Peter L. Dumont Papers, 1858-1880; bulk, 1862-1865
SC23315

Quantity:	2 boxes (0.50 cubic ft.)
Access:	Open to research
Acquisition:	Gift: Diana McCarthy, Slingerlands, N.Y., November 2014
Processed By:	Fred Bassett, Senior Librarian, Manuscripts and Special Collections, January-April, 2015

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Biographical Note:

Peter L. (Peter Lewis) Dumont was born about 1837, the son of Lewis and Sabrina Dumont, who may have been living in Schoharie County, New York, at the time. Public records indicate the Dumont family had taken up residence in Utica, Oneida County, New York, by 1855. About 1858 Peter married Clarinda Myers, the daughter of Henry and Elisabeth Myers of Whitestown, Oneida County, New York. They lived in Utica and had two children: Ida Elizabeth (b. 1859) and William (b. 1862). Based on inferences found in his letters, Peter appears to have been employed as a molder with the Hart & Dagwell foundry in Utica. An 1861 Utica city directory lists Dumont's occupation as laborer and shows him living at 21 Varick Street.

During the Civil War, Peter Dumont enlisted for three years' service with the 146th New York Regiment of Infantry on August 22, 1862. He was mustered in as a private with Company A on October 10, 1862, and was promoted to sergeant on January 31, 1863, according to his letter of that date. His regiment was involved in the battles at Fredericksburg and Chancellorsville, Virginia. During the latter, Dumont was taken prisoner and subsequently confined to Libby Prison for several days before being released and paroled, first at Annapolis, Maryland, and later at a convalescence camp at Alexandria, Virginia. He rejoined his regiment about October 5, 1863, according to his letter of October 8, 1863, which was written at a camp near Culpeper, Virginia. In October and November 1863, the 146th Regiment participated in battles and campaigns at Bristoe, Rappahannock Station, and Mine Run, Virginia. The 146th Infantry encamped near Warrenton, Virginia, from late December 1863 until the end of April 1864. On May 5, 1864, the regiment was engaged in the battle at the Wilderness, where Dumont went missing in action and is presumed to have been killed.

Scope and Content Note:

These papers consist chiefly of the letters (about 130) Peter L. Dumont sent to his wife, Clarinda, whom he frequently addressed as Clara, regarding his experiences of military service during the Civil War. Dumont articulately discusses battles and skirmishes, camp life, disease, the horrors of war, picket duty, troop movements, the rigors of marching, and military strategy. Letters of special interest include those written in December 1862, which detail the Battle of Fredericksburg; and those of May 1863, which detail the Battle of Chancellorsville. In particular, the letter of May 17, 1863, indicates he was captured in battle on May 1 and then marched to Richmond, Virginia, where he was confined at Libby Prison from May 8 to 13, before being released. His letters indicate he was detained until early October at special parole camps, first at Annapolis, Maryland, and later, at Camp Convalescent near Alexandria, Virginia.

After Dumont rejoined his regiment in early October 1863, letters written during the following two months detail troop movements and occasional skirmishes with Confederate forces in the vicinity of Culpeper, Warrenton, Kelley's Ford, and Rapidan River in Virginia. In his letter of November 9, 1863, he discusses a battle that appears to have taken place by the Rappahannock River: " the Rebs lost a great Number in killed & wounded & we took about 22 hundred prisoners besides driveing [sic] them into the River & drowning a good many of them & 9 pieces of artillery."

Dumont's letters of December 1863 indicate his unit was camped near Bealeton Station, Virginia, until they moved to a camp near Warrenton Junction, Virginia, just before the end of the year. They remained camped near Warrenton – written as "Warrington" in many letters – until the end of April 1864. The last letter in the collection written by Dumont is dated April 29, 1864; in it he writes that he anticipates being sent into battle but "wherever I may be Placed I Shall try & do my duty as well as I Can. I hope the Lord will Spare us to meet again on earth. I have not much more news to write so I will close hoping to hear from you soon again. Take Good Care of yourself & our little ones. Give my love to all of my Folks & may heaven Protect us all evermore. God be ever with us. From your affectionate husband with love, Sergt. P.L. Dumont."

Besides military matters, Dumont's letters reveal mixed feelings of pride and of a sense of duty in serving his country versus intense fear and loneliness. Homesickness, worries about money, concerns about the health and well-being of his family also were mentioned frequently along with concerns about his own health and the imminent possibility of death. Peter and Clarinda's two children, Ida and William, are frequently mentioned in the letters and addressed as his "little lambs."

Most of Dumont's letters were written in ink. Several were written on stationery with an illustration in the letterhead, some of which are identified as having been created by the firm of Charles Magnus, a print publisher, map dealer, bookseller and stationer working in New York City, and a few feature pen-and-ink or pencil sketches by Dumont that depict scenes of camp, the battle at Fredericksburg, and Libby Prison. Occasionally the letters included short poems and romantic prose written by Dumont. He did not master spelling, but in general his letters are quite legible and well written.

The papers include three letters sent to Clarinda Dumont in 1865 regarding the death of her husband, including a letter from Clara Barton at the Office of Correspondence with the Friends of the Missing Men of the United States Army.

Also included are photographic portraits of Peter L. Dumont, Clarinda, and daughter Ida and a Bible that is significant for the annotations and Peter L. Dumont sketches found on pastedowns and free endpapers.

Provenance Note:

Before the papers of Peter L. Dumont were donated to the New York State Library in November 2014, they were passed down through five generations of descendants beginning with Ida Elizabeth Dumont Cummins, the daughter of Peter L. and Clarinda Dumont.

At the time of the donation, there were six pieces that were described as fragments or undated letters. Upon further review by the curator and the donor of the letters, five of these pieces were paired with other letters that were found to be incomplete. These pairings are noted in the inventory list. Otherwise, the letters have been kept in the same order as received from the donor.

The donation also included an oil painting on canvas depicting two Union army officers on horseback leading troops through mountainous terrain. Although the work is unsigned, it has been attributed to Peter L. Dumont. The painting is housed in the New York State Museum.

Related Sources:

Digital images of the letters and transcriptions of several of them are available at http://www.peterdumontcivilwar.com/ courtesy of Diana and Brian McCarthy, the donors of the letters and artifacts. Biographical, genealogical, and related historical information on the life and career of Peter L. Dumont is also available at the site.

Box and Folder List:

Note: Dumont was not always careful about stating the date correctly on his letters, so the arrangement here is not strictly chronological by the date stated on the letter. Instead the placement of a particular item was determined by its content. For example, several letters that say "1862" were written in 1863. Similarly, undated letters were also interfiled when the content provided sufficient evidence for their placement. All these discrepancies are noted in the inventory list.