Isaiah Garrett, Jr. letters (2 of 5), 1860

The Isaiah Garrett, Jr. Letters is comprised of 41 autograph letters written by Isaiah Garrett Jr. between February 19th, 1859 and December 14th, 1865. Twenty-five of the letters are addressed to his older brother, Frank, fifteen are addressed to his parents, and one is addressed to his sister, Sarah. Thirty-seven of the forty-one letters were written while Garrett was a student at Georgetown University on the eve of the American Civil War, one was written in Baton Rogue, LA in 1859, two were written from Civil War camps in Georgia and Mississippi, and one was written in Monroe, LA several months after the end of the Civil War.

During his first year at Georgetown College, 1859-1860, during which time he turned 15, Isaiah, Jr., seemed to be primarily concerned with his studies, grades, life at Georgetown, and life back home, occasionally admitting to bouts of homesickness; during his second year, 1860-1861, his concerns turned to national issues, the election of 1860, looming war, etc., and a strong urge to join his brother in school at the University of North Carolina. Though most of the letters contain pro-forma sentiments, salutations, and closings, typical of correspondence of the day, the young Garrett wrote with the maturity and passion of an upper-class teenager, sure of his eventual place in the world and eager to attain it.

This collection has been digitized and is available to view online in DigitalGeorgetown.