NU MBER 1l 7,J UN., 1977

Mr. Peckh am's appointment.Duan e D ied ridl, a uoVCTnoT, TCffi'\nded. cn c

'6u.<:.""t..~ t.."'-"A.~ l " eli ';).."-a ah.o t~ id a c latm o n th ePeckhams and presented two cer tificates to themsigned by th e Governor of Indiana appointingthem "Sagamores of the \Vabash : ' Dr. T homasCross, a Governor, presented to the Peckham sfrom the Board an early book on wh aling, spe­cia lly bound and boxed by Jan~es Craven w ith apiece of scri mshaw inset in th e morocco cover

designed by Susa n San ford.1\1r. Peckham thanked h is ho sts and hostesses

for a memorable occas ion and assured bo th theBoard and th e Commi ttee of hi s warm regardfor the ir counsel and help through th e years. H erecalled that he first became acquainted withthe Clements Library as a stude nt when it wassix years old, and now it is 54.

H udson Panorama

ALT HOUG H As a R ule the library d oes not collec tmere curiosit ies. of which many h ave been pro­duced by inventive minus in th e p rin t ing fra­ternity over the years, the Associa tes Board haspurchased a del ightful oddity. .

Anticipating sales among the thousands of m­habitants and tourists who p at ronized H udsonRiver steamers, W illiam Ward published a Pall ­orama of th e H udson R iver in 1845. Its di men­sion s are six in ches wid e b y twelve feet longl O nsix p ieces of pa per pasted together are .en gravedone inch hi gh con tin uous views of the r rvcr fro mNew York to Albany and back. T he artist hadto take consid erable license with the scale (u nin­teresting sections of the shoreli ne ar e shor tened) ;i t shows all natural phenomena, homes, boat­ho u ses, and even hi stori cal sites. Sho uld anyAssociates have a particular in terest O[ knowled geof the Hudson R iver , th e sta ff would he deli gh tedto show off thi s fascinating item .

role of th e Cleme n ts Library when he came here,...1, .:::. C<:>~"IX'L," t..~<a' "" 9R.'3..\:cl :-... {O~ ':>.. n.e.vJ' d ;.\:e.c:.:.to'r. a n rt

uartoThe

' UED QUARTERLY FOR THE CLEMENT S LIBRARY ASSOCIATES

) [ ORE THAN 200 Associates a nd friend s ga theredon ftp'('\ \ 'S \.Q ou';,t"t"e. "£Qun.IlIi:.:n. 't) " "i 'il..u.d. \:";'<1

~b'le to th e Di rector an d Mrs. Peckham. Aschairman of the Committee of ~Ianagement.

President Fleming presid ed. Dr. William B." 'i llcox , ed itor of th e Benjamin Franklin paper s,fanner cha irman of the U n iversity of Mi ch iganH istory Department, was the speaker . UsingaUlObiob'Taphy, Dr. Willcox gave a mem orabletribute to 1\.1r. Peckham as he related th e im­portance of the Clements Li brary in his own

scho larly career.~Ir. Fleming called on J ames Schoff of New

York, one of the Governors of the Associa tes.:\[1'. Schoff anno unced that the Board of Gov­ernors had commissioned a portrait to be pa intedof Mr. Peckham as a gif t to th e Library to markhis ad min istration. Robert Bri ggs. chairm an ofthe Board, unveiled it. The artist is J oseph~ [aniscalco of Detro it. Mr. Flem ing then called

on the d irector.Mr. Peckham ex pressed his own and Mrs,

Peckham' s thanks for th e honor of th e d ay. H epa id tribute to th e presidents and vice p residentsunder wh om he had served for their sensitivityto the needs and val ues represen ted by th is Li­brary, to the very com peten t and dedicated stafffor their services. and to hi s 'wife who shared hi sinterest in Am er ican h istory and had shared hi m

with the Library.T ea a nd a socia l hour followed th e formal

program.Thai night the Board of Governors and Com­

mittee of "Managemen t dined at Ingli s H ouse.Robert Briggs, who had arranged most of theday's fest ivit ies, presided . Professor J ohn Shy ofth e Commit tee of Managemen t offer ed toasts tothe Peckh am s a fter an amusing re sume of toast­ing history_ Former Presid ent H arlan H atcherspoke of the University's re-examination of the

