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Went to the South Carolinana Library Manuscripts Department at the University of South Carolina, Columbia and I got to examine the original letters of Captain Screven of the 18th Georgia Battalion, a.k.a the Savannah Volunteer Guards, it was quite a thrill and I was provided a list of the available letters, courtesy of Mr. Graham Duncan and is reprinted here with his permission. Most of these letters have never been fully transcribed, lots of unknown information contained within, if anyone needs anything specific, let me know.
Calendar to Screven Family Papers at South Caroliniana Library
Creator:
Screven family.
Title: Screven family papers, 1855-1870.
Extent:
50 items (1 letter size document box).
Background:
James Proctor Screven (1799-1859), born in Bluffton, S.C.,
was an 1817 graduate of South Carolina College and the
University of Pennsylvania Medical College at Philadelphia
(1820). He served as a Georgia state senator,
superintendent of Savannah Water Works (1855), mayor of
Savannah (elected in 1856), president of the Savannah,
Albany, and Gulf Railway, and captain of the Savannah
Volunteer Guards. James Screven was also a successful rice
planter, owning lands on Wilmington and Tybee Islands near
Savannah, Ga., as well as Ceylon and Brewton Hill
plantations on the Georgia mainland in Chatham County, Ga.
Thomas Forman Screven (1834-1913), son of J.P. Screven,
graduated from University of Georgia (1852) and Savannah
Medical College (1858); TFS took over the family's
planting interests after his father's death in 1859; as a
member of the Savannah Volunteer Guards, he was promoted
in 1863 to captain of Company B, a position he held
throughout the Civil War. This company, as part of the
18th Battalion, Georgia Infantry, participated in the
defense of Charleston Harbor (Aug.-Sept. 1863), siege of
Petersburg (June 1864-Apr. 1865), and the battle of
Sayler's Creek (6 Apr. 1865) and surrendered at Appomattox
Court House (9 Apr. 1865). T.F. Screven served as captain
of Co. B of the Savannah Volunteer Guards until 1883;
Screven was elected and served as sheriff of Chatham
County, Ga., fromn 1906 until his death in 1913.
T.F. Screven married twice: in 1860, to Adelaide (Ade) Van
Dyke Moore (1836-1864) the daughter of physician Richard
D. Moore of Athens, Ga.; and in 1866, to Sallie Lloyd
Buchanan, the daughter of noted Confederate admiral
Franklin Buchanan (1800-1874).
Summary:
Chiefly correspondence between Thomas Screven and his
first wife Adelaide or Ade during his Confederate military
service. Earliest items consist of letters from J.P.
Screven to his son, T.F. Forman: letter, 13 Dec. 1855,
Milledgeville, Ga., requesting that TFF send the buggy to
meet him at the train depot upon his return home
[possiblyly written during a visit to his wife, Georgia
Screven, an imate at the Georgia Lunatic Asylum]; letter
22 Jan. 1856, re financial matters to be handled by John,
his eldest son, granting permission for Thomas to
"cultivate an aquaintance with Miss Jones," and reluctance
to allow his daughter, Ada, to travel to Florida due to
the cold weather.
Letters of Thomas F. Screven to wife, Ade, discuss his
Confederate military service, including bombardment of
areas in and around city of Charleston, S.C. (Fort Sumter,
Battery Marion, Shell Point, and Cummings Point) by Union
forces on Morris Island; duels in Augusta, Ga., and
Alabama; religious activities within the army; blockade
runners seen in the vicinity of Charleston Harbor, S.C.,
and Wilmington, N.C.; scarcity of Confederate currency;
troop movements; deserters on James Island, S.C.;
ScrevenScreven's hesitancy in bringing his slave Quash
with him to Virginia; visits to homes of residents in
Amelia County, Va., where he was entertained with ice
cream and sheep head soup; transfer of Union prisoners of
war to Andersonville, Ga.; and military action on
Whitmarsh Island near Savannah, Ga.
Letters of Adelaide Moore Screven discuss life on the
homefront in Savannah, Ga., and later in Athens, Ga.,
during winter of 1863-1864 when AMS moved in with her
parents; topics include news of life for the family living
in the vicinity of Savannah and Athens, Ga.; her letters
document the health of their young children, Richard
(identified by nickname, Dixie) and John, and her efforts
to keep Thomas supplied with clothing and food; several
letters of July 1864 discuss the death of Fidelia, the
youngest sister of Ade, from complications associated
with catarrh, and other health matters, including letter,
21 Sept. 1861, re sickness of Julia, a slave described as
"my playmate as a child"; other letters sent to AMS
include description of a visit to the Mills House Hotel in
Charleston, S.C.
Later letters discuss emancipation of the Screven family's
African American slaves; social unrest and violence during
Reconstruction, including murders in vicinity of Athens,
Ga.; and letter, 21 July 1870, Mobile, Ala., from Franklin
Buchanan, Admiral of the Confederate Navy, to Capt. Thomas
F. Screven re his wish to send his family to the Florida
springs for salt water bathing, occurrence of whooping
cough at his estate in Maryland, and comment on the Franco
-Prussian War in Europe.
Cite as:
Screven Family Papers, South Caroliniana Library,
University of South Carolina.
Finding aids:
Calendar to the papers, related financial information,
excerpts from the U.S. Census, and notes recorded during
processing this collection housed in the first folder;
envelopes filed in last folder.
Dates, Locations, and Topics of Letters
ALS = autographed letter signed
n.d. = no date
ALS, 13 Dec. 1855, Milledgeville, [Georgia], J[ames] P[roctor] Screven, to his son T[homas] F[orman] Screven (re: his desire for Thomas to send a buggy to meet him at the depot for the return home.)
ALS, 22 Jan. 1856, Milledgeville, [Georgia], J[ames] P[roctor] Screven, to T[homas] F[orman] Screven (re: financial matters that are to be handled by his oldest son John, his permission for Thomas to “cultivate a acquaintance with Miss Jones,” and his unwillingness to let his daughter Ada travel to Florida on account of the cold weather.)
ALS, 21 Sept. 1861, Savannah, [Georgia], Ada Screven, to her sister-in-law Ade[laide Van Dyke Moore Screven] (re: military assignments of various mutual friends and the sickness of a slave, Julia, that the writer describes as “my play-mate when a child.”)
ALS, 29 Nov. [1861], [Charleston, SC], [Clementina] “Clemmy” [Hanson McAllister] Morris to Mrs. [Elizabeth] Moore and Ade, [Athens, GA] (re: her recent marriage to Capt. [Charles Manigault] Morris and their stay in the Mill’s House in Charleston.)
ALS, 23 Aug. [1863], Sav[anna]h, [Georgia], Ade M[oore] Screven, to her husband [Capt. Thomas Forman Screven, Charleston, South Carolina] (re: her decision to remain in Savannah during the upcoming winter.)
ALS, 25 Aug. 1863, Savannah, [Georgia], J[ohn] S[creven], to his brother Thomas [Forman] [Screven] (re: the siege of Charleston, the inadequate defenses surrounding Savannah, and Thomas’ wife Ade’s move to Athens.)
ALS, [c. 25 Aug. 1863], E[lizabeth] Moore to her son-in-law [Capt. Thomas Forman Screven, Charleston, SC] (re: peaches and pears she wishes to send him, hams and catsup she will send Ade, Fid’s confirmation, and her desire that Ade return home.)
ALS, 12 Feb. [1864], Athens, [Georgia], A[de] M[oore] S[creven], to [Capt. Thomas Forman Screven, Charleston, South Carolina] (re: food sent to him, including a “real confederate cake,” return of the state troops, and the possibility of her father going to live in the country.)
ALS, 14 Feb. [1864], Athens, [Georgia], A[de] M[oore] S[creven], to [Capt. Thomas Forman Screven, Charleston, South Carolina] (re: various family matters; includes violets picked by their son Richard “Dixie” Screven.)
ALS, 30 April 1864, Battery Marion, [Sullivan’s Island, South Carolina], T[homas] F[orman] S[creven] to his wife Ade (re: his brother John’s recent visit, during which they spent a night in Charleston on “a soft mattress and nice, clean sheets,” the shelling of Fort Sumter, his duties compared to those of soldiers stationed on James Island, his brother George going to superintend rice planting, a duel recently fought in Augusta between Major Miller and a man discharged from the army, and his desire for his wife to take glasses of wine or lager beer with lunch and dinner in order to give her more “strength and appetite.”)
ALS, 8 May 1864, Battery Marion, T[homas] F[orman] S[creven] to his wife Ade (re: his wife’s recent visit to the country, his attending church in the one shared by all denominations on the island, General Longstreet being wounded in Virginia, and the feasibility of defending Richmond.)
ALS, 10 May 1864, Battery Marion, T[homas] F[orman] S[creven] to his wife Ade, Athens, Georgia (re: recent Confederate successes, the shelling of the city of Charleston, Fort Sumter, Battery Marion, Shell Point, and Cumming’s Point, a duel fought in Mobile between Dr. Garrett and a quartermaster, his duties as field officer of the day, steamers running the blockade from Charleston, and the scarcity of Confederate currency.)
ALS, 13 May 1864, Battery Marion, T[homas] F[orman] S[creven] to his wife Ade, Athens, Georgia (re: the shelling of Fort Sumter by the Morris Island batteries and two monitors, Confederate currency, a Confederate officer injured by the firing of his own cannon, and deserters from James Island.)
ALS, 15 May 1864, Battery Marion, T[homas] F[orman] S[creven] to his wife Ade (re: the shelling of Fort Sumter, Confederate shelling of the Morris Island batteries, his recent trip to Charleston to buy fabric, shoes, and gloves for her and the children, and the death of Confederate general J.E.B. Stuart.)
ALS, 15 May 1864, Savannah, Georgia, W. Woodbridge (re: his sending the recipient 400 dollars and 6 bushels of salt for Mrs. Screven by request of Dr. Screven.)
ALS, 20 May 1864, Florence, [South Carolina], T[homas] F[orman] S[creven] to his wife Ade (re: his transfer out of Charleston by train and eventual move to Richmond, Virginia.)
ALS, 22 May 1864, on railroad between Weldon and Petersburg, [Virginia], T[homas] F[orman] S[creven] to his wife Ade (re: his trip from Florence, his hesitation about bringing his slave Quash to Virginia with him, and blockade running steamers in Wilmington harbor.)
ALS, 22 May [1864], Athens, [Georgia], A[de] M[oore] S[creven] to her husband [Thomas Forman Screven] (re: family matters, shirts made for him, and her father attending to Mrs. Hunter.)
ALS, 24 May 1864, Mattoax Bridge, Virginia., T[homas] F[orman] S[creven] to his wife [Mrs. T.F. Screven, Athens, Georgia] (re: his new duty guarding two bridges crossing the Appomattox River.)
ALS, 25 May 1864, Mattoax Bridge, Virginia, T[homas] F[orman] S[creven] to his wife Ade (re: his battalion guarding two railroad bridges and a highway bridge which cross the Appomattox River on the Richmond-Danville Railroad about 27 miles from Richmond, a detachment of the 9th Virginia regiment which suffered heavy losses at Gettysburg that Screven’s men relieved, and his quarters in an empty railroad car.)
ALS, 27 May 1864, Mattoax, Amelia Co., Virginia, T[homas] F[orman] S[creven] to his wife [Mrs. T.F. Screven, Athens, Georgia] (re: couples in Virginia being married with military certificates rather than by “parsons” and his recent visit to a farmhouse looking for buttermilk.)
ALS, 30 May 1864, Mattoax, Virginia, T[homas] F[orman] S[creven] to his wife Ade (re: his despair over not building a house of their own before the outbreak of the war, walking five miles to a nearby Episcopal church and falling asleep during the services, a battle near Hanover Junction the day before, and clothes he needs for summer.)
ALS, 2 June [1864], Athens, [Georgia], A[de] M[oore] S[creven] to her husband, [Capt. Thomas Forman Screven, Mattoax Station, Virginia] (re: his new assignment and family matters.)
ALS, 6 June [1864], Athens, [Georgia], A[de] M[oore] S[creven] to her husband, [Capt. Thomas Forman Screven, Mattoax Station, Virginia] (re: family matters.)
ALS, 9 June 1864, Mattoax, Amelia Co., Virginia, T[homas] F[orman] S[creven] to his wife [Mrs. T.F. Screven, Athens, Georgia] (re: dining with ladies at Mr. Haskin’s where they had ice cream and cake, his fear that communication with the south will be cut if Grant takes Petersburg, 1,000 Union prisoners passing his location presumably on their way to Andersonville where he says “they will die like sheep,” and his desire to receive a slight wound so as to return home.)
ALS, 11 June [1864], Athens, [Georgia], A[de] M[oore] S[creven] to her husband, [Capt. Thomas Forman Screven, Mattoax Station, Virginia] (re: her sister Fid’s illness and other family matters.)
ALS, 12 June 1864, Mattoax Station, Amelia Co., Virginia, T[homas] F[orman] S[creven] to his wife [Mrs. T.F. Screven, Athens, Georgia] (re: his recent visit to Dr. Tatum’s plantation, rations which had not arrived from Richmond, recent actions of Sheridan (presumably associated with Cold Harbor), a battle near Petersburg, the increase of men in his battalion from 175 to 220, and the afternoon “for colored ladies to make their appearance.”
ALS, 15 June [1864], Athens, [Georgia], A[de] M[oore] S[creven] to her husband, Tom [Screven] (re: her sister Fannie’s illness, Dixie’s new white rabbit, founding of a hospital in Athens, and rumors of enemy activity in Georgia.)
