M1914

RECORDS OF THE MISSISSIPPI FREEDMEN’S DEPARTMENT 

(“PRE-BUREAU RECORDS”), OFFICE OF THE ASSISTANT 

COMMISSIONER, BUREAU OF REFUGEES, FREEDMEN, AND 

ABANDONED LANDS, 1863–1865

United States Congress 

and 

National Archives and Records Administration 

Washington, DC 

2004
2

United States. National Archives and Records Administration. 

 Records of the Mississippi Freedmen's Department 

 (“pre-Bureau records”), Office of the Assistant Commissioner, 

 Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen, and Abandoned Lands, 

 1863–1865.— Washington, DC : U.S. Congress and National 

 Archives and Records Administration, 2004. 

 p. ; 23 cm.— (National Archives microfilm publications. 

 Pamphlet describing ; M 1914) 

 1. United States. Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen, and Abandoned 

 Lands Office of the Assistant Commissioner. Mississippi 

 Freedmen's Dept. – Archives – Microform catalogs. 2. United 

 States. National Archives and Records Administration – Microform 

 catalogs. 3. Freedmen – Mississippi – Archives – Microform 

catalogs. I. Title.

NATIONAL ARCHIVES AND RECORD ADMINISTRATION 

FREEDMEN’S BUREAU PRESERVATION PROJECT

This National Archives microfilm publication is part of a multiyear project to 

microfilm the field office records of the Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen, and 

Abandoned Lands (Freedmen’s Bureau). The project was made possible by the 

United States Congress through The Freedmen’s Bureau Records Preservation Act 

of 2000 (Public Law 106-444). When completed, all of the field records for the 

States of Alabama, Arkansas, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, 

Maryland, Mississippi, Missouri, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, 

Texas, Virginia, and for the District of Columbia will be available on microfilm. 

For microfilm availability and description, view both the microfilm catalog Black 

Studies: A Select Catalog of National Archives Microfilm Publications and the 

National Archives microfilm locator on our web site at www.archives.gov.

Acknowledgments 

Lucille Allen Gail Harriman Kathy Miller 

Miranda Booker Paul Harrison Elizabeth Rydzewski 

Tia Briscoe Hilary Kaplan Clarence J. Simmons 

Jackie Budell Brenda Kepley Michael Tucker 

Carlita Earl M. Marie Maxwell Reginald Washington* 

Jane Fitzgerald Linda McGreevy Marlon Wise 

Ben Gutermann** Douglas McRae 

 

 Civil War Conservation Corps (CWCC) Volunteers 

 Directed by Budge Weidman and Russ Weidman 

* Reginald Washington wrote the introductory materials. 

** Benjamin Guterman edited the introductory materials. 
3

INTRODUCTION

On the five rolls of this microfilm publication, M1914, are reproduced the records of the 

Freedmen’s Department (precursor to the Office of the Assistant Commissioner in the 

Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen, and Abandoned Lands) for the period 1863–1865. These 

records consist of bound volumes and unbound records, containing materials that include 

letters sent and received, operations and ration reports, registers of freedmen, labor 

contracts, and other records relating to orders issued and received, hospitals, and schools. 

These records are part of the Records of the Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen, and 

Abandoned Lands, Record Group (RG) 105. 

THE FREEDMEN’S BUREAU

The Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen, and Abandoned Lands, also known as the Freedmen’s 

Bureau, was established in the War Department by an act of Congress on March 3, 1865 

(13 Stat. 507). The life of the Bureau was extended twice by acts of July 16, 1866 (14 Stat. 

173), and July 6, 1868 (15 Stat. 83). The Bureau was responsible for the supervision and 

management of all matters relating to refugees and freedmen, and of lands abandoned or 

seized during the Civil War. In May 1865, President Andrew Johnson appointed Maj. Gen. 