THE CLEMENTS LIBRARY ASSOCIATESof The University of Michigan

BOARD OF GOVERNORS

(Appoin ted by the Regents of the University)

Xlrs. Noyes L. Avery, Jr., Grand RapidsCarl W. Bonbright, FlintEdward W . Bowen, Bay CityRobert P. Briggs, Elk Rapids, CHAIRMAN

C. E. Frazer Clark, J r., Bloomfield HillsBly Corning, FlintThomas N. Cross, Ann ArborDuane N . Diedrich, Muncie) Ind.'Villiam C. Finkenstaedt, DetroitHarlan H. Hatcher, Ann ArborJames M . Klancnik, ChicagoJames S. Schoff, New YorkRoy M. Tolleson, Jr., DetroitXlrs. David F. Upton, St . JosephLee D. van Antwerp, Northbrook, Ill .John C. Dann, Director of the

Library, SECRETARY

Haunh orne on Manuscripts

T H F.R£ Is A tangible aesthetic reward in readingmanuscripts. For today's scholars, inundated withprinted words and microforms, there is a rele­vancy to Na tha niel Hawthorne's words: "To givethem their full effect, we should imagine thatth ese letters have this moment been brought totown by the splashed and wayworn post rider, orperhaps by an orderly dragoon, who has riddenin a perilous hurry to deliver his dispatches.They are magic scrolls, if read in the right spirit.The roll of the drum and the fanfare of thetrumpet is latent in some of them; and in others,an echo of the oratory that resounded in the oldhalls of the Continental Congress, at Philadel­phia ; or the words may come to us as with theliving utterance of one of those illustrious men,speaking face to face, in friendly communion.Strange, that the mere identity of paper and ink

should be so powerful. The same thoughts milook cold and ineffectual in a printed boos,

Human nature craves a certain materialism, aDIfclings pertinaciously to what is tangible, as ­that were of more importance than the spiriaccidentally involved in it. And, in truth, thf­original manuscript has always something whidir.print itself must inevitably lose . An erasure, C'""C:Il.

a blot, a casual irregularity of hand, and all suc::iil:

little imperfections of mechanical execurioe,bring us close to the writer, and perhaps COD"-ev

some of those subtle intimations for which Iae­guage has no shape."

Board of Gou cmors

AT THE MEETING of the Board on April 15noon, the secretary made a report on a trialmailing to attract new members. It showed tv..-e lve

acceptances. The Board considered other meth­ods of promoting membership. The purchase oi.a scarce Parliamentary act of 1650 prohibitingAmerican trade and a pamphlet, engraving, a ndmanuscript orderly book described elsewhere inthis issue was approved. The Board also d is­cussed final plans for the day's activities.

Mnnuscript Journal

A FAITHFUL l\JIC]{lGAN alumnus, Oliver P . Gr05rvenor of Natick, Mass.. brought us a series ofearly nineteenth-century famil y letters some yeanback, Returning for his sixty-sixth reunion at

the Engineering School this spring, he broughtus another treasure.

Almon Wheeler (1798- 1837), father of theU ,5. Vice President under Hayes, set out fromMalone, New York, in a gig for Boston in 1826.Mr. Grosvenor has given us the well-written.thoughtful diary which Wheeler kept on hi stravels through the White Mountains of NewHampshire to Portland, Maine. He was thereon July 4, 1826, the fiftieth anniversary of Inde­pendence, and notes that "many got drunk."

Passing through Saco and Kennebunk Harbors,he learned at Portsmouth of John Adams' deathand comments at length on its symbolic signifi­cance (the news of Jefferson's simultaneous de­mise took several days to reach New England).

'''''heeler kept to th e coast through Greenfield,Hampton Beach, Newb ur yport , and Boston, andhe returned by way of the Shaker Village atLebanon, N .Y. The journal is a fine addition to

our small but growing collection of manuscriptAmerican tr avel literature.

Staff Change

As A RESULT of Mr. Peckham's moving up hisretirement date a few weeks, John C. Dann hasassumed the responsibilities of director. He wasappointed by the Board of Regents.

His promotion left vacant his former positionas curator of manuscripts. The assistant curator,Arlene P. Shy . who has worked in the divisionfor more than four years, has been made curator.

Douglas Marshall, curator of maps and news­papers, who has been on research leave in Englandfor four months, has returned to duty.

