Call Number:

C0383

Repository:

Princeton University Library: Manuscripts Division

Extent:

• 2 boxes
• 0.6 linear feet

Language:

English

Preferred Citation:

Identification of specific item; Date (if known); George B. Bacon Civil War Correspondence, Box and Folder Number; Special Collections, Princeton University Library.

Date:

1855-1936 (inclusive)

Creator:

Bacon, George B. (George Bement) (1835-1890)

Form:

Correspondence -- 19th century

Abstract:

George B. Bacon served as a lieutenant commander in the U.S. Navy during the American Civil War. Serving in several blockading squadrons, Bacon was involved in notable battles and engagements, including the capture of New Orleans and the Battle of Morris Island, S.C. The collection consists primarily of detailed letters Bacon wrote to his wife during the war along with some official wartime correspondence, and biographical materials about Bacon.

George Bement Bacon (1835-1890), a descendant of several early and distinguished American families, was one of several children born in Ogdensburg, New York, to William Bacon and Virginia Thornton. In 1850 at the age of 15, he was admitted as a cadet into the Naval Academy at Annapolis; he graduated in 1856. Beginning as a student, Bacon served on several tours to various parts of the world, including voyages to Brazil, the Mediterranean, the Caribbean, Southeast Asia, and the west coast of Africa.

A lieutenant at the start of the Civil War, Bacon was assigned in November 1861 to the river-gunboat USS Itasca, which established a distinguished record during the war. Part of the West Gulf Blockading Squadron, the Itasca played a key role in events leading up to the Capture of New Orleans (April 25-May 1, 1862) as its men were assigned to cut the chains the Confederacy had positioned across the Mississippi below New Orleans to block passage up the river.

Shortly after this engagement, Bacon contracted malaria and was ordered home to recover. During his recovery, Bacon married Mary Lavinia Chapin (1840-1918), the daughter of David Madison Chapin (1806-1879), and Mary Elsie York (1817-1891), with whom he had three children: Mary Chapin Bacon (b. 1863) who married Silas E. Brown, Sophia Louise Bacon (b. 1866), and Fanny Hastings Bacon (b. 1872).

In August 1862, Bacon was promoted to lieutenant commander, and in October of that year began to serve with the South Atlantic Blockading Squadron. As commander of USS Commodore McDonough, Bacon was put in charge of the Stono River fleet off the coast of South Carolina and participated in several battles and engagements, including the Battle or Morris Island and the burning expedition of the town of Bluffton, S.C.

Beginning in December 1863, Bacon was given charge of several different gunboats before being reassigned around October 1864 to the Mississippi Squadron where he served until the end of the war. For most of this time, Bacon commanded the Squadron's 6th district, which extended from just above the Arkansas River to Vicksburg, from aboard the USS Louisville stationed at Skipwith's Landing.

Almost immediately upon the war's end, Bacon resigned from the Navy in order to tend to property he owned in Kentucky, which had suffered seriously during the war. Bacon moved his family to Kentucky and entered the lumber business. They stayed there until 1869 when Bacon was appointed U.S. Weigher in the New York Custom House and the family moved to Brooklyn. Bacon held this position until he was removed by the Cleveland Administration in 1885. Bacon died suddenly during a visit to his hometown of Ogdensburg.

The collection consists mostly of Lieutenant Commander George B. Bacon's letters to wife, Lavinia, during his service with the U.S. Navy during the American Civil War. In his letters, Bacon writes about battles and engagements in which he was directly involved as well as other battles and events, strategic plans, and personal matters, among other things.

A fair number of letters document his time stationed off the coast of South Carolina as commander of the USS Commodore McDonough when he participated in several engagements. In recounting an attack on Fort Wagner during the Battle of Morris Island, Bacon writes, "The Storming Party from our side made the attack and then commenced one of the most terrible fights I ever expect to witness. Our regiment got on the walls of the Fort, but the Rebels being strongly reinforced, we were at last driven from it with the loss of about one thousand officers and men killed and wounded. All of our Generals were wounded except Gen. [Quincy A.] Gillmore and after service this morning I went on shore to see the wounded. Oh it was a terrible sight.(July 19, 1863)"

Also included in the collection is official wartime correspondence, including letters and orders from Rear Admiral Samuel Phillips Lee to Bacon written during the latter's service with the Mississippi Squadron towards the end of the war. There are also a few letters that predate the war documenting Bacon's early service with the Navy. A couple of these document Bacon's voyage to the west coast of Africa on the USS Relief in relation to the slave trade.

There are also transcriptions of many of Bacon's letters to his wife as well as biographical materials such as clippings, research, and accounts of Bacon's life, most likely written and compiled by his daughter, Mary Bacon Brown.

The collection is organized into the following series: