Carr Bailey White to Eliakim P. Scammon reporting on skirmishes near Lewisburg.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

White, Carr Bailey, 1823-1871, author.

Contributor:

Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History, owner.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Ciphers.

Death.

Espionage.

Guerrilla warfare.

Infantry.

Military history.

Prisoners of war.

Wounds and injuries.

United States--Confederate States of America.

Physical Description:

1 online resource

Production:

Fayette, West Virginia : [producer not identified], 1863.

Summary:

Possibly a copy in General Scammon's hand of a decoded cypher telegram to Scammon from Colonel Carr Bailey White of the 12th Ohio Infantry. Reports on Lieutenant Blazer's letter of 4 December where he informed that he infiltrated the Confederate lines near Lewisburg, West Virginia but was discovered. They were then attacked by Confederate guerillas and he states the number wounded, killed or taken prisoner. Gives the location of troops in the area.

Notes:

Collection Reference: GLC02414.113

Folder information: Eliakim Scammon (1816-1894), an original officer in the Army Corps of Topographical Engineers, fought in the Seminole Wars, the Mexican War, and the Civil War. Born in Maine, he entered West Point at the age of 16 and graduated ninth in the class of 1837, alongside more celebrated classmates Braxton Bragg, Joseph Hooker, and John Sedgwick. Scammon, an engineer, was asked to serve on Winfield Scott's staff during his 1847 campaign in Mexico. He was dismissed from service in 1856, and moved to Ohio to teach mathematics, first at Mount Saint Mary's, then at the Polytechnic College of the Catholic Institute. In 1861, Ohio governor William Dennison appointed him colonel of the 23rd Ohio Regiment, where he commanded two future presidents, Rutherford B. Hayes and William McKinley. He served under McClellan and Rosecrans in the successful western Virginia campaign. Scammon's regiment was then assigned to the IX Corps of the Army of the Potomac, commanded by Ambrose Burnside, in 1862. After Antietam, he was appointed brigadier general of volunteers and given command of the District of Kanawha in October 1862. (In that position, Scammon frequently crossed horns with his subordinate, future president Rutherford B. Hayes.) In February 3, 1864, Scammon was captured by Confederate guerrillas while aboard a steamboat. Towards the end of the war he was exchanged, and briefly commanded the District of Florida. After the war, he was assigned duty in South Carolina and Florida on the Military Examining Board (deciding which officers remained in the army). He later resumed teaching mathematics at Seton Hall University. Documents in this collection largely pertain to the Civil War in West Virginia and consist of letters, telegrams, documents, drafts, and notes. The collection includes: three letters of future President Rutherford B. Hayes, and correspondence with him; Gettysburg-related material (Scammon was ordered to attack Lee's retreating forces); correspondence to and from Scammon; telegrams while in service (mostly in hand of telegrapher), and finally letters addressed to him as President of the Military Examining Board in Florida and South Carolina (1865) requesting to remain in service and providing brief biographies with records of service.

From folder: Collection of Eliakim P. Scammon, 23rd regiment, Ohio, infantry

Recipient: Scammon, Eliakim P.

Sub-collection: Papers and Images of the American Civil War

Description based on publisher-supplied metadata (viewed October 19, 2026).