Abstract
The Winston Papers consist mostly of the correspondence between Thomas Winston and his wife Caroline Mumford Winston during the three and a half years he was at war (1862-1866; he spent six months at home in late 1864 and early 1865). Winston imparts a vivid picture of what he saw and did while encamped with the Illinois 92nd, while also discussing at length many of the most vital and controversial issues of the time. Winston spends much time pondering issues of slavery and race relations. In his descriptions of the frustrations and "red tape" he encountered when finding hospitals for sick men and his opinions on other surgeons, Winston also delivers a full account of the state of military medicine during the Civil War.
Dates
- 1858-1945 (bulk 1861-1866)
Extent
1.26 Linear Feet (3 boxes)
Creator
- Winston, Thomas, 1829-1928 (Person)
Physical Location
Materials stored onsite. History of Medicine Division. National Library of Medicine
Language of Materials
Collection materials primarily in English
Restrictions
Collection is not restricted. Contact the Reference Staff for information regarding access.
Copyright and Re-use Information
Donor's copyrights were transferred to the public domain. Archival collections often contain mixed copyrights; while NLM is the owner of the physical items, permission to examine collection materials is not an authorization to publish. These materials are made available for use in research, teaching, and private study. It is the user's responsibility to research and understand any applicable copyright and re-publication rights not allowed by fair use. NLM does not grant permissions to publish.
Privacy Information
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Biographical Note
Physician Thomas Winston (1829-1928) was born in Wales, emigrated to the United States with his family at the age of two, and was orphaned at the age of ten. He worked as an apprentice to a Milwaukee tailor, leaving the job to head west at the age of seventeen. His trip ended, however, in rural Illinois, where he would live for most of his long life. He began his formal schooling at the age of twenty, earning his M.D. in 1858 from Chicago's Rush Medical School after a six-week course.
Soon after his 1861 marriage to Caroline Mumford and the birth of their first child, Winston went to fight for the Union in the Civil War. An ardent abolitionist and a strong believer in the Union cause, he served as a physician and surgeon to Illinois' 92nd regiment. He spent 1862 and 1863 encamped in the border areas of Kentucky and Tennessee, fighting measles and diarrhea in his regiment under threat of Confederate raids. He witnessed the battle of Chickamauga in September of 1863. His regiment also marched through Georgia in 1865, where Winston viewed the destruction wreaked by General Sherman and his men. He returned home to Illinois in 1866, where he continued to run a country practice. He also served as surgeon to the Illinois Central Railroad and invested in Western land. He spent his last years in Kansas and Nebraska after Caroline died in 1909. Winston died in Lawrence, Kansas, in 1928.
Collection Summary
The Winston Papers consist mostly of the correspondence between Thomas Winston and his wife Caroline Mumford Winston during the three and a half years he was at war (1862-1866; he spent six months at home in late 1864 and early 1865). Also present is a small collection of later family correspondence.
Both Winston and his wife Caroline were articulate and expressive writers. Winston in particular imparts a vivid picture of what he saw and did while encamped with the Illinois 92nd, while also discussing at length many of the most vital and controversial issues of the time. Winston spends much time pondering issues of slavery and race relations. In his descriptions of the frustrations and "red tape" he encountered when finding hospitals for sick men and his opinions on other surgeons, Winston also delivers a full account of the state of military medicine during the Civil War. Contemporary politics, Winston's participation in the Prohibition Party and his land in Nebraska are discussed in the later family letters written by Thomas Winston, Caroline Mumford Winston and their children (1870s-1910s). The Winston Papers would be of interest to those studying the Civil War and late nineteenth-century America in general, as well as to those interested in American medical history.
Abstract
The Winston Papers consist mostly of the correspondence between Thomas Winston and his wife Caroline Mumford Winston during the three and a half years he was at war (1862-1866; he spent six months at home in late 1864 and early 1865). Winston imparts a vivid picture of what he saw and did while encamped with the Illinois 92nd, while also discussing at length many of the most vital and controversial issues of the time. Winston spends much time pondering issues of slavery and race relations. In his descriptions of the frustrations and "red tape" he encountered when finding hospitals for sick men and his opinions on other surgeons, Winston also delivers a full account of the state of military medicine during the Civil War.
Physical Location
Materials stored onsite. History of Medicine Division. National Library of Medicine
Provenance
Gift, Caroline Newson Beshers (granddaughter), 10/1/1969, Accession #89, 124, 454, 463, 473.
Alternate Forms Available
Microfilm. [Bethesda, Md.] : National Library of Medicine, 1998. 1 microfilm reel : negative ; 35 mm.
General
- Processed by
- Francesca C. Morgan
- Completed
- May 24, 1991
- Encoded by
- John P. Rees
Creator
- Winston, Thomas, 1829-1928 (Person)
Source
- Winston, Caroline Mumford (Person)
- Winston family (Family)
- Title
- Finding Aid to the Thomas Winston Papers, 1845-1915 (bulk 1861-1866)
- Status
- Unverified Partial Draft
- Author
- Archives and Modern Manuscripts Program, History of Medicine Division
- Date
- May 24, 1991; September 2002
- Language of description
- English
- Script of description
- Latn
- Language of description note
- Finding aid is written in English
- Edition statement
- Version 1.0
Revision Statements
- July 2004: PUBLIC "-//National Library of Medicine::History of Medicine Division//TEXT (US::DNLM::MS C 207::Thomas Winston Papers)//EN" "winston" converted from EAD 1.0 to 2002 by v1to02.xsl (sy2003-10-15).
Collecting Area Details
Part of the Archives and Modern Manuscripts Collection Collecting Area
8600 Rockville Pike
Bldg 38/1E-21, MSC 3819
Bethesda MD 20894 US
1-888-FINDNLM (1-888-346-3656)
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