Scope and Contents Letterbook consists of correspondence primarily to and from Seth Ledyard Phelps while commanding U.S. Navy gunboats on the western waters from 1861 to 1864. Correspondence contains accounts of naval operations mainly along the Mississippi, Tennessee, and Red Rivers, including the movement of gunboats to capture Forts Henry and Donelson, and operations during the Red River Campaign. The collection also contains extensive correspondence regarding repairs to the U.S.S....

Scope and Contents Collection consists primarily of correspondence to Admiral Porter from several high-ranking Union officers--including Generals Nathaniel P. Banks, Ulysses S. Grant, John A. McClernand, and William T. Sherman--regarding operations in the lower Mississippi River Valley. Collection contains accounts of the Yazoo River Expedition, the Arkansas Post Expedition, the Vicksburg Campaign, the siege of Jackson, Mississippi, and the Red River Campaign. Also contains information on gunboats and the...