne campaigns, published reports on conditions in the West by P.H. Sheridan and William T. Sherman (1878 and 1882) plus a report of an official meeting with Sitting Bull in 1877, departmental administrative matters and endorsements, troop morale and deportment, court-martials, Texas-Mexico border depredations and unrest in Louisiana and Mississippi.
Among miscellaneous manuscript documents is one relevant to the calling out of circulation Maryland bills of credit (1780), a copy of an 1863 treaty between the U.S. and mixed bands of Bannock and Shoshone Indians, and a hand-written roster of the troops moved to join the Army of the Potomac to defend Washington, May-June, 1863.
Dates
- 1780-1912
- Majority of material found within 1846 - 1885
Creator
Language
Materials are in English.
Conditions Governing Access
The Christopher C. Augur Papers are open for research in the Special Collections Reading Room; 1 box at a time (Priority III).
Ownership and Literary Rights
The Christopher C. Augur 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 Christopher C. Augur
United States Army officer, 1821-1898.
Born in New York in 1821, Christopher Columbus Augur graduated from West Point in 1843, in the same class as Ulysses S. Grant. He served in the Mexican War, and during the 1850s he saw service on the frontier. Promoted to Captain in 1852, he served with distinction in the campaign against Indians in Oregon in 1856.
At the start of the Civil War, Augur was appointed Major in the 13th Infantry, and in November he was commissioned a Brigadier General of volunteers. In July 1862, he was assigned to a division under General Banks and was severely wounded in the Battle of Cedar Mountain. Rejoining his corps he took part in the Louisiana Campaign. At the siege of Port Hudson (1863) he distinguished himself for gallantry and was brevetted Brigadier General in the United States Army, also receiving brevet of Major General for services in the field during the rebellion.
Augur's significant post-war commands included the Department of the Platte (1867-1871) and the Department of Texas (1872-1875), where he was responsible for operations against Sioux, Cheyenne, Kiowa and Comanche. Also, Augur was administrator of the Department of the Gulf until July 1878, as well as the Departments of the South and the Missouri. He retired from the army in 1885.
Augur was married to Jane Elizabeth Arnold and they had eleven children, two of whom also had military careers. Christopher Columbus Augur died in 1898.
Born in New York in 1821, Christopher Columbus Augur graduated from West Point in 1843, in the same class as Ulysses S. Grant. He served in the Mexican War, and during the 1850s he saw service on the frontier. Promoted to Captain in 1852, he served with distinction in the campaign against Indians in Oregon in 1856.
At the start of the Civil War, Augur was appointed Major in the 13th Infantry, and in November he was commissioned a Brigadier General of volunteers. In July 1862, he was assigned to a division under General Banks and was severely wounded in the Battle of Cedar Mountain. Rejoining his corps he took part in the Louisiana Campaign. At the siege of Port Hudson (1863) he distinguished himself for gallantry and was brevetted Brigadier General in the United States Army, also receiving brevet of Major General for services in the field during the rebellion.
Augur's significant post-war commands included the Department of the Platte (1867-1871) and the Department of Texas (1872-1875), where he was responsible for operations against Sioux, Cheyenne, Kiowa and Comanche. Also, Augur was administrator of the Department of the Gulf until July 1878, as well as the Departments of the South and the Missouri. He retired from the army in 1885.
Augur was married to Jane Elizabeth Arnold and they had eleven children, two of whom also had military careers. Christopher Columbus Augur died in 1898.
Extent
1.5 Linear Feet (6 boxes)
Abstract
United States army officer, 1843 to 1885. Correspondence, printed and manuscript military orders and reports, letter-books, a miscellany of accounts and receipts, clippings, memorabilia and maps, mainly documenting Augur's military activities and commands before and during the Civil War, and post-war service in the Pacific Northwest, Texas and the Gulf.
Organization
Papers are organized in the following series
- Series 1: Correspondence, 1848-1896
- Box 1
- Series 2: Military Administrative Letter-books, 1872-1878
- Boxes 2-4
- Series 3: Miscellaneous, 1780-1912
- Boxes 5-6
Collection Stack Location
Vault 26 2
Provenance
Gift, Murray B. Augur, via Col. Holabird, 1939.
Processed by
Virginia Hay Smith, 2010.
- Augur, Christopher Columbus, 1821-1898
- Cedar Mountain, Battle of, Va., 1862
- Great Plains -- History, Military -- 19th century -- Sources
- Hancock, Winfield Scott, 1824-1886
- Hatch, John Porter
- Henry, Guy Vernor
- Indians of North America -- Wars -- 1866-1895 -- Sources
- Mackenzie, Ranald Slidell
- Manuscripts, American
- McCook, Alexander McDowell
- Palmer, Innis Newton
- Post, Henry A. V. (Henry Albertson Van Zo), 1803-1832
- Potter, Joseph H.
- Prince, Henry W.
- Reconstruction (U.S. history, 1865-1877) -- Louisiana -- History -- Sources
- Reconstruction (U.S. history, 1865-1877) -- Mississippi -- History -- Sources
- Red River War, 1874-1875 -- Sources
- Sheridan, Philip Henry
- Sherman, William T. (William Tecumseh), 1820-1891
- Texas -- History, Military -- 19th century -- Sources
- United States. Army -- Military life -- History -- 19th century -– Sources
- United States. Army -- Officers -– Correspondence
- United States. Army. Department of Texas -- Records and correspondence
- United States. Army. Department of the Gulf (1871-1878) -- Records and correspondence
- United States. Army. Department of the Platte -- Records and correspondence
- Worsley, Pardon
Creator
- Title
- Inventory of the Christopher C. Augur Papers, 1780-1912, bulk 1846-1885
- Status
- Completed
- Author
- Virginia Hay Smith.
- Date
- ©2010.
- Language of description
- English
- Script of description
- Latin
Repository Details
Part of the The Newberry Library - Modern Manuscripts Repository
Contact:
60 West Walton Street
Chicago Illinois 60610 United States
312-255-3512
reference@newberry.org
60 West Walton Street
Chicago Illinois 60610 United States
312-255-3512
reference@newberry.org