Correspondence, 1856-1863

This collection contains Joseph Burchinal’s correspondence, course work, speeches and other materials during and after his education at Washington College in Chestertown, Maryland. Included in his correspondence are two letters that discuss the beginning of the Civil War and mention soldiers in Chestertown, the other is on stationary with an image of Uncle Sam kicking Jeff Davis. There are also letters to two of Washington College’s presidents and Dr. Montgomery Jones. In Burchinal’s course work there are compositions in English and French, speeches he delivered to the Mount Vernon Society, of which he was Treasurer, and other work for classes including Greek, Latin, and math. There is also an essay from 1860 on whether the South has a right to secede if a Republican won the election. After graduating Burchinal worked as a teacher and one of his attendance books is in this collection.

This collection is divided into two main series: Series 1: Correspondence, Series 2: Student work.