Smithsonian needs help as it deciphers
diary of Civil War artist Henry Mosler

If you’ve ever heard of or about Civil War artist Henry Mosler, the Smithsonian institution would like to hear from you.

Kelly Quinn, a project manager for the Smithsonian’s Archives of American Art, is working with the diary of Mosler, who recorded his impressions and illustration in the book. Specifically, it’s the artist’s diary for October 1862 that’s being studied and included in a transcript designed to make the volume more legible.

Mosler had his illustrations about The War in Kentucky published in Harper’s Weekly between Dec. 7, 1861 and Nov. 26, 1862. The artist covered the Battle of Perryville (Oct. 8, 1862) in the diary and could have included more about other activities related to the Confederacy’s 1862 Kentucky invasion.

Quinn’s goal is to have the diary project completed by October.

Here is what the project manager needs:

• How Mosler conveyed his drawings to the editor’s at Harper’s Weekly.
• Did he send drawings through sutlers?
• Could sutlers have posted them through the mail system?
• Could the drawings have been dispatched another way?

Any information about the above would be helpful, Quinn explains.

Quinn can be contacted at:

Kelly Quinn,
Terra Foundation Project Manager for Online Scholarly and Educational Initiatives
Archives of American Art
Smithsonian Institution
P.O. Box 37012
Victor Building, Suite 2200, MRC 937
Washington, D.C. 20013-7012

Quinn can be reached by e-mail at QuinnK@si.edu or by phone at 202-633-7972 or fax at 202-633-7994.