Oliver Otis Howard as Commissioner of the Bureau, and Howard served in that position 

until June 30, 1872, when activities of the Bureau were terminated in accordance with an 

act of June 10, 1872 (17 Stat. 366). While a major part of the Bureau’s early activities 

involved the supervision of abandoned and confiscated property, its mission was to provide 

relief and help freedmen become self-sufficient. Bureau officials issued rations and 

clothing, operated hospitals and refugee camps, and supervised labor contracts. In addition, 

the Bureau managed apprenticeship disputes and complaints, assisted benevolent societies 

in the establishment of schools, helped freedmen in legalizing marriages entered into 

during slavery, and provided transportation to refugees and freedmen who were attempting 

to reunite with their family or relocate to other parts of the country. The Bureau also 

helped black soldiers, sailors, and their heirs collect bounty claims, pensions, and back 

pay. 

The act of March 3, 1865, authorized the appointment of Assistant Commissioners to aid 

the Commissioner in supervising the work of the Bureau in the former Confederate states, 

the border states, and the District of Columbia. While the work performed by Assistant 

Commissioners in each state was similar, the organizational structure of staff officers 

varied from state to state. At various times, the staff could consist of a superintendent of 

education, an assistant adjutant general, an assistant inspector general, a disbursing officer, 

a chief medical officer, a chief quartermaster, and a commissary of subsistence. Subordinate to these officers were the assistant superintendents or subassistant commissioners as 

they later became known, who commanded the subdistricts. 

The Assistant Commissioner corresponded extensively with both his superior in the 

Washington Bureau headquarters and his subordinate officers in the subdistricts. Based 
4

upon reports submitted to him by the subassistant commissioners and other subordinate 

staff officers, he prepared reports that he sent to the Commissioner concerning Bureau 

activities in areas under his jurisdiction. The Assistant Commissioner also received letters 

from freedmen, local white citizens, state officials, and other non-Bureau personnel. These 

letters varied in nature from complaints to applications for jobs in the Bureau. Because the 

assistant adjutant general handled much of the mail for the Assistant Commissioner’s 

office, it was often addressed to him instead of to the Assistant Commissioner. 

In a circular issued by Commissioner Howard in July 1865, the Assistant Commissioners 

were instructed to designate one officer in each state to serve as “general Superintendents 

of Schools.” These officials were to “take cognizance of all that is being done to educate 

refugees and freedmen, secure proper protection to schools and teachers, promote method 

and efficiency, correspond with the benevolent agencies which are supplying his field, and 

aid the Assistant Commissioner in making his required reports.” In October 1865, a degree 

of centralized control was established over Bureau educational activities in the states when 

Rev. John W. Alvord was appointed Inspector of Finances and Schools. In January 1867, 

Alvord was divested of his financial responsibilities, and he was appointed General 

Superintendent of Education. 

An act of Congress, approved July 25, 1868 (15 Stat. 193), ordered that the Commissioner 

of the Bureau “shall, on the first day of January next, cause the said bureau to be withdrawn 

from the several States within which said bureau has acted and its operation shall be 

discontinued.” Consequently, in early 1869, with the exception of the superintendents of 

education and the claims agents, the Assistant Commissioners and their subordinate 

officers were withdrawn from the states. 

For the next year and a half the Bureau continued to pursue its education work and to 

process claims. In the summer of 1870, the superintendents of education were withdrawn 

from the states, and the headquarters staff was greatly reduced. From that time until the 

Bureau was abolished by an act of Congress approved June 10, 1872 (17 Stat. 366), 

effective June 30, 1872, the Bureau’s functions related almost exclusively to the disposition 

of claims. The Bureau’s records and remaining functions were then transferred to the 

Freedmen’s Branch in the office of the Adjutant General. The records of this branch are 

among the Bureau’s files. 