Marjorie Brunner, half-time receptionist andtypist for the last three years, will be leaving thelibrary on July 1st. She and her family will bein the Washington. D.C., area for the next year,where her husband, on leave from the PoliticalScience Department, will be working as a legis­lative aide to a member of the House of Repre­sentatives with a grant from the Council onForeign Relations. She has been the ideal em­ployee in every sense and will be greatly missed.

"[am up" Travel Account

LONG BEFORE H. L . Mencken published his classicstudy of The American Language (1919), nativeand foreign observers noted peculiarities in ourspeech. Origins of our distinctive pronunciationsand slang arc obscure. but regional differenceswere sufficient to make travel in nineteenth-cen­tury America a fascinating and sometimes bafflingexperience.

Rev. james L. Scott, a Seventh Day Baptist,journeyed through Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Iowa,and \Visconsin in 1842 and published his [ournalof a Missionorv Tour (Providence, R.I.) the suc­ceeding year. As an Easterner, he found "the'Vest" uncouth and uncivilized-speech in par­ticular.

-w-n I reckon"; I'm "tolerable"; "\Ve had apowerful rain yesterday"; " I can haul it"; " H eknows a heap"; "It was a jam up (good) dinner"such phrases, which, if not all commonplacetoday, would be intelligible throughout the coun­try, were new and upsetting to a Rhode Islander.At meauune, 'Scott was Iorced to eat "corndodgers" and "common doings," wheat breadand "chicken fixings," "pickled eggs," and"stewed crab-apples." He admitted that he oftenshut his eyes "while conveying the food to mymouth.'

Behind the bias of the author, however, lies afascinating picture of cultural development inthe middle West. The volume was obscurelypublished and is scarce. \Ve are indebted to Mr.and Mrs, Harry Towsley for making possible itspurchase.

Committee of Management

THE COMMlTI·EE ]'VfET on April 16 and heard areport on the Library's Bicentennial publicationsand discussed a royalty policy. James S. Schoffwas recommended to the Regents for anotherterm on the Committee. John C. Dann, the di­rector-elect, attended the meeting and announcedthat a grant had been received from the NationalEndowment for the Humanities for compilationof a new guide to the manuscript collections,and further that the G. K. Hall Co. of Bostonwished to publish it.

Louisiana

CONDITIONED By THE popular doctrine of the18,'10's that it was the " manifest destiny" of theUnited States to expand from the Atlantic tothe Pacific, American history textbooks give theimpression that territorial expansion was inevi­table. The Clements Library Associates pur­chased an exceedingly scarce pamphlet for us attheir April meeting which illustrates the fortui­tous nature of Jefferson's Louisiana Purchase.

George Orr was a perceptive British citizenwho observed France's takeover of Louisiana witha pprehension. In the Possession of Louisiana bythe French Considered (London, 1803). he warnsthat a Napoleonic stronghold in the continentalheartland of America would enable the Frenchto dominate the Gulf of Mexico, threaten theWest Indies, and exert a major influence in SouthAmerica. By implication he urged intervention,and it is not inconceivable that, had Francefortified the territory, the British might havereadily opened an American theater to the Anglo­French struggle.

Fortunately for the Americans, Napolean fore­saw the possibilities of entanglement in an Amer­ican struggle. Before he had even taken formalpossession of the terrrtory as supurated in theFranco-Spanish treaty of October, 1801. the Em­peror transmitted to U.S. envoy Robert E. Liv­ingston his willingness to sell. Jefferson had theforesight to purchase, and in so doing. he laidthe foundation for national weatness.

British Orderly Book

C ORNWALLIS \VAS FAR Too ambitious to be C0l14

tent merel y with hol d ing territory in South Caro­lin a a nd Georgia after the cap ture of Cha rles to non May 12. 1780. He app lied to his British super­iors a nd was granted permission to launch a noffensi ve campaign in pursuit of Horatio Gatesa nd Natha nael Greene. Cornwall is brilliant lyde fea ted Ga tes at Ca mde n on Aug ust 16. 1780.Although the Bri ti sh suffered losses at Kin gsXlountai n, Octob er 7, 1780, and Cowpens . J anu­ary )7. 1780, Cornwallis commanded a superiorforce agains t the ill eq ui pped Amer ican troopseven after the arriva l of th e able Na tha naelG reene as U.S. Southern com ma nder.

