William Gibbs McAdoo Diary Extracts
Two versions of William Gibbs McAdoo's diary documenting his life from 1846 to 1894. McAdoo wrote this diary and series of letters during the Mexican War, Civil War, and through his later years until 1894. Volume 1 is the draft version of the compilation of these extracts and Volume 2 is the final version. The diary begins in 1846 at a camp near Camargo, Mexico, and documents McAdoo’s time in the Mexican War through May 1847. Diary entries continue in January 1856 during McAdoo's time as local attorney general through his time during the Civil War as he performs his duties as an officer of the Confederacy, and until 1873 as he describes both personal and professional experiences. The diary resumes in 1876 and includes events relating to his move back to Knoxville and professorship at the University of Tennessee beginning in 1877. Entries continue mostly regularly, with a few lapses, until approximately two months before his death in 1894. The diary in his later years focuses on his personal life and includes some genealogical information.
Dates
- 1846-1894
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Conditions Governing Use
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Extent
0.25 Linear Feet (2 folders)
Abstract
Two versions of William Gibbs McAdoo's diary documenting his life from 1846 to 1894. McAdoo wrote this diary and series of letters during the Mexican War, Civil War, and through his later years until 1894. Volume 1 is the draft version of the compilation of these extracts and Volume 2 is the final version.
Biographical/Historical Note
William Gibbs McAdoo, born in 1820 in Knoxville, Tennessee, graduated from East Tennessee University (now the University of Tennessee) in 1845. Upon graduating he served in the State Legislature, and from 1846-1847 served in the military during the Mexican War. After the war, he became attorney general for the Knoxville district (1851-1860). During the Civil War, he served as a Captain in the Army of the Confederate States, but was removed to Georgia in 1862 after political disputes with Governor Brownlow about sectionalism.
Never fully recovering financially from the Civil War, McAdoo invested himself in intellectual pursuits during the subsequent years. In 1871 he became the judge for Georgia's 20th Judicial District. In 1877 he returned to Tennessee to work as a jurist and professor at the University of Tennessee, but he also wrote about his Mexican War experiences and published a book on Tennessee geology, a tract on geographical nomenclature, and several addresses.
McAdoo was married to Mary Faith Floyd. Both he and his wife wrote essays and book reviews for local Knoxville newspapers. Their son, William Gibbs McAdoo Jr., later served in the United States Senate and became Secretary of the Treasury under Woodrow Wilson. McAdoo Sr., died at home in Knoxville in August 1894, and is buried in Gray Cemetery.
Arrangement
This collection is in two folders.
Repository Details
Part of the Betsey B. Creekmore Special Collections and University Archives, University of Tennessee, Knoxville Repository