New York State Adjutant General's Office Correspondence and Petitions

Chronological by year and therein numerical by a number assigned by the Adjutant-General's Office. This is essentially a chronological arrangement by date of receipt.

The series consists of correspondence, memoranda, petitions, orders, and letters of transmittal. Most of the records were generated by New York State military personnel but there is a significant amount of material from private citizens, federal officials, adjutant generals from other states, New York State legislators, representatives of firms manufacturing military arms, equipment, and accoutrements and various state officials. Much of the material is of a routine, administrative nature but there is a significant number of items of noteworthy historical interest. Subjects include the New York City draft riots, payment of bounties, courts martial, regimental strengths, reports concerning past activities of regiments, promotions, and transfers.

The bulk of the series represents an enormous increase in activity from 1861-1866. Files for that period typically consist of correspondence, memoranda, telegrams, certifications, newspaper clippings, petitions, special and general orders, and letters of transmittal. Most of the records were generated by state military personnel both in state and from the field, and mirror the contents of the series overall. Internal evidence suggests that a small portion of the records was added to the series after the Civil War from the files of Silas W. Burt, who was Secretary of the State Auditing Board, and also served in several military and civil service posts.

Subjects of historical interest include the New York draft riots and other disturbances; payment of bounties; records of courts martial; regimental strength and muster rolls, with demographic detail; reports of unit activitity, including regimental histories, promotions, and transfers; and private correspondence between officers, some of a political nature.

Correspondents during the Civil War period include Governor Reuben Fenton; Silas W. Burt, Secretary of the State Auditing Board and later Assistant Inspector General of New York City; Thomas Hillhouse, Adjutant General (1862-1863); Lockwood Doty, Chief of the Bureau of Military Records; G.S. Batcheller, Inspector General; William Irvine, Adjutant General (1863-1866); Issac VanDerPool, Commissary of Military Stores; James Meredith Read, Adjutant General (1861-1862); and John Neville, Superintendent of the New York State Soldiers' Depot.

High resolution images of selected original documents in this series are available in State Archives Digital Collections.

13722 Register of Letters Received, serves as a name index to that portion of the records covering 1862-1866.

A3282 Miscellaneous Appeals and Inspection Returns, contains similar appeals to the Adjutant General (1829-1830).

A4130 Duplicate Correspondence Directed to and Received from Military Offices contains additional correspondence of the Adjutant General.

A4145 Letter Books of Outgoing Correspondence contains additional correspondence of the Adjutant General.

A container list covering all boxes through 101 is available at the repository.

For the period from January 1861 through April 1862, and alphabetical index to correspondents with brief content abstracts is available at the repository.

A folder list is available for materials concurrent with, but not recorded in, Series 13722, Register of Letters Received. This includes boxes 33, 55, 56, 75, 90, and 100. An internal study of this incongruity is available.

There are no restrictions regarding access to or use of this material.