THE FREEDMEN’S DEPARTMENT

ORGANIZATION 

In November 1862, the War Department appointed Col. John Eaton as general superintendent of contrabands in the Department of the Tennessee and the State of Arkansas. The 

Department’s territory included the area from Cairo, Illinois, southward, to the Mississippi 

Valley, including the cities of Memphis, Vicksburg, Natchez, and Little Rock, and the 

military posts of Columbus, Island 10, Corinth, Helena, Du Vall’s Bluff, Pine Bluff, Fort 

Smith, Goodrich Landing, Milliken’s Bend, and Davis Bend. In June 1863, Capt. Samuel 

Thomas was appointed assistant superintendent of contrabands, under Colonel Eaton, for 
5

the Department in the area of Helena, Arkansas. Eaton’s position and title was eventually 

changed to general superintendent of freedmen, and Thomas became the assistant 

superintendent of freedmen. When Col. Thomas assumed supervisory responsibilities for 

the provost marshals in various districts and posts, his title was changed to provost 

marshal of freedmen. The positions of both Eaton and Thomas, coupled with the office of 

the medical director, inspector of freedmen, and several freedmen’s hospitals and homes, 

constituted the Freedmen’s Department of the Department of the Tennessee. In November 

1864, the Freedmen’s Department became a part of the Department of Mississippi. By the 

summer of 1865, the functions and activities of the Freedmen’s Department were assumed 

by the recently formed Freedmen’s Bureau, so that the Department was the precursor of 

the Bureau’s Office of the Assistant Commissioner for Mississippi. 

 

ACTIVITIES 

The functions and activities in the Freedmen’s Department were similar to those of the 

later Freedmen’s Bureau. The Department assisted freedpeople in securing food, clothing, 

shelter, medicines and medical attention, employment, land, education, and help in a 

variety of social matters, including legalizing freedmen marriages. 

When Col. John Eaton assumed the office of superintendent of contrabands for the 

Department of Tennessee in 1862, his responsibilities included providing for the physical 

welfare of freedmen and the supervision of confiscated and abandoned lands under 

military control. Faced with the enormous challenge of providing relief for the thousands 

of starved and destitute freedmen who had flocked to Union lines, and to encourage 

freedmen to become self-supporting, Eaton established “contraband” camps and put 

freedmen to work cutting wood, hauling, erecting cabins, and gathering crops from the 

abandoned fields. While freedmen in most cases were not paid directly for their labor, 

proceeds from their labor were used to provide them with food, clothing, shelter, and 

medicine. In December 1863, the War Department appointed D. O. McCord as medical 

director of freedmen for the Department of Tennessee and Arkansas. McCord found only 

eight surgeons and one hospital to care for the medical needs of freedmen. He enlarged 

the staff to 32 and provided medical services for nearly every camp in the department’s 

jurisdiction.1

 Medical assistance was provided for hospitals at Milliken’s Bend, Louisiana; 

and Vicksburg, Goodrich’s Landing, Pau Pau, Parks Camp, and Davis Bend, Mississippi. 

In March 1863, Secretary of War Edwin M. Stanton sent Adj. Gen. Lorenzo Thomas to 

the Mississippi Valley to develop a program that would enable freedmen to become selfsufficient and provide “useful service” as laborers and soldiers. Gen. Thomas instituted 

a plan that called for the leasing of abandoned and confiscated plantations to private 

individuals who would agree to hire freedmen. Three commissioners were appointed to 

supervise the leasing, and with the help of assistant provost marshals, they settled disputes 

that arose between freedmen and lessees (planters). Contraband camps were to be 

 

1 Paul S. Peirce, The Freedmen’s Bureau: a Chapter in the History of Reconstruction (University 

of Iowa: 1904), p. 9; See also Report of the General Superintendent, Freedmen Department of the 

Tennessee and State of Arkansas for 1864 (Memphis, Tennessee, 1865), pp. 94–95.
6

continued but only as a place for the unemployed and a source for acquiring able-bodied 

laborers to work on plantations. Planters were responsible for providing food, clothing, 

and monthly wages for the persons they employed. Male hands were paid $7 per month, 

women $5, and children between the ages of 12 and 15 received half wages. Instead of 

paying ordinary rent, planters were required to the pay the Federal Government a produce 

tax that amounted to “two dollars for each four hundred pounds of cotton produced and 

five cents for every bushel of corn or potatoes.” To protect freedmen and planters from the 

attacks of “guerillas,” Gen. Thomas established a “colored invalid corps.” Comprised of 

black men unsuited for field service but capable of other military duties, the 9th and 7th 

