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William Radford letter

 Collection
Identifier: MSS-1177
  • No requestable containers

Scope and Contents

The collection contains the original, along with a typed transcript of a letter, from Radford in Norfolk, Virginia, to Lieutenant Commander T. C. Harris, commanding U.S.S. Yantic, relative to the security of Jefferson Davis, a prisoner at Fortress Monroe.

Dates

  • Creation: 1865 July 15

Creator

Conditions Governing Access

None

Biographical / Historical

William Radford, born 9 September 1809 was a rear admiral of the United States Navy who served during the Mexican-American War and the American Civil War. There is a discrepancy with some references which report his birth date as March 1, 1808, but family records and the U.S. Federal Census forms support the 1809 date.

Radford married Mary "Minnie" Elizabeth Lovell in Morristown, New Jersey, on 3 November 1848. The couple had seven children: Mary Lovell Radford (1849–1929); William Radford (1851–1852); Sophie Adelaide Radford (1854–1957); Stephen Kearny Radford (1856–1930); George Reginald Radford (1860–1945); Edmund Ironsides Radford (1865–1881); and Henry Carlton Radford (1867–1896).

After an extensive naval career where he served in the Mediterranean, the East and West Indies, the Pacific, North Atlantic, and European squadrons of the U.S. Navy, Radford died on 8 January 1890 in Washington, DC.

Extent

0.05 Linear Feet (2 items)

Language of Materials

English

Abstract

Original and typed copy from Radford to Lieutenant Commander T. C. Harris, discussing a possible attempt to rescue Jefferson Davis, a prisoner at Fortress Monroe.

Provenance

unknown

General

To provide faster access to our materials, this finding aid was published without formal and final review. Email us at archives@ua.edu if you find mistakes or have suggestions to make this finding aid more useful for your research.

Processed by

R. Rumstay, 2008; updated by Martha Bace, 2013

Title
Guide to the William Radford letter
Status
Completed
Date
March 2008
Description rules
Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Language of description
English
Script of description
Latin
Language of description note
English

Repository Details

Part of the The University of Alabama Libraries Special Collections Repository

Contact:
Box 870266
Tuscaloosa AL 35487-0266
205.348.0513