Calvin Benjamin Papers

A Finding Aid to the Collection in the Library of Congress

Prepared by Karen Linn Femia

Manuscript Division, Library of Congress

Washington, D.C.

2009

Contact information: http://lcweb.loc.gov/rr/mss/address.html

Finding aid encoded by Library of Congress Manuscript Division, 2009

Finding aid URL: http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.mss/eadmss.ms009075

Table of Contents

Collection Summary

Selected Search Terms

Personal Names

Organizations

Subjects

Locations

Occupations

Administrative Information

Provenance:

Processing History:

Copyright Status:

Access and Restrictions:

Preferred Citation:

Scope and Content Note

Arrangement of the Papers

Container List

Collection Summary

Selected Search Terms

The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in the Library's online catalog. They are grouped by name of person or organization, by subject or location, and by occupation and listed alphabetically therein.

Administrative Information

The papers of Calvin Benjamin, United States Army officer, were given to the Library of Congress by Martha J. Andrew in 1998.

The papers of Calvin Benjamin were arranged and described in 1999. The finding aid was revised in 2009.

The status of copyright in the unpublished writings of Calvin Benjamin is governed by the Copyright Law of the United States (Title 17, U.S.C.).

The papers of Calvin Benjamin are open to research. Researchers are advised to contact the Manuscript Reading Room prior to visiting. Many collections are stored off-site and advance notice is needed to retrieve these items for research use.

Researchers wishing to cite this collection should include the following information: Container number, Calvin Benjamin Papers, Manuscript Division, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.

Scope and Content Note

The papers of Calvin Benjamin (died 1847) span the years circa 1838-1882 with the bulk of the material dating from 1843 to 1851. The papers consist of correspondence and transcribed excerpts and notes on the correspondence of Calvin and Judson Benjamin.

Calvin Benjamin graduated from the United States Military Academy at West Point, New York, in 1842 and began working with the United States Coast Survey on the Chesapeake Bay. His correspondence includes a fragment of a letter from West Point and two letters written while he was assigned to the Coast Survey. The bulk of his correspondence concerns Benjamin's service as a lieutenant under General Zachary Taylor during the invasion of Mexico, 1846-1847. Benjamin's letters to his parents and his brother Isaac in Indiana provide detailed descriptions of battles, his daily experiences, and his impressions of Mexico. Benjamin was killed at Chapultepec during the assault on Mexico City in 1847.

The papers include letters written by Calvin Benjamin's brother, Judson, also written to their brother Isaac or their parents. After attending Brown University in the 1840s, Judson Benjamin went into the Baptist ministry and with his wife, Susan, served as a missionary in Burma, circa 1849-circa 1851. Most of his letters are from Burma and describe their daily life, spiritual concerns, health problems, and the death of their child.

Arrangement of the Papers

This collection is arranged alphabetically by type of material.

Container List