Regiments, Louisiana Volunteers (later the 63rd and 64th Regiments, U.S. Colored 

Troops), provided the means for maintaining law and order under martial law. Col. Eaton 

served as the commander of the 9th regiment, and Samuel Thomas was colonel of the 7th 

regiment.2

Gen. Thomas’s agricultural plan was not without debate and controversy. Questions 

concerning the benefits of his plan toward the welfare of freedmen and whether the army 

was the appropriate agency to handle the leasing of plantations caused considerable 

friction among military and Treasury officials. Nevertheless, by the end of 1863, camps, 

leasing of plantations, and employment of freedmen was transferred from the army to the 

Treasury Department. Under Treasury regulations, “home farms” replaced contraband 

camps as employment centers and homes for those freedmen unsuited for plantation work. 

Home farms were located at Helena, AR, Goodrich’s Landing and Milliken’s Bend, LA; 

and Natchez, Skipwith’s Landing, Vicksburg, and Davis Bend, MS. Planters seeking 

laborers from home farms had to apply to Treasury officials, and all able-bodied freedmen 

above the age of 12 were required to work. Freedmen who lived and labored on government home farms and chose not to contract with planters, received food and clothing but 

were not paid for their labor. Plantation laborers however, received wages according to a 

classification system based on their value as laborers. For example, first-class males 

received $25 dollars per month and second- and third-class males received $20 and $15 

dollars, respectively. First- , second- , and third-class females received $18, $14, and $13 

dollars, respectively. Planters were responsible for providing laborers with sufficient 

housing, and families with four or more persons were to be provided one-acre plots 

(without cost) for gardens. Sharecropping contracts were allowed as long as they were 

approved by Treasury personnel. The Treasury plan also called for the establishment of 

schools and mandatory attendance of children between the ages of 6 and 12. Despite its 

reforms, the Treasury plan was short-lived, and by March 1864, Gen. Thomas had 

regained control of freedmen affairs.3

 The issue over the management of freedmen affairs 

and abandoned lands was not resolved until the establishment of the Freedmen’s Bureau. 

 2 George R. Bentley, A History of the Freedmen’s Bureau (University of Pennsylvania Press, 

1944), pp. 22–23; see also Louis S. Gerteis, From Contraband to Freedman: Federal Policy 

Toward Southern Blacks, 1861–1865 (Westport, Conn.: Greenwood Press, Inc. 1973), pp.155–56. 3 For a discussion of freedmen’s affairs and abandoned lands in the Mississippi Valley, see Gerteis, 

From Contraband to Freedman, pp. 119–81.
7

While most freedmen in the Mississippi Valley worked as laborers in government camps 

and on privately run plantations, some freedmen managed to lease and rent farms from the 

Federal Government for their own use. With assistance from leasing officials and Treasury 

agents, black farmers in the valley increased from 250 in 1864 to nearly 500 by 1865, with 

the largest contingent in areas around Helena, AR, and Vicksburg, MS. Perhaps the most 

notable example of black independent farming was at Davis Bend, the home of Jefferson 

Davis and his brother Joseph. On March 28, 1864, Gen. Lorenzo Thomas, ordered that the 

three Davis estates “Hurricane,” “Palmyra,” and “Big Black,” were to be “reserved for 

military purposes, and will exclusively be devoted to the colonization, residence and 

support of Freedmen.” The army supplied mules, wagons, and other farming implements. 

Black lessees were responsible for paying for items supplied by the government after 

raising a crop. Gen. Thomas’ order also required that all white persons had to leave the 

area before January 1, 1865, and were only to return with the written permission from 

government officials. By the end of the 1864 planting season, and despite the destruction 

caused by the army worm, some 180 black lessees managed to produce nearly 130 bales 

of cotton and made enough profit from other crops to sustain their operations through the 

following spring.4

 

Early efforts by the Freedmen’s Department to provide educational assistance to freedmen 

were limited. Lack of funds, inadequate schoolhouses, and the virtual absence of secure 

housing for teachers, reduced the Department’s role to one of providing advice on the 

location of schools and where teachers were needed most. The Department relied, for the 

most part, on the work of army chaplains and teachers and missionaries from such groups 

as the American Missionary Association, the Western Freedmen’s Aid Commission, the 

