Isaac Munroe St. John papers

Collection

Call Number: MS 427

Scope and Contents

A collection of letters and papers by, to, or relating to Isaac Monroe St. John, 1827-1880 (Yale 1845). St. John was a civil engineer connected with the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad, the Blue Ridge (in Georgia and South Carolina), the Louisville, Cincinnati, and Lexington, and the Chesapeake and Ohio. During the War between the States, he was the chief engineer of the Army of the Peninsula, Major and Chief Engineer of the mining and nitre bureau, and finally Commissary General of the Confederate States of America. These letters and papers deal mainly with these activities, with notable figures in engineering and the Confederacy represented.

The papers include General St. John's Yale diplomas (B.A. 1845, M.A. 1848), five commissions in the Confederacy, 1862-1865, membership certificate in the Association of the Army of Northern Virginia, 1875, appointment as marshal for the unveiling of the Stonewall Jackson statue in Richmond in 1815, membership certificate in the American Society of CiviI Engineers, 1811, and a few minor items such as copies of special orders, etc. The bulk of the collection consists of correspondence. The collection is arranged chronologically.

Dates

1850-1879

Creator

St. John, Isaac Munroe, 1827-1880

Conditions Governing Access

The materials are open for research.

Conditions Governing Use

Unpublished materials authored or otherwise produced by the creator(s) of this collection are in the public domain. There are no restrictions on use. Copyright status for other collection materials is unknown. Transmission or reproduction of materials protected by U.S. Copyright Law (Title 17, U.S.C.) beyond that allowed by fair use requires the written permission of the copyright owners. Works not in the public domain cannot be commercially exploited without permission of the copyright owners. Responsibility for any use rests exclusively with the user.

Immediate Source of Acquisition

Gift of Mrs. W.W. Starke, 1950.

Extent

0.25 Linear Feet (1 box)

Language of Materials

English

Catalog Record

A record for this collection is available in Orbis, the Yale University Library catalog

Persistent URL

https://hdl.handle.net/10079/fa/mssa.ms.0427

Additional Description

Overview

Correspondence, diplomas, commissions, and other papers of Gen. Isaac M. St. John, civil engineer and Confederate officer during the Civil War.

Biographical / Historical

Civil engineer with the Baltimore & Ohio, the Blue Ridge, the Louisville, Cincinnati, and Lexington, and the Chesapeake & Ohio Railroads; chief engineer of the Army of the Peninsula during the Civil War, and Commissary General of the Confederate States.

Appendix: List of Correspondents

Alexander, Edward Porter (1835-1910) 1868 May 23

Allen, Col. William (1837-1889) 1867 Feb 16; Oct 29

Barney, Charles R. 1865 Oct 31

Breckenridge, John Cabell (1821-1875) 1870 Aug 30; 1871 May 16; Dec 15 [to Gen. W. R. Bate, introducing St. John]; 1873 Jan 24

Bright, Jesse David (1812-1875) 1874 Sep 23; Nov 1; Dec 20

Bullitt, Thomas W. 1876 Oct 30; Nov 13; Dec 11

Carrington, Charles S. 1875 Aug 16

Christensen, C. T. 1865 Jun 7

Claiborne, Maj. John H. 1871 Jul 3

Claxton, G. S. 185- Feb 20

Conway, Martin Franklin (1827-1882) 1865 Jun 26

Davis, Jefferson, Pres. C.S.A. (1808-l889) 1873 Nov 1

Dudley, Thomas Underwood, Jr. (1837-1904) 1873 Jul 7

Fink, Albert (1827-1897) 1876 Dec 18

Fisk, Charles B. 1856 Feb 13

Frost, Edward 1857 Nov 30

Garnett, Charles Fenton Mercer (1810-1866) 1856 Feb 20

Gates, I. E. [for Elizabeth, Lexington and Big Sandy RR] 1872 Sep 6, 14; Oct 5, 24 [2]; Nov 8; Dec 9

Gordon, John Brown (1832-1904) 1871 Jul 14

Gorgas, Josiah (1818-1883) 1862 Mar 19; Jul 22

Gorsuch, Maj. Robert B. 1866 Dec 31 [incomplete]

Green, Norvin (1818-1893) 1872 Jan 5; Mar 22 [also one same date to C. P. Huntington]

Guyot, Arnold Henry (1807-1884) 1876 Sep 29; Nov 18

Gwynn, Walter (1802-1882) 1850? Dec 27, 1859 Jul 5

Harvie, Lewis E. (1809-1887) 1876 Jan 1

Hatch, A. S. 1875 May 6

Huntington, Collis Potter (1821-1900) 1871 Nov 4; 1872 Apr 23, Sep 6, Nov 7; 1873 Jan 6

Hyde, Alvan Pinney (1825-1894 [Yale, 1845]) 1875 May 13

Kilgour, C. H. 1868 May 13 [for the Consolidated Bridge Board of Cincinnati]

Knight, J. D. 1874 Nov 1, Dec 20

Kuper, W. A. 1871 Dec 11

Johnston, William Preston (1831-1899) 1871 Feb 7, May 28; 1876 Dec 10; 1878 Jul 9

Latrobe, Benjamin 1851 Jan 2; 1852 Jan 23; 1855 Jul 3; 1856 Feb 8; May 3; 1859 Jun 22 [CF42]; 1870 Jan 6; 1876 Sep 23

LeConte, John (1818-1891) 1868 May 10

Lee, George Washington Custis (1832-1913) 1874 Dec 11

Lee, Robert Edward (1807-1870) 1853 Dec 31; 1865 Feb 21; Jul 22

Louisville, Ky., Mayor 1866 Oct 2 [J.S. Lithgow]; 1870 Feb 14 [James H. Bruce]

McCulloch, R. S. 1878 May

McLaws, Lafayette (1821-1897) 1869 Sep 25

Magruder, John Blankhead (1810-1871) 1868 Sep 16

Mahone, William (1826-1895) 1854 Jun 19; 1865 Dec 28

Mallet, John William (1832-1912) 1875 Sep 2

Mallory, Francis, Sr. 1854 Jun 19

Marshall, Charles (1830-1902) 1876 Aug 28

Mitchell, A. S. 1866 Nov 13

Mordecai, Alfred (1804-1887) 1867 May 15

Myers, Edmund T. D. 1856 Feb 19

Newcomb, H[oratio?] Victor no date

Noland, Burr P. 1814 Apr 16

Pendleton, William Nelson (1809-1883) 1872 Dec 30

Peronneau, William H. 1865 Dec 19

Pontzen, Ernest (1838-1913) 1876 Jul 29; Aug 20

Randolph, George Wythe (1818-1867) 1862 Feb 18

Ray, Mrs. E. W. 1862 Mar 8

Rives, Alfred Landon (1830-1903) 1862 Mar 15

Rives, Judith Page (Walker) (1802-1882) 1863 Dec 7; 1864 Jul 6

Rives, Sarah C. (McMurdo) 1864 Aug 22

Rives, William Cabell (1825-1889) 1878 Jul 1

St. John, Isaac Munroe (1827-1880) 1860 Aug 11 [to Maj. J.S. Lithgow] 1865 Feb 10 [to John C. Breckenridge]; Jul 19 [to Pres. Andrew Johnson for pardon]; Sep 12, 20 [both to J.H. Carrington]; Oct 5 [to J.H. Claiborn]

Scott, Henry B. 1865 Oct 24

Smith, Francis Henry (1829-1928) 1878 Jun 20

Stephens, Alexander Hamilton (1812-1883) 1863 Jun 12

Taylor, Richard, 1826-1879 (Yale 1845) 1865 Jul 1, 6; 1877 Mar 27

Thompson, John Reuben (1823-1873) 1868 Jun 15

Tracy, James J. 1872 Mar 4; May 8; Jul 5; Aug 7; Sep 14; Oct 4; Nov 8; Dec 6, 11

Venable, Charles Scott (1827-1900) 1864 Jan 16

Weitzel, Godfrey (1835-1884) 1871 Jul 10

Whitcomb, H. D. 1871 Jan 19, 21; Mar 27; Nov 6; 1872 Mar 30 [to Mrs. I.M. St. John]; 1816 May 22

Wickham, William Carter (1820-1888) 1878 Aug 26 [3 letters to different persons, introducing Arthur Snyder and brother]

Wilder, J. B. 1874 May 19

Williams, Thomas G. (1828-1885) 1865 Sep 8

Wilson, James Harrison (1837-1925) 1870? Apr 7

Young Men's Christian Association, Louisville, KY 1871 Jan 9