ALS, 16 June 1864, Mattoax, Amelia County, Virginia, T[homas] F[orman] S[creven] to his wife Ade (re: unreliability of the Richmond post office, military action on Whitmarsh Island near Savannah, removal of Union troops from Morris and Folly Islands, lack of able troops left to defend Savannah, rumors of Grant crossing to the bank of the James River, his wish that his company would be enlarged from 76 to 90 men, and another visit to Dr. Tatum’s where he had ice cream, cherry pie, and sheep head soup.)
ALS, 21 June [1864], Athens, [Georgia], A[de] M[oore] S[creven] to her husband [Capt. Thomas Forman Screven, Mattoax Station, Virginia] (re: family matters.)
ALS, 22 June [1864], Athens, [Georgia], A[de] M[oore] S[creven] to her husband [Capt. Thomas Forman Screven, Mattoax Station, Virginia] (re: his letters that finally reached her, Ben Screven receiving a wound in Virginia and being sent home, her fear of his being sent closer to Petersburg, and family matters.)
ALS, 24 June 1864, Savannah, [Georgia], John Screven to his sister-in-law Mrs. T[homas] F[orman] Screven, Athens, [Georgia] (re: her furniture in George’s house that he wishes to rent and telegraph lines being cut.)
ALS, 28 June [1864], Athens, [Georgia], A[de] M[oore] S[creven] to her husband Tom [Screven, Mattoax Station, Virginia] (re: family matters.)
ALS, 11 July [1864], Athens, [Georgia], Ade Screven to her husband [Capt. Thomas Forman Screven, Mattoax Station, Virginia] (re: her youngest sister Fid’s death.)
ALS, [Pmk. 12 July 1864], [Francis] “Fannie” [Moore] to her brother-in-law [Capt. Thomas Forman Screven, Mattoax Station, Virginia] (re: Fid’s death.)
ALS, 13 July 1864, Savannah, [Georgia], John Screven to his sister-in-law [Ade Screven] (re: his sorrow over Fid’s death.)
ALS, 13 July [1864], Athens, [Georgia], Ade [Screven] to her husband [Capt. Thomas Forman Screven, Mattoax Station, Virginia] (re: Fid’s death and burial.)
ALS, 13 July [1864], Athens, GA, Paulina Thomas to Capt. Thomas Screven (re: Fid’s death.)
ALS, 15 July [1864], Athens, [Georgia], Ade Screven to her husband [Capt. Thomas Forman Screven, Mattoax Station, Virginia] (re: her sister Fan’s illness, Fid’s death, and clothing sent to him.)
ALS, 16 July [1864], Silver Stream, C[lementina] M[cAllister] Morris to Ade [Screven] (re: Fid’s death.)
ALS, [July 1864], Fanny Easter to Ade [Screven], [Athens, Georgia] (re: her sorrow over Fid’s death.)
AL, [July 1864] to Ade [Screven] (re: Fid’s death.)
ALS, 10 Jan. 1865, Valdosta, [Georgia], Ellen B[uchanan] Screven to Ade [Screven] (re: Ellen and George Screven’s relocation to Valdosta from a plantation in Brooks county due to fears of a Union raid, Union occupation of Bryan county, fear of property destruction by the Union army, family matters, and Reconstruction meetings held at Thomasville.)
ALS, 13 July [1865], Athens, [Georgia], [Francis] “Fannie” [Moore] to [Dr. Thomas Forman Screven, Valdosta, GA] (re: freeing of the family’s slaves, the anniversary of Fid’s death, and murders committed in the area.)
ALS, 14 June 1870, Mobile, [Alabama], [Franklin Buchanan] to his daughter [Sallie Lloyd Buchanan Screven and her husband Thomas Forman Screven] (re: “Dixie” being sick, photographs he had painted and sent to his children, and family matters.)
ALS, 21 July 1870, Mobile, Ala., F[ranklin Buchanan] to [Capt. Thomas Forman Screven, Savannah, Georgia] (re: his desire that Sallie and the children be sent to the Florida springs for salt water bathing, whooping cough at “The Rest”, his estate in Talbot County, Maryland, his daughter “Nan’s” move to Oakland, and his opinion of the war in Europe.)
ALS, n.d., Emma Wray to Ade (re: fabric the writer has chosen to use to make shawls for Ade.)
ALS, n.d., Molly(?) to Adie [Screven] (re: her inability to visit Ade’s house the day before.)
