Research Arsenal

04/20/2026

John Clarkson Jay came from a family steeped in American history. His great-grandfather, John Jay, was one of the founding fathers of America, served as a delegate to the first and second continental congress, and was one of the three authors of the Federalist Papers alongside James Madison and Alexander Hamilton. He was also the first Chief Justice of the Supreme Court.

In 1862, John Clarkson Jay volunteered to serve in the 71st New York National Guard Infantry, a three months unit that served near Washington D.C. John Clarkson Jay was born in 1844 and was just under 18 at this time of service.

John Clarkson Jay’s letters begin in June, 1862 after the regiment had arrived at camp near Tenleytown but had not yet been formally mustered in. His letters give a clear portrait of camp life. John Clarkson Jay’s first letter was written June 2, 1862, shortly after his arrival at camp and described his journey there.

“After staying two days in the halls of the Capitol, we received orders this morning to march for this place, 8 miles distant from the Capitol, about 3 miles north of Georgetown, and 3 or 4 miles from the Potomac. It is not across the Potomac. They could not have picked out a hotter day. Several of our men gave out on the march & were picked up by the baggage wagons. We had of knapsacks & all our equipments on, which weight a great deal. I stood it. We rested three times on our way here. I did not take my knapsack off from the time we left the Capitol until we arrived at the camp. In all, we marched ten miles as we went two miles out of our way. We had nothing to eat from breakfast at six o’clock a.m. until half past 4 this afternoon.

After we arrived here & had chosen a field, we had to put up our tents which took a great while. We have Sibley’s tents — 12 or 13 men to a tent. They gave us a ration this afternoon at about 5 o’clock. I never relished anything more. Talk about coffee without milk.”

John Clarkson Jay’s biggest complaint was the lack of adequate access to bathing.

“The only thing about this camp which is objectionable is that there is no place for bathing. We are getting but nary good springs. Very much burnt on our necks & faces.”

John Clarkson Jay came from a family steeped in American history. His great-grandfather, John Jay, was one of the founding fathers of America, served as a

04/18/2026

You never know when all your Civil War knowledge will come in handy! 😆😆

Source: "Pearls Before Swine" comic

04/17/2026

For our What's it Wednesday this week, we asked you to identify an item from the description. The answer is a Hydraulic Jack! Here is the full description:

"The hydraulic jack is used for the same purposes as the lifting-jack, and may replace it to great advantage, being much more powerful, more portable, and more convenient in use. Being a patented invention, it is procured ready-made. The most convenient size is that of 7 tons' capacity, of which the following are the

Dimensions.—Height, 25.5 inches ; lift, 10 inches ; largest diameter, 9 inches ; length of foot, 4 inches ; length of lever, 26.5 inches.

Weight of jack, without lever: 112.5 pounds.

​Weight ​of lever: 4.75 pounds."

The Hydraulic Jack was a relatively new invention for the time, having been patented by Richard Dudgeon in 1859. Other jacks of the time used a screw thread, but the hydraulic jack greatly increased the lifting power, making them extremely handy for those working with heavy ordnance.

Link to Ordnance Manual: https://app.researcharsenal.com/quartermaster-manuals/424

Photo: 15" Rodman gun at Battery Rodgers. It wasone of 33 forts on the Virginia side of the Potomac River that made up an outer defense line for Washington DC known as the Arlington Line. Established in August 1863 as a water defense on the Potomac River at Alexandria City. The battery was built on a bluff at Jones Point at the south end of Alexandria with a clear view of the Potomac River. The battery had a perimeter of 330 yards and emplacements for six seacoast guns. Armament included five 200 pounder Parrott rifles and one 15" Rodman gun.

https://app.researcharsenal.com/imageSingleView/67761

04/16/2026

The Research Arsenal is proud to hold 1,823 digital scans of the 29th Ohio Infantry’s regimental records on its database. These consist of nearly 1800 pages of material from the National Archives Records Group 94 files. These include Regimental Descriptive books, Letter books, Morning Reports, and more

Brief spotlight on the 29th Ohio Infantry whose National Archives RG 94 records have been digitized and added to the Research Arsenal database.

04/15/2026

For our What's it Wednesday this week, we're looking at the 1862 Ordnance Manual. From this description, can you identify the item?

"Being a patented invention, it is procured ready-made. The most convenient size is that of 7 tons' capacity, of which the following are the

Dimensions.—Height, 25.5 inches ; lift, 10 inches ; largest diameter, 9 inches ; length of foot, 4 inches ; length of lever, 26.5 inches."

Post your thoughts below and check back Friday for the answer!

04/13/2026

Charles Brayton was born in 1843 to Shubael F. Brayton and Mary M. (Bunker) Brayton of New Bedford, Massachusetts. Before the war, Charles Brayton worked in an apothecary. He served in Company E of the 3rd Massachusetts Infantry when it was organized for 9 months duty in September, 1862.

By December 7, 1862, duty in North Carolina was becoming routine for Charles Brayton. The monotony of the duty also made it more difficult to write home with anything new to report. As before, inspections proved to be the most irksome duty for Brayton.

“Every Sunday morning we have to go on inspection which is 10 o’clock and lasts about an hour. After that there is nothing to do till Dress Parade which is at ½ past 4. You say that I ought to write a little every day but if you was here you would think different for we drill about 5 hours a day and what little time there is we take to clean our muskets. Those we have to keep as clean as a pin for if the Capt. should find any dirt, we would be sent to our quarters to clean them but if I am in guard or picket, I may get a few moments to write a few lines. And another thing, there is not much news out here. The 3-year boys say that they don’t write so much as they did when they first came out for the very reason that there is no news of importance out here.”

