American Historical Ephemera and Photography

Group constituting the following: 8 war-date letters addressed to Andrew J. "Jackson" Sims (sometimes Simms) from family members with accompanying covers; two diary-style pages listing the movements of the 7th Maryland, handwritten by Andrew J. Sims while serving in Co. H, 7th Maryland Volunteers; and a CDV standing portrait of uniformed soldier with inscription in ink on verso "Andrew Simms / Company F 11 / Mary land / regement harpers / farry / V A" and below that inscription in pencil "Thomas A Simms."

Homefront correspondence to "Jackson" Sims from his mother Elizabeth and other family members demonstrates the difficulties faced at home while loved ones were away at war. Anthony J. Sims's manuscript pages reveal a soldier whose regiment was regularly engaged, and his awareness of the ever-present possibility he would not make it home to his family members. Scrawled at the bottom of his page listing the regiment's movements from "Camp Druid Hill Park" in Baltimore September 1862 through December 1863, is this plea: "When this you see remember me AJ Sims Sunday morning Dec 13th 1863 Camp Near Kelysford [sic] Va." The soldier in the CDV portrait is likely Andrew J. Sims's brother, Thomas Anthony Simms, who enlisted on 6/16/1864 as a private and mustered in to Co. F, Maryland 11th infantry.

HDS indicates that an Andrew I. [typo] Sim[m]s enlisted on 9/2/1862 as a private and mustered into "H" Co. Maryland 7th Infantry. "Jack" or "Jackson" Simms (1821-1901) was the son of Elizabeth and Andrew Sims Jr. Presumably on account of her husband's death in 1855, Elizabeth was left struggling for money, and especially relied upon her son to send money during the war. A father himself, "Jack" would also have worked to send money home to his wife Mary and their children.
Sims mustered out on 5/31/1865 at Washington, D.C.