ALS, 7 May, n.y., Athens, [Georgia], E. McAllister to Mr. [Thomas Forman] Screven, [Savannah, GA] (re: an upcoming change in her relationship to the family and her desire to continue in her role as caretaker for his boys.)
ALS, n.d., illegible.
Calendar to Screven Family Papers at South Caroliniana Library
Creator:
Screven family.
Title: Screven family papers, 1855-1870.
Extent:
50 items (1 letter size document box).
Background:
James Proctor Screven (1799-1859), born in Bluffton, S.C.,
was an 1817 graduate of South Carolina College and the
University of Pennsylvania Medical College at Philadelphia
(1820). He served as a Georgia state senator,
superintendent of Savannah Water Works (1855), mayor of
Savannah (elected in 1856), president of the Savannah,
Albany, and Gulf Railway, and captain of the Savannah
Volunteer Guards. James Screven was also a successful rice
planter, owning lands on Wilmington and Tybee Islands near
Savannah, Ga., as well as Ceylon and Brewton Hill
plantations on the Georgia mainland in Chatham County, Ga.
Thomas Forman Screven (1834-1913), son of J.P. Screven,
graduated from University of Georgia (1852) and Savannah
Medical College (1858); TFS took over the family's
planting interests after his father's death in 1859; as a
member of the Savannah Volunteer Guards, he was promoted
in 1863 to captain of Company B, a position he held
throughout the Civil War. This company, as part of the
18th Battalion, Georgia Infantry, participated in the
defense of Charleston Harbor (Aug.-Sept. 1863), siege of
Petersburg (June 1864-Apr. 1865), and the battle of
Sayler's Creek (6 Apr. 1865) and surrendered at Appomattox
Court House (9 Apr. 1865). T.F. Screven served as captain
of Co. B of the Savannah Volunteer Guards until 1883;
Screven was elected and served as sheriff of Chatham
County, Ga., fromn 1906 until his death in 1913.
T.F. Screven married twice: in 1860, to Adelaide (Ade) Van
Dyke Moore (1836-1864) the daughter of physician Richard
D. Moore of Athens, Ga.; and in 1866, to Sallie Lloyd
Buchanan, the daughter of noted Confederate admiral
Franklin Buchanan (1800-1874).
Summary:
Chiefly correspondence between Thomas Screven and his
first wife Adelaide or Ade during his Confederate military
service. Earliest items consist of letters from J.P.
Screven to his son, T.F. Forman: letter, 13 Dec. 1855,
Milledgeville, Ga., requesting that TFF send the buggy to
meet him at the train depot upon his return home
[possiblyly written during a visit to his wife, Georgia
Screven, an imate at the Georgia Lunatic Asylum]; letter
22 Jan. 1856, re financial matters to be handled by John,
his eldest son, granting permission for Thomas to
"cultivate an aquaintance with Miss Jones," and reluctance
to allow his daughter, Ada, to travel to Florida due to
the cold weather.
Letters of Thomas F. Screven to wife, Ade, discuss his
Confederate military service, including bombardment of
areas in and around city of Charleston, S.C. (Fort Sumter,
Battery Marion, Shell Point, and Cummings Point) by Union
forces on Morris Island; duels in Augusta, Ga., and
Alabama; religious activities within the army; blockade
runners seen in the vicinity of Charleston Harbor, S.C.,
and Wilmington, N.C.; scarcity of Confederate currency;
troop movements; deserters on James Island, S.C.;
ScrevenScreven's hesitancy in bringing his slave Quash
with him to Virginia; visits to homes of residents in
Amelia County, Va., where he was entertained with ice
cream and sheep head soup; transfer of Union prisoners of
war to Andersonville, Ga.; and military action on
Whitmarsh Island near Savannah, Ga.
Letters of Adelaide Moore Screven discuss life on the
homefront in Savannah, Ga., and later in Athens, Ga.,
during winter of 1863-1864 when AMS moved in with her
parents; topics include news of life for the family living
in the vicinity of Savannah and Athens, Ga.; her letters
document the health of their young children, Richard
(identified by nickname, Dixie) and John, and her efforts
to keep Thomas supplied with clothing and food; several
letters of July 1864 discuss the death of Fidelia, the
youngest sister of Ade, from complications associated
with catarrh, and other health matters, including letter,
21 Sept. 1861, re sickness of Julia, a slave described as
"my playmate as a child"; other letters sent to AMS
include description of a visit to the Mills House Hotel in
Charleston, S.C.