Through the generosity of th e Associates, theClements Li br ary has acq u ired an importantBritish orderly book ; it provides a da ily recordof th e prob'TCSS of Cornwa ll is' army from ShallowFord, N.C., to Petersburg, Va., Richmond, Han­over Co ur thouse , \Vill iamsburg, Jamestown, a ndacross the J ames R iver to Suffolk. At th a t pointth e jou rn al sto ps. Shortly afterwards, th e armywas tran spor ted to Yorktown, where, after a twomonth siege, Cornwallis surrendered.

Orderly books tend to be dull reading. butbehind th e dry en tries, this volume clearly sug­gests wh y Cor nwall is, seemingly on the attack,was in fact marching to defeat. Numerous ord ersre la te to th e plundering which so alienated evenwell-disposed citi zens. Morale wa s dan gerously10,,",' . Provi sions were increasingly scarce, a nd them an y sla ves ta ken up a nd enrolled by the armyas laborers were obv iously becoming a food-con­sum ing burden. T h is order ly book comp leme n tsth e Natha nael G reene Papers and th e Clinton­Cornwallis letterbooks a lready on th e libraryshe lves in documenting th e Sou the r n campaign.

flattle of Gettysburg

THE C IVIL \ VAR manuscrip t collect ions are be ing

rearrange d in prepara ti on for the new manu­scri p t guide. Th is task enta ils a m yriad of cleri caldeta ils, bu t it a lso provides a special pl easure­the redi scovery of a superb letter. Cornel ia Han­

cock , a you ng New J ersey Quakeress, had vol un­teered as a nurse. She arrived a t Gettysburg threedays a fter th e battle, a nd recorded her ex pe r iencein this remarka ble acco un t:

Gettysburg. Penn. July 7. 1 86~

My Dear Cousin,

I am very tired tonight. have been on th e fielda ll da y, went to th e 3rd Division 2nd Army Corps.1 suppose there are about 500 wounded be longingLO th e seco nd Army Corps. They have OIlC patchof woods devoted to each army cor ps (or a hos­pital. I being interested in 2nd Corps because\ Vill had been in i t, go t into one of its ambu­lances and went out at 8 this morning andcame in at 6 this even ing. T here arc no wordsin the English language to ex press the suffer­ings I witnessed today. The men lie on theground. T he ir clothes have been cut off the m todress their wounds. They are ha lf naked, havenoth ing hut hard tack to ea t on ly as san ita rvcommissions and Christi an associa tions and sofort h g ive them. I was th e first woman whoreached th e 2nd Corps a fter the 3 days figh t ofGettys burg. I was in tha t corps a ll day, not an­o the r woman within Y2 mile. I was in troduced toth e su rgeon s of the post, went anyw here throughthe corps and re ceived nothing but th e greates tpo lit eness from the lowest private. You can tellAu nt th at th ere is every opportuni ty for scceshsympath izers to do a good work amo ng th e but­ternuts. We have lots of th em her e sulferingfearfully. To give you some idea of th e exten tand number of the wounds, 1 surgc ons, none ofwhom were idle 15 minutes a t a time, were busyall day amp u tating legs and arms . I gave to cveryman th at had a leg or arm off a g ill o f wine, to

every wou nded man in 3rd di vision I g lass oflemonade, some bread a nd preserves a nd to bac co.As much as I am op posed to the la tt er they needit very m uch, th ey are so much ex ha usted. I fee lvery tha nkful tha t thi s was a successful battle.The spirit of the men is so high lo ts of poorfellows said today wha t was an arm to whippi ngLee out of Pennsylvania. I would ge t on firstrate i f they woul d not ask me to write to the irwives. T hat I can no t do without crying which is110t pleasa nt to ei ther par ty. I do not mi nd b looda bit, h ave seen ar ms and legs both taken off andwas not sick a t all .

\ Vornen arc needed here very badly, a nyonewho is will ing to go to field hosp ital s hut noth ingbu t a n order from Secretary Sta nton or Ge nera lI falleck will let you th rough the lines. ... Ifyou could mail me a newsp aper it would be agreat sat isfactio n as we do not ge t th e news hereand th e sold iers are so anxio us to hear. Thingswill be d iffere n t here in a short t im e.