Society of Friends, the Board of Missions of the United Presbyterian Church, the 

Reformed Presbyterians, the United Brethren in Christ, the North Western Freedmen’s Aid 

Commission, and the National Freedmen’s Relief Association. To aid their work, the 

Department supplied teachers with rations, quarters, transportation, and in a few instances, 

places to teach. Convinced that freedmen education would be more efficient and effective 

if it were placed under the authority of the Freedmen’s Department, General Thomas 

directed the general superintendent of freedmen to designate “Superintendents of Colored 

Schools” who were to be responsible for the location and opening of schools, collection 

of tuition, the occupation of houses and schoolrooms, and other matters relating to the 

education of freedmen. Industrial schools were established to teach black women how to 

properly care for their families.5

To assist freedmen in solemnizing slave marriages and to encourage family relations, 

General Thomas, under Special Order Number 15 (March 28, 1864), announced that “Any 

ordained Minister of the Gospel, accredited by the General Superintendent of Freedmen, 

is hereby authorized to solemnize the rite of marriage among Freedmen.” Marriage 

certificates and licenses were produced, and Chaplains and Missionaries were issued 

 

 4 Ibid., pp. 169–81. See also, Report of the General Superintendent, Freedmen Department, pp. 

40–41. 5 Report of the General Superintendent, Freedmen Department, pp. 80–87.
8

detailed instructions on when and how they should be used. Ministers who performed 

freedmen marriages were required to send “Returns” to post superintendents containing 

such data as ages of the couples, the color of the couple’s parents, the number of years 

the couple lived with another person, how separated, number of children, and number of 

children by previous marriage. Marriage registers were maintained to identify couples, 

resolve matters relating to inheritance, and to assist in the settlement of claims against the 

Federal Government, especially those involving deceased black soldiers. Many of the 

freedmen seeking to legalize their unions had lived in long-standing relations.6

 

RECORDS DESCRIPTION

These records consist of volumes and unbound records. The volumes reproduced in this 

microfilm publication were originally arranged by the Freedmen’s Bureau by type of 

record and thereunder by volume number. No numbers were assigned to series consisting 

of single volumes. Years later, all volumes were assigned numbers by the Adjutant 

General’s Office (AGO) of the War Department after the records came into its custody. In 

this microfilm publication, AGO numbers are shown in parentheses to aid in identifying 

the volumes. The National Archives assigned the volume numbers that are not in 

parentheses. In some volumes, particularly in indexes and alphabetical headings of 

registers, there are blank numbered pages that have not been filmed. 

The volumes consist of letters sent and received, special orders issued and received, 

registers of freedmen contracts and rations issued, school lists, registers of patients, 

and hospital reports. The unbound documents consist of letters and circulars issued 

and received, oaths of allegiance and evidence of amnesty, reports of operations and 

abandoned property, and reports of teachers and missionaries serving in the areas. 

Some of the volumes contain more than one type of record, reflecting a common recording 

practice of clerks and staff officers of that period. On roll 4, for example, the volumes of 

registers of rations issued to freedmen and planters also contain a few special orders issued 

by the provost marshal general of freedmen. Another example of additional series within 

volumes can be found the volumes of registers of patients on roll 5. Researchers should 

read carefully the records descriptions and arrangements in the table of contents to make 

full use of these documents. 

RELATED RECORDS

In the same record group, RG 105, and related to records of the Freedmen’s Department 

of Mississippi, are those of the Bureau headquarters in Washington, DC, and microfilmed 

records of the Assistant Commissioner for Mississippi. These record series are available 

in the following National Archives microfilm publications: 

 

6 Ibid., pp. 88–94.
9

M742, Selected Series of Records Issued by the Commissioner of the Bureau of 

Refugees, Freedmen, and Abandoned Lands, 1865–1872 

M752, Registers and Letters Received by the Commissioner of the Bureau of Refugees, 

