James F. Overholser Papers (MS-5)

The James F. Overholser Diaries and Letters collection consists of three series. The first series is comprised of various diaries and a work account book that belonged to James Overholser. The second series contains manuscripts and transcripts written by James Overholser and a battlefield map that was drawn by him. The third series contains letters to James Overholser’s family and a copy of “Just before the Battle, Mother.” This collection is held in one Hollinger box and has seven file folders.

Series I: Diaries, is made up of three file folders containing a total of five diaries. The diaries include entries from January 1862 to June 1865, as well as work account notes and other financial notes dating between 1861 and 1869.

Series II: Manuscripts and Transcripts, is made up of three file folders. The first folder contains “Extracts from the Diary of a Private Soldier in the War of the Rebellion in 1861 to 1865…” which is a handwritten manuscript of James F. Overholser, and was written after the war. The second file folder in the series holds a penciled map of a battlefield along the Memphis and Charleston Railroad. The exact location is not known, and the drawing was done by James F. Overholser. The third file folder in this series contains a typed transcript of the closing account of the James Overholser Civil War Manuscript.

Series III: Letters, is made up of two file folders, both of which contain letters to James “Crib” Burns and Mary Burns, of Preble County. The first folder contains 3 letters written by James F. Overholser to his Uncle “Crib” and Aunt Mary Burns, as well as a handwritten copy of “Just before the Battle, Mother,” which Overholser wrote while he was in a camp near Pocatalago, SC (January 25, 1865). The second folder contains 2 letters written by William A. Burns to his brother and sister-in-law James C. and Mary Burns.