During this time Charles Brayton was assisting the hospital steward because of his experience as an apothecary before the war. In April of 1863, Charles Brayton found himself rushing back to camp after hearing that the 3rd Massachusetts Infantry was about to move out on an expedition.

“…As quick as we got to camp, everything was in confusion for we were to start in an hour with 3 days rations.

Dr. [Alfred A.] Stocker and Hospital Steward got ready and left for Dr. [Woodbridge R.] Howes and the “Apothecary” to look after those left behind. The regiment started at 5 o’clock for Foster’s Wharf to board transports but when they got there, they had to wait ¾ hour (military necessity) for the transports were not ready just then. A “Dispatch Boat” arrived from Gen. Foster at Little Washington, so the regiment had orders to return to their camp where the “Boys” arrived at ½ past 6, much pleased with their Expedition. Today the regiment is under marching orders to be ready to move at a moment’s warning with 3 days rations cooked and 7 uncooked, but at the same time we may not start at all. If the regiment does go, it is doubtful whether I go or not for Dr. Stocker generally goes, and Dr. Howes stays behind, and when Dr. Howes is left behind, I stay too.”

Charles Brayton was born in 1843 to Shubael F. Brayton and Mary M. (Bunker) Brayton of New Bedford, Massachusetts. Before the war, Charles Brayton worked in

04/10/2026

Happy National Siblings Day! And as you may have guessed from our What's it Wednesday post earlier this week, these three gentlemen are brothers--the two in front being twin brothers. The Ellsworth brothers all enlisted in the 12th New Hampshire Infantry (as can be seen from their hat insignia).

Older brother Samuel enlisted at the age of 42, and his younger twin brothers Bartlett and John Calvin were 39 when they enlisted in August of 1862.

About the brothers:
Samuel Ellsworth, at age 42, enlisted on 7 Aug 1862, and was mustered in on 15 Sept as a private. Captured at Chancellorsville on 5/3/63, he was paroled twelve days later. He was transferred to the 5th Company, 1st Battalion, Invalid Corps (later the Veteran Reserve Corps) on 15 Jan '64, and to Co. D, 1st V.R.C. He deserted in Albany, NY on 15 Oct 1864, and returned to his wife and children in Wentworth. He died in Plymouth, NH on 22 Aug 1895, aged 75.

Bartlett Ellsworth, age 39, enlisted on 26 Aug 1862, and was mustered in on 24 Sept, a private. He would die of typhoid fever near Falmouth, Virginia on 22 Dec 1862. He is buried in the Fredericksburg National Cemetery. His widow, Nancy M (Batchelder), filed for, and received a pension. They had four children.

John Calvin Ellsworth, age 39, enlisted on 30 Aug 1862, and was mustered in as a private on the 15th of Sept. Listed as missing following the Battle of Chancellorsville on 3 May '63, he would later return to his unit. He received a disability discharge on 7 Sept 1864, in Concord. He was married and would live the remainder of his life in Wentworth, dying there on 9 Oct 1881.

Information from: Charles W Canney Camp #5, SUVCW https://cwcanneycamp5.weebly.com/blog/the-brothers-ellsworth

Tagged photo: https://app.researcharsenal.com/imageSingleView/2402

04/09/2026

The Research Arsenal is proud to be digitizing and adding historical records of Civil War regiments held at the National Archives to our online database so that researchers and historians can access material that previously required a trip to Washington D.C. The 17th Michigan Infantry is one of the many regiments that has been added to our database.

We are is digitizing records of Civil War regiments held at the National Archives to our database. The 17th Michigan Infantry is now available.

04/08/2026

For our What's it Wednesday this week, what can you tell from this photo through the figures themselves and what they are wearing?

Post your answers below and check back Friday for more information!

04/07/2026

Charles Hobbs was born in 1844 to Moody Hobbs and Elizabeth P. (Spofford) Hobbs of Pelham, New Hampshire. Moody Hobbs served as a state senator in New Hampshire in 1863. Charles Hobbs enlisted on August 18, 1862 and was mustered in as a corporal on September 20, 1862.

The first letter in our Research Arsenal collection was written by Charles Hobbs on October 12, 1862 from Camp Chase, Virginia. He wrote to a friend named Louisa Richardson and recounted his travel from New Hampshire to Virginia.

“Here we are encamped on the sacred soil of ‘Old Virginia’ and are enjoying ourselves as well as can be expected in such a miserable place. We had a splendid time coming on till we left Philadelphia and from there we didn’t have so splendid a time. Our ride from Norwich to Jersey City on the steamboat was splendid but some of the rides in the freight cars rather annihilated the pleasant feelings about the boat ride. We took the steamboat the first night after leaving Nashua and got to Philadelphia the second night and had a splendid time there and got to Washington the third night and had a splendid time there sleeping on the ground among the hogs — or not exactly among, but they were all round us. Slept as sound there, however, as I ever did at home.”

Charles Hobbs was born in 1844 to Moody Hobbs and Elizabeth P. (Spofford) Hobbs of Pelham, New Hampshire. Moody Hobbs served as a state senator in New

04/03/2026

Does anybody know exactly where the 119th PA fought at Chancellorsville in May of 1863?

04/03/2026

Need research help!

Another Archival day! Yay! We came across this note in the 210th PA infantry clothing ledger that said the individual at the top of the page might be related to President Eisenhower! Anyone out there who can run this down?