Ezra Ayers Carman (1834-1909) was a Civil War officer interested in the history of that war and particularly the Battle of Antietam. Carman served on the Antietam Battlefield Board from 1894 to 1898 and in 1905 was appointed chairman of the Chickamauga and Chattanooga National Military Park Commission at the insistence of the previous chairman, Henry V.N. Boynton. Carman also served as Chief Clerk in the U.S. Dept. of Agriculture from 1877 to 1885. His son, Dr. Louis D. Carman (1860-1936), was a medical examiner in the U.S. Pension Bureau from 1883 to 1933. Collection contains both personal papers and items collected by Ezra Carman and his son. Bulk of the materials concerns the Civil War and consists of letters to Carman describing battlefield tactics and events, Confederate documents, records of the U.S. Navy and War Depts., newsclippings, illustrations, maps, and papers of General Joseph Hooker. The collection also has Agriculture Dept. records during Carman's tenure as Chief Clerk and records of the U.S. Pension Bureau. In addition, there are personal papers of Louis Carman and Henry Boynton.
The Ezra A. Carman papers are arranged in three series:
Carman's correspondence contains both his incoming personal and professional correspondence. Included here Is his correspondence as the Chairman of the Antietam Battlefield Board and Commissioner of the Chickamauga Chattanooga National Military Park Commission.
Miscellaneous correspondence includes a document that outlines the handling of Carman's maps held by the Red Cross.
Selected materials available on microfilm; New York Public Library; *ZL-222