Freedmen, and Abandoned Lands, 1865–1872

M826, Records of the Assistant Commissioner for the State of Mississippi, Bureau of 

Refugees, Freedmen, and Abandoned Lands, 1865–1869

M1875, Marriage Records of the Office of the Commissioner, Washington 

Headquarters of the Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen, and Abandoned Lands, 1861–1869

Records in other National Archives record groups supplement those of the Mississippi 

Freedmen’s Department. Records of United States Army Continental Commands, 

1821–1920, RG 393, are records of the military district that included Mississippi. Records 

relating to employment and welfare of freedmen and abandoned property before the 

establishment of the Bureau are among Records of Civil War Special Agencies of the 

Treasury Department, RG 366. The records of the Freedman’s Savings and Trust 

Company, 1865–1874, in Records of the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, RG 

101, contain information relating to former slaves who maintained accounts with bank 

branches in Mississippi. 
10

CONTENTS 

ROLL DESCRIPTION DATES

1 OFFICE OF THE GENERAL SUPERINTENDENT OF FREEDMEN

Letters Sent by John Eaton, General Superintendent of Contrabands

The single volume of letters sent by Col. John Eaton, general superintendent of 

contrabands, spans the period February–December 1863. Volume (74) is arranged 

chronologically. The letters dated February–August and December 1863 are from 

Memphis, TN, and those dated September–November 1863 are mostly from 

Vicksburg, MS. The volume has a name index.

 Volume (74) Feb.–Dec. 1863 

Orders and Circulars Issued and Received

Unbound orders and circulars issued and received, October 1863–May 1865, are 

arranged chronologically. Many of the orders are from subordinate officers.

 Oct. 1863–May 1865 

Miscellaneous Reports from Subordinate and Staff Officers

Unbound miscellaneous reports from subordinate and staff officers, December 1863–

July 1865, are arranged by type of report and thereunder chronologically. The records 

include operations reports, reports of expenditures, ration reports, reports of teachers 

and missionaries serving in the areas, and reports of permits granted at Lake 

Providence, LA.

 Dec. 1863–July 1865 

2 Records on Renting and Leasing of Abandoned Property

Unbound records of renting and leasing of abandoned property for the period 1863–65 

are arranged by type of record. The records include reports of leased plantations giving 

the names of the lessees, the names of the plantations, the number of freedmen 

employed, and the number of acres under cultivation; lists or rolls of freedmen on 

plantations; reports of the examination of rolls of freedmen; bonds of planters; 

accounting records relating to payment of freedmen; applications to rent abandoned 

property; assignments of houses to officers of the Freedmen’s Department; reports of 

rented property; reports of property occupied for military purposes; and reports of 

rents received.

 1864–65 

3 Records on Renting and Leasing (cont.) 1864–65 

4 Records on Renting and Leasing (cont.) 1863–65 

Register of Contracts

The single-volume register of contracts, February–September 1865 (287), is arranged 

chronologically.

 Volume (287) Feb.–Sept. 1865 
11

ROLL DESCRIPTION DATES

4 Registers of Rations Issued to Freedmen and Planters

(cont.) The two volumes of registers of rations issued to freedmen and planters, 1865–1866, 1 

(286) and 2 (288), are arranged by “freedmen” and “planters.” “Freedmen” entries are 

arranged chronologically, and “planters” entries are arranged alphabetically by initial 

letter of the surname of the planter. Volume 1 (286) also contains a few special orders 

issued by the provost marshal general of freedmen that are duplicated in volume 75 of 

the special orders issued (May 1864–June 1865) described below. The Bureau created 

the 1866 entries.

 Volume 1 (286) 1865–66 

 Volume 2 (288) 1865

Lists of Pupils in Schools at Vicksburg

The single volume of lists of pupils in schools at Vicksburg, January–May 1865 (289), 

is arranged chronologically. The amount of tuition paid is shown. The volume also 

contains a numerical listing of the “number of pupils in the colored schools of the 

District of Vicksburg,” January–May 1865, arranged by month and thereunder by 

town.

