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Moses A. Lane Papers
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Held at: Princeton University Library: Manuscripts Division [Contact Us]
This is a finding aid. It is a description of archival material held at the Princeton University Library: Manuscripts Division. Unless otherwise noted, the materials described below are physically available in their reading room, and not digitally available through the web.
Overview and metadata sections
Moses A. Lane was a nineteenth-century career serviceman in the U.S. Navy, serving most of his time as a gunner. He joined the Navy on January 28, 1852. During the Civil War, he was attached to the Cimarron, a double-ended steam gunboat, was primarily assigned to blockade duty with the Atlantic Blockading Squadron. While the Cimarron's primary duty was blockading off South Carolina, Georgia and Florida, the ship also took part in the attack on Fort Wagner in Charleston Harbor in late August 1863. Lane was placed on the retired list on January 11, 1885, and died on October 31, 1888.
The collection consists of selected papers of Moses A. Lane. Included are a manuscript journal (1852-1855) maintained by Lane during his trip aboard the U.S.S. St. Louis in the Mediterranean, which contains a full-page watercolor drawing of the sloop of war; a typed transcription (151 pp.) of the journal; manuscript maps of the eastern Mediterranean and the coast of Turkey and Holy Land; 20 holograph letters (1852-1861) by Lane to family members, describing stops along the Mediterranean coast, such as Greece, Constantinople, and Turkey, with a full-page pencil drawing of the ship; orders from the Navy Dept., letters from the Treasury Dept., related legal papers, including Lane's initial naval appointment as "acting gunner" (28 January 1852), with typed transcriptions; a copy of Daring Diplomacy (1957) by Andor Klay, subtitled "The Case of the First American Ultimatum," which chronicles the story of Hungarian "freedom fighter" Martin Koszta and the role played by the St. Louis in achieving his release from imprisonment aboard an Austrian warship in Smyrna Bay (Turkey).
The collection was purchased from William Reese Co. with matching funds provided by the Program in Hellenic Studies with the support of the Stanley J. Seeger Hellenic Fund in February 2009 (AM2009-90).
For preservation reasons, original analog and digital media may not be read or played back in the reading room. Users may visually inspect physical media but may not remove it from its enclosure. All analog audiovisual media must be digitized to preservation-quality standards prior to use. Audiovisual digitization requests are processed by an approved third-party vendor. Please note, the transfer time required can be as little as several weeks to as long as several months and there may be financial costs associated with the process. Requests should be directed through the Ask Us Form.
This collection was processed by John Delaney on February 5, 2009. Finding aid written by John Delaney on February 6, 2009. Folder Inventory added by Hilde Creager (2015) in 2012.
No appraisal information is available.
People
Organization
Place
- Greece -- Description and travel -- 19th century.
- Istanbul (Turkey) -- Description and travel -- 19th century.
- Izmir (Turkey) -- History, Military -- 19th century -- Sources.
- Mediterranean Coast (Greece) -- Description and travel -- 19th century.
- Mediterranean Coast (Turkey) -- Description and travel -- 19th century.
- Turkey -- Description and travel -- 19th century.
- United States -- Foreign relations -- Austria -- 1853-1857.
- United States -- History, Naval -- 19th century -- Sources.
- Publisher
- Manuscripts Division
- Finding Aid Date
- 2009
- Access Restrictions
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The collection is open for research.
- Use Restrictions
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Collection Inventory
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