Charles Griswold Gurley Merrill papers

The Charles Griswold Gurley Merrill Papers consist of diaries and letters documenting Charles Merrill's brief career as a seaman and his later experiences as a Union army officer and surgeon during the Civil War. The papers also include an essay which contains transcripts of original material.

Before enrolling in the Yale College class of 1861 Merrill served as a seaman on the shipMerrimac. His diary (folder 2) records his duties on two voyages. The first voyage, in 1854, sailed from the St. Lawrence to London and Bremerhaven and back to North America. The second voyage, eighteen months later, sailed from New York to New Orleans. After the second voyage, in 1856, Merrill quit the seafaring life. One letter and a recommendation from Merrill's captain (folder 3) also document this period. Folder 18 contains autographs from Merrill's Yale class album. This is the only material which documents Merrill's education. The papers contain no record of Merrill's medical studies at Yale.

The papers for Merrill's Civil War career begin in January, 1863, when Merrill signed a three-year contract as a private physician with the Union army. Letters to his parents and sister describe the journey to Nashville and the military and medical conditions prevailing there. After his contract expired Merrill remained in Nashville with the military police. Subsequently he decided to return home following an attack of pneumonia in July. Letters from Merrill's father, David J. Merrill, to his family in Newburyport, Massachusetts describe Charles' condition and travel plans.

Merrill returned to military service after regaining his health. Having chosen to apply for a commission in a black regiment, he reported for duty in January, 1864. Letters (folders 5-11) and a diary (folder 2) from the period recount the regiment's assignment to Yorktown, Virginia and its participation in the siege of Petersburg with the Army of the Potomac. Many letters concern Merrill's percarious financial circumstances, and occasional ones, particularly those of March 29 and August 2, 1864, describe in graphic detail the life of an army surgeon. Merrill's letters also describe his assignments during the siege of Richmond. Letters beginning in November describe the digging of the Dutch Gap Canal. In April, 1865, following the taking of Richmond, the regiment was ordered to Washington to march in the Lincoln funeral ceremonies and then to hunt for Lincoln's assassins. In May the regiment was ordered to Brownsville, Texas and there Merrill was mustered out of the service. His letters and diaries from Texas are highly critical of the conditions for soldiers at this southern outpost. Items in folder 20 include miscellaneous war memorabilia, including letters and confederate printed matter, which might have been saved as souvenirs of battle. The papers contain only a few scattered letters written by Merrill after the war.

Also included in the papers are transcripts of the wartime letters and the 1865 diary (folders 14-18) and a long essay (folder 13) about Merrill's life and the papers, presumably written by one of Merrill's descendants. Although the transcripts are not complete they do include material not available in its original form, including copies of articles Merrill wrote about his wartime experiences for the NewburyportDaily Herald.