Beschreibung:

MEIGS, Montgomery C. (1816-1892). An archive of manuscripts, letters and related documents, various places, 1821-1925 (bulk 1875-1883). [Including:] Meigs' diary for the years 1888 and 1889, a lengthy correspondence with his son Montgomery C. "Monty" MEIGS, Jr. (1847-1931), 26 October 1878 - 31 May 1883, as well letters to Meigs from his father, Charles D. MEIGS (1792-1869), his mother, Mary MEIGS (1795-1865), his brother Charles D. MEIGS, Jr. (1817-1895), and his son John Rodgers MEIGS (1842-1864). Others found in the archive include his grandfather Josiah MEIGS (1757-1822), and other relatives including Rear Admiral John RODGERS (1812-1882), Colonel Robert Smith Rodgers (1809-1891), and John FORSYTH (1780-1841). 1,100 pages (approx.), various sizes. (Occasional fold separations and tears, but mostly clean in and in very fine condition overall). A substantial correspondence between Montgomery Meigs and his son Montgomery Meigs, Jr. with copious illustrations of engineering works, building elevations and plans for his tomb at Arlington Cemetery, which forms the core of an archive that also includes family letters from several generations of the Meigs family and related documents. The collection, apparently held by Meigs' son and namesake covers several periods in the legendary Civil War Quartermaster's lengthy career. In his illustrated letters to his son, dating between 1878 and 1883, Meigs describes several of his projects including the construction of the Pension Office (now the National Building Museum), what appears to be a preliminary sketch of the rotunda for the National Museum (today, the Smithsonian's Arts and Industries Building), drawings of the "Meigs' Patent Hydro-Dioptric Light" as well as designs for aqueducts and other hydraulic mechanisms, which may have been for the benefit of his son who was the engineer in charge of the canal and locks at the Des Moines Rapids (and later the designer of the dam that would flood the canal). Most moving and poignant perhaps is Meigs' sketch of his own Tomb at Arlington Cemetery—perhaps his most famous and enduring project. The archive also features two years of his diary (1888-1889, unbound) which is as copiously illustrated as are his letters to his son. The archive is complemented by a series of letters written to Meigs while a cadet at West Point; an autograph manuscript, 1884, detailing his own biography for the purpose of a lecture. As a whole, the archive stands as a testament to Meigs' tireless work ethic—a attribute that served him well as the Quartermaster General whose efforts arguably won the Civil War for the Union.