About this Collection
The papers of laborer and Union soldier John Carvel Arnold (1833-1865) consist of 190 items (533 images) in one container and span the years 1856-1937, with the bulk dating from 1864 to 1874. The collection principally contains correspondence of Arnold with his wife, Mary Ann Arnold, during his Civil War service with Company I, 49th Pennsylvania Infantry Regiment, U.S. Army, relating chiefly to his views on the military situation in Virginia and Maryland (1864-1865), army rations and pay, the Confederates, Copperhead Democrats, family finances, and his wife's difficulties in maintaining a home and educating the children. Mary Ann Arnold was unable to write, thus none of the correspondence in the collection is in her own handwriting.
The collection also includes correspondence between Mary Ann Arnold and her children, Carrie E. Arnold, Edwin S. Arnold, Grant S. Arnold, Idabell Arnold, and Mary M. Arnold, dating primarily from the time of the children's attendance at the McAlisterville Soldiers' Orphan School in McAlisterville, Pennsylvania, following the Civil War.
Miscellaneous receipts, printed matter, and other papers represent the remaining items in the collection, which is organized by type of material.
A finding aid (PDF and HTML) to the John Carvel Arnold Papers is available online with links to the digital content on this site.