OK, enough with the telling you what I’m going to do. Last week I got some good news from Art Bergeron at the United States Army Military History Institute (USAMHI) in Carlisle, PA. Art is a fellow member of Dick Weeks’ The Civil War Western Theater Discussion Group, and I’ve enjoyed his comments there for some time. I didn’t realize that in addition to being an author of some note (Confederate Mobile, The Red River Campaign, Guide to Louisiana Confederate Military Units, to name but a very few of his published works), Art is also Reference Historian at Carlisle. I dropped him a line and asked how to go about doing some research at the facility as I had been asked to submit an article on a Bull Run personality to America’s Civil War magazine. Not only did Art give me that information, but he also told me what type of information (documents and photographs) they have on my subject – one “box” each. Thanks Art!
I’ll be heading out to Carlisle hopefully within the next few weeks. I really wish they were open on Saturdays, but beggars can’t be choosers. To be safe, I’m going to schedule two days in town. I’m also going to check and see what they have on the 205th PAVI. I recently learned that my great-great-grandfather John B. Smeltzer was an 18 year old private in Company C, and was wounded on April 2, 1865 in the regiment’s assault on Battery 30 at Petersburg.
Dang, it looks like I wound up talking about what I’m going to do again! Well, since I’ve already done it, I may as well say that I hope to make a post tomorrow about this infuriating Tidball biography I’m reading, and that right now I’m going to do a little more work on the Confederate OOB. I’ll let you know when it’s ready to be viewed.
Harry Smeltzer
Bull Runnings 
Art is very helpful. Really glad he got the job at Carlisle a while back.:)
You do know, Harry, that Carlisle has sime very good finding aids?
Here is a summation of their stuff on the 205th, as of 92:
205th Pennsylvania Infantry Regiment
Bates, Samuel P. History of the Pennsylvania Volunteers, 1861-5. Wilmington, NC: Broadfoot,
1993. Vol. 9, pp. 636-54 (10 photocopied pages). E527B32.1993v9. (Brief history and roster of the regiment).
Dyer, Frederick H. A Compendium of the War of the Rebellion. Vol. 2. Dayton, OH:
Morningside, 1979. Ref.
See p. 1625 (1 photocopied page) for a concise summary of the regiment’s service.
Sauers, Richard A. Advance the Colors!: Pennsylvania Civil War Battle Flags. Vol. 2. Hbg, PA:
Capitol Preservation Comm, 1991. p. 508 (1 photocopied page). E527.4S38.1991v2.
(Brief unit history with emphasis on the regimental flags).
Our Photo Archive includes images of individuals of this unit.
The following pertinent personal papers are in the Institute’s Manuscript Archive:
Fluke, Oliver B. – CWMiscColl (Enlisted man’s letter, Sep 23, l864)
Gwinner, George C. – HCWRTColl (Officer’s letter, Jun l, l865)
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Harry,
I have a copy of Dyer. I’ll be happy to scan the page on the 205th and email it to you if you’d like.
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Don,
Thanks for the offer. I have all the published sources Dave listed. I’m more interested now in seeing what they have in the way of photos, not that I’m anticipating finding one of ggpa in there. It would be cool, though!
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