Stephens Family, Papers, 1850s-1875, 2008 (C0169)

.4 linear feet

INTRODUCTION

The Stephens Papers consist of positive photostats and typescripts of a diary and battle descriptions written by a volunteer in Company K, Indiana Infantry, 20th Regiment, which was part of the Army of the Potomac during the Civil War. A bound typescript copy of his diary and those of his brother, Thomas White Stephens, with background information and commentary is also included, along with a biography James Stephen’s grandson, James, Jr., who served in World War II. See also the diaries of Stephens’s brother, the Thomas White Stephens Diaries, (C2282).

DONOR INFORMATION

The Stephens Papers were donated to the University of Missouri by Frank F. Stephens on 7 August and 11 November 1957 (Accession No. 3328). Additions to the papers were made on 20 February 1967 and 12 February 2010 (Accession No. 3701).

BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH

James Colclazer Stephens was born to John and Sarah Stephens on 5 May 1844 in Indiana. In 1861 he and his brother Thomas White Stephens enlisted in Company K of the 20th Regiment, Indiana Volunteer Infantry. This regiment was assigned to the Army of the Potomac. He was mustered out on 30 July 1864. After the war he became a Methodist minister and held pastorates in Indiana and Iowa. He died in 1888.

James C. Stephens, Jr., was the grandson of James C. Stephens. He was born on 18 December 1916 in Boulder, Colorado. He enlisted in the army in November 1938 and joined the Army Air Corps. He was stationed at Hickam Field, Hawaii, as a member of the 11th Bombardment Group, 42nd Squadron. He survived the attack on Pearl Harbor, but was killed when his plane was shot down over the Solomon Islands on 1 February 1943.

SCOPE AND CONTENT NOTE

The bulk of the Stephens Papers consist of positive photostats and typescripts of a diary and battle descriptions kept by James C. Stephens. Stephens kept the diary from 1 September 1863 through August 1864, then sporadically from 21 May 1867 through August 1870. Much of the diary concerns the daily routine of a soldier. Stephens describes the regiment’s trip from Governor’s Island in New York to Virginia in October 1863. He mentions skirmishes around Chancellorsville, the building of winter quarters, a reenlistment campaign, and the execution of a deserter.

Stephens was at the battles of the Wilderness and Spotsylvania and writes of his being wounded in May 1864, his recovery, and the trip home to Indiana where he was mustered out. The entries from 1867 through 1870 list his sermons and other ministerial activities.

A constant theme in the diary is Stephens’s reliance on prayer and God’s mercy to help him through life. He attended numerous prayer meetings, read the Bible almost daily, and hoped that the souls of his friends and fellow soldiers that died before him were with God.

Descriptions of the Battle of the Monitor and Merrimac, 9 March 1862, and the Battle of the Wilderness, 5-6 May 1865, written by Stephens from his diaries and recollections at an unknown date, are also included in the papers.

Stephens’s grandson, Paul S. Stephens, compiled the diaries of James C. and his brother, Thomas White Stephens, into a bound volume that also includes family information and background on the Civil War battles in which the brothers fought.

Paul Stephens also wrote a biography of his older brother, James, Jr., who served in the Army Air Corps during World War II. This biography contains family history and background on the campaigns in which James Jr. was involved.

FOLDER LIST

f. 1-7Diary, 1863-1864
f. 8-10Diary, 1863-1864 (typescript)
f. 11-19Battle of Monitor and Merrimac
f. 20-21Battle of Monitor and Merrimac (typescript)
f. 22-24Battle of the Wilderness
f. 25Battle of the Wilderness (typescript)
f. 26Letters and miscellaneous notes, 1850s-1875
f. 27Civil War Diaries of James C. Stephens and Thomas W. Stephens, 20th Indiana Volunteer Regiment, compiled by Paul S. Stephens
f. 28Biography of James C. Stephens, Jr., compiled by Paul S. Stephens

INDEX TERMS

These index terms are the subjects, people, places, etc. under which this collection is listed in all available indexes at The State Historical Society of Missouri-Columbia. If you are interested in a specific index term, please contact the reference staff.

Barnum's Museum, New York, New York, 1863f. 27
Burnside, Ambrose Everett (1824-1881)f. 27
Circuit ridersf. 8, 10, 27
Civil Warf. 1-27
Civil War--Army of the Potomacf. 1-27
Civil War--Battle of Bull Runf. 27
Civil War--Battle of Gettysburg, 1863f. 27
Civil War--Battle of Glendale, Virginia, 1862f. 27
Civil War--Battle of Monitor and Merrimacf. 11-21, 27
Civil War--Battle of Spotsylvania, 1864f. 27
Civil War--Battle of the Wilderness, 1864f. 23-25, 27
Civil War--Desertionsf. 8, 27
Civil War--Diariesf. 1-10, 27
Civil War--Indiana. Infantry, 20th Regiment, Volunteers, Company Kf. 1-25, 27
Civil War--Medical and sanitary affairsf. 27
Civil War--Naval operationsf. 20, 21, 27
Civil War--Prayerf. 8-10, 27
Civil War--Prisoners and prisonsf. 27
Civil War--Protests, demonstrations, etc., 1863f. 27
Civil War--Strong Band, Chicago, Illinois, 1863f. 27
Civil War--Virginiaf. 1-25, 27
Civil War--Womenf. 27
Diariesf. 1-10, 27
Diaries--Civil Warf. 1-10, 27
Fort Lyon, 1862f. 27
Fort Monroe, Virginiaf. 20, 27
Fort Schuyler, 1863f. 27
Hooker, Joseph (1814-1879)f. 27
Indiana--Politics and governmentf. 27
Lincoln, Abraham (1809-1865)f. 27
Meade, George Gordon (1815-1872)f. 27
Military service, Compulsory, 1860sf. 27
New York, Governor's Islandf. 27
North Carolina, Cape Hatterasf. 20, 21, 27
North Carolina, Pamlico Soundf. 20, 27
Prayerf. 8-10, 27
Preachingf. 8-10, 27
Stephens familyf. 28 (pictorial image)
Stephens familyf. 28
Stephens, James Colclazer (1844-1888)f. 1-27
Stephens, James, Jr. (1916-1943)f. 28
Stephens, James, Jr. (1916-1943)f. 28 (pictorial image)
Stephens, Thomas White (1839-1922)f. 8-10, 27
Tyler, Mary Elizabeth (1839-1920)f. 27
U.S. Army, Department of the Potomacf. 8-10, 27
U.S. Army--Military lifef. 27
Washington, D.C., 1862f. 27
World War, 1939-1945--Aerial operationsf. 28
World War, 1939-1945--Pacific Theater of Operationsf. 28
World War, 1939-1945--Solomon Islandsf. 28
World War, 1939-1945--U.S. Army Air Corps. 11th Bomb Group, 42nd Squadronf. 28
World War, 1939-1945--U.S. Army Air Corps. 11th Bomb Group, 42nd Squadronf. 28 (pictorial image)
World War, 1939-1945--U.S. Army Air Corps. 11th Bomb Group--Reunion, 2007f. 28 (pictorial image)