Later letters discuss emancipation of the Screven family's
African American slaves; social unrest and violence during
Reconstruction, including murders in vicinity of Athens,
Ga.; and letter, 21 July 1870, Mobile, Ala., from Franklin
Buchanan, Admiral of the Confederate Navy, to Capt. Thomas
F. Screven re his wish to send his family to the Florida
springs for salt water bathing, occurrence of whooping
cough at his estate in Maryland, and comment on the Franco
-Prussian War in Europe.
Cite as:
Screven Family Papers, South Caroliniana Library,
University of South Carolina.
Finding aids:
Calendar to the papers, related financial information,
excerpts from the U.S. Census, and notes recorded during
processing this collection housed in the first folder;
envelopes filed in last folder.
Dates, Locations, and Topics of Letters
ALS = autographed letter signed
n.d. = no date
ALS, 13 Dec. 1855, Milledgeville, [Georgia], J[ames] P[roctor] Screven, to his son T[homas] F[orman] Screven (re: his desire for Thomas to send a buggy to meet him at the depot for the return home.)
ALS, 22 Jan. 1856, Milledgeville, [Georgia], J[ames] P[roctor] Screven, to T[homas] F[orman] Screven (re: financial matters that are to be handled by his oldest son John, his permission for Thomas to “cultivate a acquaintance with Miss Jones,” and his unwillingness to let his daughter Ada travel to Florida on account of the cold weather.)
ALS, 21 Sept. 1861, Savannah, [Georgia], Ada Screven, to her sister-in-law Ade[laide Van Dyke Moore Screven] (re: military assignments of various mutual friends and the sickness of a slave, Julia, that the writer describes as “my play-mate when a child.”)
ALS, 29 Nov. [1861], [Charleston, SC], [Clementina] “Clemmy” [Hanson McAllister] Morris to Mrs. [Elizabeth] Moore and Ade, [Athens, GA] (re: her recent marriage to Capt. [Charles Manigault] Morris and their stay in the Mill’s House in Charleston.)
ALS, 23 Aug. [1863], Sav[anna]h, [Georgia], Ade M[oore] Screven, to her husband [Capt. Thomas Forman Screven, Charleston, South Carolina] (re: her decision to remain in Savannah during the upcoming winter.)
ALS, 25 Aug. 1863, Savannah, [Georgia], J[ohn] S[creven], to his brother Thomas [Forman] [Screven] (re: the siege of Charleston, the inadequate defenses surrounding Savannah, and Thomas’ wife Ade’s move to Athens.)
ALS, [c. 25 Aug. 1863], E[lizabeth] Moore to her son-in-law [Capt. Thomas Forman Screven, Charleston, SC] (re: peaches and pears she wishes to send him, hams and catsup she will send Ade, Fid’s confirmation, and her desire that Ade return home.)
ALS, 12 Feb. [1864], Athens, [Georgia], A[de] M[oore] S[creven], to [Capt. Thomas Forman Screven, Charleston, South Carolina] (re: food sent to him, including a “real confederate cake,” return of the state troops, and the possibility of her father going to live in the country.)
ALS, 14 Feb. [1864], Athens, [Georgia], A[de] M[oore] S[creven], to [Capt. Thomas Forman Screven, Charleston, South Carolina] (re: various family matters; includes violets picked by their son Richard “Dixie” Screven.)
ALS, 30 April 1864, Battery Marion, [Sullivan’s Island, South Carolina], T[homas] F[orman] S[creven] to his wife Ade (re: his brother John’s recent visit, during which they spent a night in Charleston on “a soft mattress and nice, clean sheets,” the shelling of Fort Sumter, his duties compared to those of soldiers stationed on James Island, his brother George going to superintend rice planting, a duel recently fought in Augusta between Major Miller and a man discharged from the army, and his desire for his wife to take glasses of wine or lager beer with lunch and dinner in order to give her more “strength and appetite.”)
ALS, 8 May 1864, Battery Marion, T[homas] F[orman] S[creven] to his wife Ade (re: his wife’s recent visit to the country, his attending church in the one shared by all denominations on the island, General Longstreet being wounded in Virginia, and the feasibility of defending Richmond.)
ALS, 10 May 1864, Battery Marion, T[homas] F[orman] S[creven] to his wife Ade, Athens, Georgia (re: recent Confederate successes, the shelling of the city of Charleston, Fort Sumter, Battery Marion, Shell Point, and Cumming’s Point, a duel fought in Mobile between Dr. Garrett and a quartermaster, his duties as field officer of the day, steamers running the blockade from Charleston, and the scarcity of Confederate currency.)