 Volume (289) Jan.–May 1865 

Register of Freedmen

The single-volume register of freedmen is undated, unnumbered, and arranged 

alphabetically by initial letter of the surname of the freedman. The entries give the 

name, age, and former occupation of the freedman and name and residence of the 

former owner. The volume is marked “Virginia,” but the listed freedmen are from 

Tennessee, Mississippi, and Alabama.

 Volume (Unnumbered) Undated 

Register of Rations Issued

The single-volume register of rations issued, January–October 1864 (76), is arranged 

by station and thereunder chronologically. The entries in the volume include the 

number of destitute or employed men, women, and children issued rations.

 Volume (76) Jan.–Oct. 1864 

Miscellaneous Records

Unbound miscellaneous records, 1863–65, are arranged by type of record. The records 

include a few letters received by John Eaton, trimonthly and weekly returns of officers 

and freedmen in the Freedmen’s Department, oaths of allegiance, evidences of 

amnesty, and a few contracts. 

 1863–65 

5 OFFICES OF STAFF OFFICERS 

 Assistant Superintendent of Freedmen (Provost Marshal of Freedmen) 

Register of Letters Received

The single-volume register of letters received, January–June 1865 (73), is arranged 

chronologically and has a name index. Entries in the volume include endorsements.

 Volume (73) Jan.–June 1865 
12

ROLL DESCRIPTION DATES

5 Letters Received 

(cont.) Unbound letters received, June–November 1864, are arranged chronologically.

 June–Nov. 1864 

Special Orders Issued 

The volume of special orders issued, May 1864–June 1865 (75), is arranged by year 

and thereunder in chronological order and numbered.

 Volume (75) May 1864–June 1865 

Medical Director and Inspector of Freedmen 

Letters Sent and Orders Issued by the Medical Director

The single volume of letters sent and orders issued by the medical director, March 

1864–June 1865 (296), is arranged chronologically. 

 Volume (296) Mar. 1864–June 1865 

Letters Received by the Medical Director

Unbound letters received by the medical director, February 1864–June 1865, are 

arranged alphabetically by initial letter of the surname of the correspondent.

 Feb. 1864–June 1865 

Registers of Patients

The two volumes of registers of patients, 1 (292) and 2 (294), cover the period August 

1863–July 1864. Vol. 1 (292) is apparently a register of patients at Prentiss Hospital, 

Vicksburg, and Vol. 2 (294) is a register of patients at Freedmen’s Hospital Number 2 

in Vicksburg. Both are arranged numerically. Volume 1 (292) also contains 

miscellaneous lists and morning reports dated December 1863–February 1864.

 Volume 1 (292) Aug. 1863–July 1864 

 Volume 2 (294) Jan. 1864 

Morning Reports of Freedmen’s Hospitals in Department

The three volumes of morning reports of freedmen’s hospitals, 1 (291), 2 (298), and 3 

(299), cover the period February 1864–October 1865. Volume 1 (291) consists of 

reports (March 1864–May 1865) from a hospital at Milliken’s Bend, LA, until May 

13, 1864, when it was moved to Island 102 and was known as Freedmen’s General 

Hospital Number 2, Branch 2. Volume 2 (298) seems to be reports of Freedmen’s 

General Hospital, Vicksburg (February 1864–October 1865). Volume 3 (299) includes 

reports (March 1864–July 1865) from the following hospitals: Branch 1 at Goodrich’s 

Landing, Branch 2 at Parks Camp, and Branch 6 at Davis Bend. They are arranged by 

time period and then by name of hospital.

 Volume 1 (291) Mar. 1864–May 1865 

 Volume 2 (298) Feb. 1864–Oct. 1865 

 Volume 3 (299) Mar. 1864–July 1865 
13

ROLL DESCRIPTION DATES

5 Register of Requisitions for Medicines and Supplies

(cont.) The single-volume register of requisitions for medicines and supplies is dated 1863 

(301). The volume is arranged for the most part alphabetically by name of supply. The 

entries appear to be items requisitioned at Prentiss Hospital. The volume also contains 

a list of names and prescriptions for the sick and wounded at various hospitals dated 

April–August 1865.

 Volume (301) 1863