Their Country's Call:

The Byington, McHarg, and Porter Families in War and Peace

Items 21-40

Trone, Daniel. Telegrapher. Photographic Image, nd. On verso: "Daniel Trone, Hanover, Pa. Telegrapher, who sent A Homer Byington's account of the Battle of Gettysburg to the tribune, New York, and war department, Washington, D.C." [Byington Family Papers, Box 2 Folder 20].

Horace Porter (1837-1921). Autograph Letter Signed, Chattanooga, Tennessee, 27 September 1863. Addressed to his brother-in-law Henry K. McHarg. Discusses fighting at Chattanooga, Tennessee. Porter writes that he made it through the battle unscathed though his horse was hit with a bit of shell. Reference to Braxton Bragg and to shotguns stored at Nashville, Tennessee. [McHarg Family Papers, Box 1 Folder 36].

Photograph of Horace Porter and Sophie McHarg. The couple married in 1863. Reproduced from Elsie Porter Mende's An American Soldier and Diplomat: Horace Porter (New York: Stokes, 1927).

Medal of Honor Presented to Horace Porter. Inscribed, "The Congress to Bvt. Brig. Gen. Horace Porter, U.S.A. Chickamauga, Sept. 20, 1863." [Horace Porter Collection, Box 3 Folder 6].

Photograph of General Ulysses S. Grant and Staff on Lookout Mountain. Part of Chattanooga Campaign of October and November 1863. Taken November 1863, after the Battle Above the Clouds. Photo by A. W. Judd. [Horace Porter Collection, Box 9, Folder 2].

Byington, A. Homer (1826-1910). Civil War Correspondent. Handbill, "The Lincoln Flank Movement on Connecticut: A Letter from Homer Byington, of the Norwalk Gazette, to 'Dear Smith,' of Bridgeport!", 1 p, 25 March 1864. [Byington Family Papers, Box 2 Folder 7].

Commission Promoting Horace Porter to Lieutenant-Colonel as an Aide-de-Camp of General Ulysses S. Grant, 4 April 1864. Signed by Secretary of War Edwin M. Stanton. [Horace Porter Collection, Box 9 Folder 9].

C. D. Sheldon. Autograph Letter Signed. Albany, New York, 26 September 1864. Addressed to his friend Henry K. McHarg, Walnut Hill School in Geneva, New York. Provides lengthy discussion of a game played by Sheldon's amateur baseball club, the Hiawathas, against another club, the Alpines. Includes play-by-play accounts of game action. Also includes a detailed, full-length manuscript box score of the game. The Hiawathas won 34-25. Includes reference to another club, the Niagaras. This letter provides outstanding primary source material on the development of baseball. [McHarg Family Papers, Box 1 Folder 40].

C. D. Sheldon. Autograph Letter Signed. Albany, New York, 9 October 1864. Addressed to his friend Henry K. McHarg, Walnut Hill School in Geneva, New York. Discusses recent games of Sheldon's amateur baseball club, the Hiawathas, against the Niagaras and the Alpines. Mentions that the New York Knickerbocker baseball club defeated the Utica baseball club by four runs. [McHarg Family Papers, Box 1 Folder 42].

C. D. Sheldon. Autograph Letter Signed, Albany, New York, 11 October 1864. Addressed to his friend Henry K. McHarg. Provides ample discussion of baseball games played recently by Sheldon's amateur club, the Hiawathas. Includes post-game analysis of a game played against the Niagaras. Contains full length, detailed manuscript box score of game against Niagaras; the Hiawathas won 34-32. Also includes discussion of and detailed manuscript box score from Hiawathas' victory over the Alpines, 32-25. Sent from Albany, New York to Walnut Hill School in Geneva, New York. [McHarg Family Papers, Box 1 Folder 43].

C. D. Sheldon. Autograph Letter Signed, Albany, New York, 28 October 1864. Addressed to his friend Henry McHarg, Walnut Hill School, Geneva, New York.. Discusses the Hiawathas, an amateur baseball club for which Sheldon played. Reference to playing another club, the Niagaras. Discussion of team news. [McHarg Family Papers, Box 1 Folder 46].

C. D. Sheldon. Autograph Letter Signed, Albany, New York, 16 November 1864. Addressed to his friend Henry K. McHarg, Walnut Hill School, Geneva, New York. Makes references to Sheldon's amateur baseball club, the Hiawathas, who were just then ending their season. [McHarg Family Papers, Box 1 Folder 49].

Photograph of Henry K. McHarg (1851-1941). National Cyclopaedia of American Biography. Vol. 29. New York: James T. White, 1941.

Kirsch, George B. "Bats, Balls, and Bullets: Baseball and the Civil War." Civil War Times Illustrated. May 1998, p. 30-31.

Horace Porter (1837-1921). Autograph Letter Signed, Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, 26 October 1864. Addressed to his brother-in-law Henry K. McHarg. Regarding the birth of Porter's child. Porter mentions that he came from Ulysses S. Grant's headquarters last Monday and will stay with his wife as long as he can. Porter refers to the Union army's drive toward Richmond as awaiting more men provided by the draft. He notes that some southern boys Henry's age were encountered among those defending Confederate forts. [McHarg Family Papers, Box 1 Folder 45].

Copies of Letters Dated 7 April 1865 and 9 April 1865 Sent from Ulysses S. Grant to Robert E. Lee Immediately before the Surrender at Appomattox. [Horace Porter Collection, Box 9 Folder 8].

Photograph of Table on which General Ulysses S. Grant Drafted the Terms of Surrender for General Robert E. Lee at Appomattox Courthouse on 9 April 1865. Photo by Pach Bros., Broadway, New York. On verso: "Grant wrote terms of surrender at Appomattox on this table, which now belongs to Mrs. Custer. H[orace] P[orter]." [Horace Porter Collection, Box 9 Folder 6].

Commission Promoting Horace Porter to Brigadier General. Signed by Andrew Johnson and Edwin M. Stanton, 1866. [Horace Porter Collection, Box 11 Folder 5].

Byington, A. Homer (1826-1910). Civil War Correspondent. "Speech of Hon. A. H. Byington." Tributes of Connecticut Citizens, To the Memory of Abraham Lincoln, Late President of the United States. Assassinated April 14, 1865. New Haven: William D. Stanley, Printer, 1865. Printed speech by A. Homer Byington offering a tribute to Lincoln, 17 April 1865. [Byington Family Papers, Box 2 Folder 5].

Byington, A. Homer (1826-1910). Civil War Correspondent. Autograph Manuscript, "President Lincoln, as I Personally Knew Him", 15 p, nd. [Byington Family Papers, Box 2 Folder 6].