A.L.S. dated Oct. 15, 1865 and addressed to the an unnamed ("Dear Sir") Class Secretary for an unknown year of Alums at Harvard University Concerning the Planned Memorial Volumes Honoring Harvard Alumni Who Died in the War

1865. Very Good. 1 p. 13 x 21 cm. "Dear Sir, You said you were Class Secretary. I have been appointed by the Alumni Association to prepare the memorial volumes, containing the lives of those alumni who have fallen in the war. Will you be kind enough to tell me how far you have gone, in each case, in preparing these lives, & whether you, or any one else to your knowledge, has done the preliminary work of collecting the materials, or weaving them into a narrative, & whether I cd. hv. the use of these. The more you can answer me in detail, the better. I can't have too much. Cordially yours T.W. Higginson P.S. My strongest desire is to illustrate (truncated) the spirit with which these young men entered the war, & this must be done chiefly from private memorials." Higginson is probably most remembered for his book about service in a Black Regiment during the Civil War ("Army Life in a Black Regiment") and for his correspondence with Emily Dickinson and involvement in editing her poetry for publication after her death. He was an ardent abolitionist and supporter of a variety of causes including women's rights. The book for which this letter was written was published in two volumes in 1866 ("Harvard Memorial Biographies"). BAL 8253. Higginson edited the book and wrote 13 of the individual sketches. (Inventory #: 93162)