Their Country's Call


Daguerreotype of Horace Porter at West Point, circa 1855

An exhibit focusing on the experiences of three families in the American Civil War opened in the Gunlocke Room this summer. Entitled "Their Country's Call: The Byington, McHarg, and Porter Families in War and Peace," the exhibit is drawn from three manuscripts collections on deposit in the library's Special Collections Division: the Byington Family Papers, the McHarg Family Papers, and the Horace Porter collection.

Donated to Georgetown University Library by Dr. and Mrs. Lawrence E. Hinkle, the Byington Family Papers consist of the papers of Civil War correspondent A. Homer Byington (1826-1910), his grandson Homer M. Byington I (1879-1966), and Homer M. Byington II (1908-1987). The items on display relating to A. Homer Byington, who was a friend of Abraham Lincoln, focus on his relationship with Lincoln during the Civil War and his role in reporting the news of the Union victory at Gettysburg.

The items exhibited from the McHarg Family Papers, which were donated to Georgetown by Homer M. Byington III, include correspondence among McHarg family members concerning skirmishes and camp life in Arlington, Virginia, at the outset of the war; the siege of Yorktown, Virginia; and even amateur baseball games played in Albany, New York, in 1864. Among the correspondents are quartermaster John McHarg (1813-1884), his son and future financier Henry K. McHarg (1851-1941), and distinguished Union officer Horace Porter (1837-1921), who married John's daughter Sophie King McHarg (1840-1903) during the war in 1863.

The Horace Porter Collection, a gift of Mrs. Horace Porter Mende, is the third collection featured in this exhibit. The collection consists of letters, manuscripts, clippings, prints, photographs, and artifacts connected to the career of Horace Porter (1837-1921), best known as aide-de-camp and biographer of General Ulysses S. Grant. On display are materials relating to Porter's days at West Point, his prominent role in battles at Fort Pulaski and Chickamauga, his experiences campaigning with Grant, and his postwar career.

The exhibit may be visited through August 31 in the Gunlocke Room on the fifth floor of Lauinger Library, or virtually at http://www.library.georgetown.edu/dept/speccoll/theircountryscall/index.htm.