The James Sibree Anderson papers consist of the following groups of records: CIVIL WAR EXPERIENCE, LAW PRACTICE, and PERSONAL.
The CIVIL WAR EXPERIENCE materials constitute the collection's strength. The series contains about 135 letters written by Anderson to his parents and sisters from June 1861 when his company reached Camp Randall until his discharge in July 1864. There are also three volumes recording his Civil War service consisting of an account written by Anderson around 1864 of his experiences from April 1861 to December 1862 (most likely using his original diary which is not a part of the collection), and two diaries (Jan. 1863-July 1864). In both letters and diaries, Anderson was a careful and candid observer of a Wisconsin regiment that became a part of the Army of the Potomac and participated in some of the heaviest campaigns of the war. He was deeply interested in the movements of the whole army, the cause of slavery, the political situation, and affairs in Wisconsin.
Anderson also wrote several accounts and articles about the Civil War including a lengthy paper read before the Manitowoc Historical Society in 1911 entitled “Manitowoc County in the Civil War,” two articles about the battle of Rappahannock Station, a handwritten account of the battle of Antietam, and a history of the Horace M. Walker Post No. 18, Grand Army of the Republic. Anderson's notes, an annotated muster roll, and miscellaneous documents (ca. 1862-1913) regarding the 5th Wisconsin Infantry; and some correspondence (1880-1917) largely relating to G.A.R. matters and Anderson's written accounts complete this series.
LAW PRACTICE materials relate to Anderson's early work as an attorney and do not contain materials relating to his later work as Wisconsin Assemblyman or Manitowoc County Judge. Two letterbooks (1881-1888) are difficult to read and primarily consist of Anderson's correspondence involving client case work, including Civil War pension claims. However, there are occasional letters written by Anderson involving state and local Republican politics, G.A.R. matters, and personal affairs. A court docket book (ca. 1880-1890) of cases for which Anderson served as attorney and a collections book (1872-1876) provide additional context for the correspondence and Anderson's beginning law work.
PERSONAL documents consist of disparate papers including a personal financial journal (1878-1879); Scottish military papers of Anderson's father, John Anderson, Sr.; and scattered correspondence (1866-1926) including a few letters Anderson wrote home while a student at Lawrence College in Appleton, an 1889 letter received from a Watertown minister protesting the state's education-related Bennett law, and an 1891 letter Anderson wrote to H. C. Payne, chair of the Republican State Committee.