ALS, 13 May 1864, Battery Marion, T[homas] F[orman] S[creven] to his wife Ade, Athens, Georgia (re: the shelling of Fort Sumter by the Morris Island batteries and two monitors, Confederate currency, a Confederate officer injured by the firing of his own cannon, and deserters from James Island.)
ALS, 15 May 1864, Battery Marion, T[homas] F[orman] S[creven] to his wife Ade (re: the shelling of Fort Sumter, Confederate shelling of the Morris Island batteries, his recent trip to Charleston to buy fabric, shoes, and gloves for her and the children, and the death of Confederate general J.E.B. Stuart.)
ALS, 15 May 1864, Savannah, Georgia, W. Woodbridge (re: his sending the recipient 400 dollars and 6 bushels of salt for Mrs. Screven by request of Dr. Screven.)
ALS, 20 May 1864, Florence, [South Carolina], T[homas] F[orman] S[creven] to his wife Ade (re: his transfer out of Charleston by train and eventual move to Richmond, Virginia.)
ALS, 22 May 1864, on railroad between Weldon and Petersburg, [Virginia], T[homas] F[orman] S[creven] to his wife Ade (re: his trip from Florence, his hesitation about bringing his slave Quash to Virginia with him, and blockade running steamers in Wilmington harbor.)
ALS, 22 May [1864], Athens, [Georgia], A[de] M[oore] S[creven] to her husband [Thomas Forman Screven] (re: family matters, shirts made for him, and her father attending to Mrs. Hunter.)
ALS, 24 May 1864, Mattoax Bridge, Virginia., T[homas] F[orman] S[creven] to his wife [Mrs. T.F. Screven, Athens, Georgia] (re: his new duty guarding two bridges crossing the Appomattox River.)
ALS, 25 May 1864, Mattoax Bridge, Virginia, T[homas] F[orman] S[creven] to his wife Ade (re: his battalion guarding two railroad bridges and a highway bridge which cross the Appomattox River on the Richmond-Danville Railroad about 27 miles from Richmond, a detachment of the 9th Virginia regiment which suffered heavy losses at Gettysburg that Screven’s men relieved, and his quarters in an empty railroad car.)
ALS, 27 May 1864, Mattoax, Amelia Co., Virginia, T[homas] F[orman] S[creven] to his wife [Mrs. T.F. Screven, Athens, Georgia] (re: couples in Virginia being married with military certificates rather than by “parsons” and his recent visit to a farmhouse looking for buttermilk.)
ALS, 30 May 1864, Mattoax, Virginia, T[homas] F[orman] S[creven] to his wife Ade (re: his despair over not building a house of their own before the outbreak of the war, walking five miles to a nearby Episcopal church and falling asleep during the services, a battle near Hanover Junction the day before, and clothes he needs for summer.)
ALS, 2 June [1864], Athens, [Georgia], A[de] M[oore] S[creven] to her husband, [Capt. Thomas Forman Screven, Mattoax Station, Virginia] (re: his new assignment and family matters.)
ALS, 6 June [1864], Athens, [Georgia], A[de] M[oore] S[creven] to her husband, [Capt. Thomas Forman Screven, Mattoax Station, Virginia] (re: family matters.)
ALS, 9 June 1864, Mattoax, Amelia Co., Virginia, T[homas] F[orman] S[creven] to his wife [Mrs. T.F. Screven, Athens, Georgia] (re: dining with ladies at Mr. Haskin’s where they had ice cream and cake, his fear that communication with the south will be cut if Grant takes Petersburg, 1,000 Union prisoners passing his location presumably on their way to Andersonville where he says “they will die like sheep,” and his desire to receive a slight wound so as to return home.)
ALS, 11 June [1864], Athens, [Georgia], A[de] M[oore] S[creven] to her husband, [Capt. Thomas Forman Screven, Mattoax Station, Virginia] (re: her sister Fid’s illness and other family matters.)
ALS, 12 June 1864, Mattoax Station, Amelia Co., Virginia, T[homas] F[orman] S[creven] to his wife [Mrs. T.F. Screven, Athens, Georgia] (re: his recent visit to Dr. Tatum’s plantation, rations which had not arrived from Richmond, recent actions of Sheridan (presumably associated with Cold Harbor), a battle near Petersburg, the increase of men in his battalion from 175 to 220, and the afternoon “for colored ladies to make their appearance.”
ALS, 15 June [1864], Athens, [Georgia], A[de] M[oore] S[creven] to her husband, Tom [Screven] (re: her sister Fannie’s illness, Dixie’s new white rabbit, founding of a hospital in Athens, and rumors of enemy activity in Georgia.)
