CSA Archive of Daniel N. Speer, 60th Georgia Volunteers 

132 items, not including relics.

This large, mostly war-date archive covers the life and duties of attorney Daniel Norwood Speer of La Grange, during his service in the Confederate Army as quartermaster of the 60th Georgia Infantry. Included are three pre-war slave documents. These three documents relate to the purchase of slaves in antebellum Georgia.

The first, dated December 31, 1851, is a bond for John Barnett and William J. Barnett (who is a minor) to pay $3600 to the guardian of Williams new wife, Penelope Barnett (nee Moreland) for ... three negroes, to wit Nelson, a man about 27 years of age, Adeline, a girl about 10 years of age, & Jane, a girl about 11 years of age. The slaves were part of the estate of Penelope's father. Looked at in a certain way, this document is a father "co-signing" with his son for the purchase of human beings.

The second, dated March 15, 1856 is a fee simple deed, where Thomas Douglas is selling a slave woman and her infant to his son-in-law to hold in trust for his daughter: a certain negro woman named Mary and her infant child Mary, being about twenty years of age and her child about one year of age.

The last is undated, but is an illuminating view of how slaves were viewed by slaveowners: To Messrs Amos and Beall, I send my little son with an order to R. Davis for a note I give for the purchase of Walter, negro. Any notes that may be left in his hand against Walter I will settle. Please attend to it for me give him the order & send the note by my son, Also send me a statement of the amt I paid on the docket as the note is not credited, and oblige C.Rumple.

This may be the same "Walter" mentioned by Speer's 12 year-old sister when writing to him: Walter had the pleasure of having hot water poured on him yesterday morning, so you see we had like to have had another dead negro.

Speer began the war as the quartermaster of the Fannin Greys, a militia company which became Co "B" of the 60th Georgia Infantry. Their first duty was building defensive works on Skidaway Island, on the approaches to Savannah. Duty was not unpleasant, and Speer had his servant (slave) Dick with him. In letters to his wife from Skidaway Island, he notes: Dick is well & sends his respects to all; he is a very good cook. Speer allowed Dick to make some money on the side, by setting up a laundry service and charging a nickel per garment. Two covers from this period have five-cent Jefferson Davis stamps (one blue, one green.)

In March 1862, the troops obeyed orders to abandon the fort they had labored so hard to build, replacing the cannon with painted logs and posting sentries along the walls so that the nearby Yankees couldn’t tell the garrison was evacuating. In April, they captured 18 Yankee prisoners, all Dutch (probably German.) Speer writes his wife, I talked with them all. They bear no enmity against the South, are very ignorant and appear to have little spirit in them... Oh! How I wish we had our independence and I was home with you. The 60th Georgia was sent to fight under "Stonewall" Jackson in the Shenandoah Valley. They traveled with Jackson to fight in the Peninsular Campaign to drive McClellan away from Richmond, and participated in the big battles on the Eastern front.

A letter describing the battle of Antietam survives: I write in the lull of another great battle. Since I last wrote, Harpers Ferry, garrisoned by 12000 United States troops, has surrendered to our (Jackson’s) Army. Near the spot where I now write, two large armies now stand or recline face to face in an almost exhausted condition. Our whole Va and Valley has for two days fought the combined Yankee army. They fought until late last night, and today both combatants seem too much exhausted to resume the attack... Our Brigade and Regt. as usual suffered severely, Genl Lawton is wounded Col Douglas and our Brigadier is killed. Adj, Dan Hill is missing & supposed killed. Speer goes on to list the names of the wounded in the regiment, asking his father-in-law to notify the families.

On July 27, 1862, he received the news he had been dreading for months. His tiny sickly infant daughter had died. Speer's father in law wrote a heart-breaking letter, informing him of the tragedy. Included is the death notice for the baby, dated July 28.

At the beginning of the Gettysburg campaign, Speer's wife asked him to send a lock of his hair. That lock of hair, along with his reply, are included in this archive. Also included is a swatch of fabric from the cloth he bought in Pennsylvania during the invasion and sent home in a box.

In November 1863, Speer received a transfer to the Department of the Trans-Mississippi, where he served under Buckner, and split his time between Louisiana and Texas. From the documents in the archive, most of his time was spent scouring both states for horses and mules to buy or impress. He must have performed well in his duties, as his superiors then demanded that he find a locomotive! In the closing days of the war, he was ordered to be on-hand when the cavalry regiments were dismounted, and acquire the horses for the artillery branch.

After the war, Speer returned to his law practice in La Grange, but soon moved to Atlanta to become a businessman and industrialist. He remained in Atlanta until his death in 1893.