Joseph P. Orme Papers
Collection
Identifier: GTM-GAMMS317
The collection contains eight autograph letters written by Georgetown College alumni to fellow alumus, Joseph P. Orme, between the years 1856 and 1860. The content of the letters range from catching up on news of friends and family to serious political debate. The opinions written by these young men display the divided state of the nation on the brink of civil war. Of the seven friends, at least three went on to fight in the war, two for the Union and one for the Confederacy.
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Joseph Peabody Orme of Washington, D.C. attended Georgetown College from 1856 to 1860. He was part of the Reading Room Association, the Philodemic Society and the Dramatic Association. Upon leaving the area, he went to Bloomington, Illinois where on July 28, 1862 he was appointed captain of Company H Ninety Fourth Regiment, Illinois Infantry. He was killed January 1, 1863 by the accidental discharge of a musket in the hands of one of his soldiers while the army was marching through Prairie Grove, Arkansas.
William M. Boyce of Georgetown, D.C. attended Georgetown College from 1851 to 1853.
William James Blakely of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania attended Georgetown College from 1856 to 1858. He later earned his M.A. degree from Georgetown in 1876. He died in Erie, Pennsylvania January 7, 1877.
William Beresford Carr of Natchitoches, Louisiana attended Georgetown College from 1852 to 1861 earning his A.B. degree. He enlisted with the Confederate Army March 8, 1862 at New Orleans as Private, Company K, Crescent Regiment, Louisiana Volunteers, which became Company 1, Sumter Rifles, Louisiana Infantry. He was discharged for disability May 14, 1862. He earned an M.A. from Georgetown in 1872.
Clement S. Lancaster of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania attended Georgetown College from 1855 to 1859 earning his A.B. degree.
James Fairfax McLaughlin of Alexandria, Virginia attended Georgetown College from 1855 to 1860 earning his A.B. and M.A. degrees. He joined the Federal Service and was a Colonel and Aide-de-camp on the staff of the Governor of Maryland. He earned his L.L.D. from Georgetown in 1889 and authored the book College Days at Georgetown and Other Papers. His father was Hugh McLaughlin, author of Paddy's Lament.
James Andrew Wise of Washington, D.C. attended Georgetown College from 1856 to 1858 earning his A.B. degree. He died in Austin, Texas February 23, 1874.
[Biographical Sources: Georgetown University Archives, Alumni Files and Blue and Gray: Georgetown University and the Civil War by James S. Ruby]
0.25 Linear Feet (1 box)
English
Part of the Georgetown University Manuscripts Repository