Research Arsenal

08/08/2025

Here is the full photo from our What's It Wednesday post this week. This unidentified corporal is a soldier of the 3rd New Jersey Cavalry, nicknamed "The Butterflies." They were one of only two Union regiments designated Hussars (a light cavalry originating in Hungary) and wore a distinctive Austrian-inspired uniform. They carried a cavalry saber, pair of revolvers, and a Spencer repeating carbine.
See the fully tagged photo here: https://app.researcharsenal.com/imageSingleView/3559

08/07/2025

Our archivist gets angry about the clothing ledgers we've digitized recently that have had pages cut out. Online sellers cutting up historic Civil War ledgers to sell by the page is a frustrating problem.

Angry Archivist: History is nothing without context and when people are cutting up history in order to try to maximize their profit, it's a real problem.

08/06/2025

It's What's it Wednesday time! Can you identify a Civil War regiment just from a portion of their uniform? Post your guesses below and check back Friday for the answer!

08/04/2025

Varnum Valentine Vaughan was born in 1826 to Doctor Hubbard Vaughan and Azubah (Shaw) Vaughan of Prescott, Massachusetts. He married Lavonia King in 1847 and was working as a farmer in Salem, Massachusetts when he enlisted as a second lieutenant of Company E, 53rd Massachusetts Infantry on September 13, 1862 for a period of nine months service.

The seven letters written by Varnum Valentine Vaughan in the Research Arsenal collection were composed between February and April, 1863, while he was on detached duty in Carrollton, Louisiana.

Varnum Valentine Vaughan was born in 1826 to Doctor Hubbard Vaughan and Azubah (Shaw) Vaughan of Prescott, Massachusetts. He married Lavonia King in 1847 and

08/01/2025

For our What's it Wednesday this week, we asked you to identify the saber this unidentified soldier is holding. The answer is an 1818 Nathan Starr contract saber.

To see the fully tagged image, visit: https://app.researcharsenal.com/imageSingleView/2631

07/31/2025

I've been spending a lot of time harping on the benefits of digitizing collections, so here's another blog post on it! In all seriousness, I've seen too many collections that are NOT digitized and watched their owners navigate issues relating to loss of provenance, historical information, and value. It can be tedious to scan everything, but it's worth it!

There are multiple ways to make use of your digital collection. Here are 4 benefits of a digitized collection.

07/30/2025

For our What's it Wednesday this week, can you identify the saber this soldier is holding?
Post your guesses below and we'll share the answer on Friday!

07/28/2025

George P. Jarvis was born in 1842 to Leonard R. Jarvis and Susan (Thomas) Jarvis of New England, Athens County, Ohio. He also had a sister, Leonora Jarvis, born in 1850. George P. Jarvis served as a corporal in Company C of the 3rd Ohio Infantry, first in enlisting in the 3 months version of the regiment and then afterward enlisting for three years.

In our collection, we have eight letters written by George P. Jarvis during his service with the 3rd Ohio Infantry during 1862 and 1863.

George P. Jarvis was born in 1842 to Leonard R. Jarvis and Susan (Thomas) Jarvis of New England, Athens County, Ohio. He also had a sister, Leonora Jarvis,

07/25/2025

For our What's it Wednesday this week, we asked you to identify the language/writing style this Confederate Civil War letter is written in. The answer is Pitman Shorthand. It is a phonetic type of shorthand first introduced in 1837. The letter is written in English.

To read the full translated letter visit: https://app.researcharsenal.com/imageSingleView/103659

07/24/2025

Here's a brief guide with some scanning pointers as you digitize your collection, as well as some information on why you should be saving your scans as TIF files rather than JPG files.

This is only a basic guide on how to scan your collection. For this purpose, I’m focusing on documents and photographs.

07/23/2025

No, it's not Civil War hieroglyphics, although it may look that way at first glance! For our What's it Wednesday this week, can you identify what type of writing/language this Confederate letter is written in? Check back Friday for the answer!

07/21/2025

Our focus this week is on a collection of 14 documents related to Robert Alexander Garner of the 21st South Carolina Infantry. Robert Alexander Garner was born in 1843 to Charles Wesley Garner and Winifred (Parrott) Garner of Darlington, South Carolina. The collection begins with one letter written before the start of the Civil War, in December, 1860, and another from September, 1861, shortly before he enlisted in the 21st South Carolina Infantry.

Our focus this week is on a collection of 14 documents related to Robert Alexander Garner of the 21st South Carolina Infantry. Robert Alexander Garner was