Lt. Joseph Bennett Plummer Manuscript Copy Letter Book: A Guide

Lt. Joseph Bennett Plummer Manuscript Copy Letter Book:

A Guide


Descriptive Summary
	Creator:	Plummer, J. B. (Joseph Bennett).
	Title:	Lt. Joseph Bennett Plummer Manuscript Copy Letter Book
	Inclusive Dates:	1849-1853
	Bulk Dates:	1849-1851
	Abstract:	Lt. Joseph Bennett Plummer (1816-1862; West Point Class of 1841) was a 1st Lieutenant in the 1st U.S. Infantry and served as quartermaster on the Texas frontier. At the outbreak of the Civil War, he advanced to the rank of Brigadier General in the Army of the Mississippi, and died of complications from a combat wound on August 9, 1862. This manuscript copy letter book contains approximately 300 letters (circa 340 pages) written from Fort Brown (current day Brownsville) July 14, 1849, to February 24, 1850, and Fort Duncan (near Eagle Pass) March 18, 1850, to August 17,1851. As a regimental quartermaster, Plummer was responsible for provisioning all of the newly formed Army posts along the Rio Grande including Fort Duncan, one of the most exposed and remote forts on the Texas frontier. The ledger book consists of daily letters written to various quartermasters at posts along the Rio Grande, reports to superiors in San Antonio and Washington, D.C., as well as correspondence with private individuals with whom the forts conducted business.
	Identification:	AR450, OS387
	Extent:	1 oversize box (0.3 linear ft.)
	Language:	Materials are in English.
	Repository:	Special Collections, The University of Texas at Arlington Library

Biographical Note

Lt. Joseph Bennett Plummer (1816-1862; West Point Class of 1841) was a 1st Lieutenant in the 1st U.S. Infantry and served as quartermaster on the Texas frontier. At the outbreak of the Civil War, he advanced to the rank of Brigadier General in the Army of the Mississippi, and died of complications from a combat wound on August 9, 1862.

Scope and Contents

This manuscript copy letter book contains approximately 300 letters (circa 340 pages) written from Fort Brown (current day Brownsville) July 14, 1849, to February 24, 1850, and Fort Duncan (near Eagle Pass) March 18, 1850, to August 17,1851. As a regimental quartermaster, Plummer was responsible for provisioning all of the newly formed Army posts along the Rio Grande including Fort Duncan, one of the most exposed and remote forts on the Texas frontier. The ledger book consists of daily letters written to various quartermasters at posts along the Rio Grande, reports to superiors in San Antonio and Washington, D.C., as well as correspondence with private individuals with whom the forts conducted business. The collection documents the constant problems and frustrations encountered in establishing these frontier outposts. Plummer's letter of July 29, 1850, reports the Harry Love Expedition up the Rio Grande River, including two original manuscript map fragments from that expedition.

Restrictions

Access

Open for research.

Literary Rights Statement

Permission to publish, reproduce, distribute, or use by any and all other current or future developed methods or procedures must be obtained in writing from Special Collections, The University of Texas at Arlington Library. All rights are reserved and retained regardless of current or future development or laws that may apply to fair use standards.


Index Terms
	These materials are indexed under the following headings in the catalog of The University of Texas at Arlington Library. Researchers desiring materials about related topics, persons or places should search the catalog using these headings.
	Persons
		Plummer, J. B.--(Joseph Bennett),--d. 1862--Correspondence.
	Subjects
		Texas--History--19th century.
		Fortification--Texas--History--19th century.
	Places
		Fort Brown (Brownsville, Tex.)--History--19th century.
		Fort Duncan (tex.)--History.
		Rio Grande--Maps--1850.
	Formats
		Manuscript maps.
	Alternate Titles
		Historical Manuscripts Collection