ALS, 16 June 1864, Mattoax, Amelia County, Virginia, T[homas] F[orman] S[creven] to his wife Ade (re: unreliability of the Richmond post office, military action on Whitmarsh Island near Savannah, removal of Union troops from Morris and Folly Islands, lack of able troops left to defend Savannah, rumors of Grant crossing to the bank of the James River, his wish that his company would be enlarged from 76 to 90 men, and another visit to Dr. Tatum’s where he had ice cream, cherry pie, and sheep head soup.)
ALS, 21 June [1864], Athens, [Georgia], A[de] M[oore] S[creven] to her husband [Capt. Thomas Forman Screven, Mattoax Station, Virginia] (re: family matters.)
ALS, 22 June [1864], Athens, [Georgia], A[de] M[oore] S[creven] to her husband [Capt. Thomas Forman Screven, Mattoax Station, Virginia] (re: his letters that finally reached her, Ben Screven receiving a wound in Virginia and being sent home, her fear of his being sent closer to Petersburg, and family matters.)
ALS, 24 June 1864, Savannah, [Georgia], John Screven to his sister-in-law Mrs. T[homas] F[orman] Screven, Athens, [Georgia] (re: her furniture in George’s house that he wishes to rent and telegraph lines being cut.)
ALS, 28 June [1864], Athens, [Georgia], A[de] M[oore] S[creven] to her husband Tom [Screven, Mattoax Station, Virginia] (re: family matters.)
ALS, 11 July [1864], Athens, [Georgia], Ade Screven to her husband [Capt. Thomas Forman Screven, Mattoax Station, Virginia] (re: her youngest sister Fid’s death.)
ALS, [Pmk. 12 July 1864], [Francis] “Fannie” [Moore] to her brother-in-law [Capt. Thomas Forman Screven, Mattoax Station, Virginia] (re: Fid’s death.)
ALS, 13 July 1864, Savannah, [Georgia], John Screven to his sister-in-law [Ade Screven] (re: his sorrow over Fid’s death.)
ALS, 13 July [1864], Athens, [Georgia], Ade [Screven] to her husband [Capt. Thomas Forman Screven, Mattoax Station, Virginia] (re: Fid’s death and burial.)
ALS, 13 July [1864], Athens, GA, Paulina Thomas to Capt. Thomas Screven (re: Fid’s death.)
ALS, 15 July [1864], Athens, [Georgia], Ade Screven to her husband [Capt. Thomas Forman Screven, Mattoax Station, Virginia] (re: her sister Fan’s illness, Fid’s death, and clothing sent to him.)
ALS, 16 July [1864], Silver Stream, C[lementina] M[cAllister] Morris to Ade [Screven] (re: Fid’s death.)
ALS, [July 1864], Fanny Easter to Ade [Screven], [Athens, Georgia] (re: her sorrow over Fid’s death.)
AL, [July 1864] to Ade [Screven] (re: Fid’s death.)
ALS, 10 Jan. 1865, Valdosta, [Georgia], Ellen B[uchanan] Screven to Ade [Screven] (re: Ellen and George Screven’s relocation to Valdosta from a plantation in Brooks county due to fears of a Union raid, Union occupation of Bryan county, fear of property destruction by the Union army, family matters, and Reconstruction meetings held at Thomasville.)
ALS, 13 July [1865], Athens, [Georgia], [Francis] “Fannie” [Moore] to [Dr. Thomas Forman Screven, Valdosta, GA] (re: freeing of the family’s slaves, the anniversary of Fid’s death, and murders committed in the area.)
ALS, 14 June 1870, Mobile, [Alabama], [Franklin Buchanan] to his daughter [Sallie Lloyd Buchanan Screven and her husband Thomas Forman Screven] (re: “Dixie” being sick, photographs he had painted and sent to his children, and family matters.)
ALS, 21 July 1870, Mobile, Ala., F[ranklin Buchanan] to [Capt. Thomas Forman Screven, Savannah, Georgia] (re: his desire that Sallie and the children be sent to the Florida springs for salt water bathing, whooping cough at “The Rest”, his estate in Talbot County, Maryland, his daughter “Nan’s” move to Oakland, and his opinion of the war in Europe.)
ALS, n.d., Emma Wray to Ade (re: fabric the writer has chosen to use to make shawls for Ade.)
ALS, n.d., Molly(?) to Adie [Screven] (re: her inability to visit Ade’s house the day before.)
ALS, 7 May, n.y., Athens, [Georgia], E. McAllister to Mr. [Thomas Forman] Screven, [Savannah, GA] (re: an upcoming change in her relationship to the family and her desire to continue in her role as caretaker for his boys.)
ALS, n.d., illegible.