Thomas Nickerson

The gripping first-hand narrative of the whaling ship disaster that inspired Melville’s Moby-Dick and informed Nathaniel Philbrick’s monumental history, In the Heart of the Sea
 
In 1820, the Nantucket whaleship Essex was rammed by an angry sperm whale thousands of miles from home in the South Pacific. The Essex sank, leaving twenty crew members drifting in three small open boats for ninety...

This collection contains original manuscript writings of relating to the experience of Rhode Islanders serving in the Civil War. The bulk of the collection includes correspondence between Rhode Island soldiers and loved ones at home. Also included is correspondence of Charlotte F. Dailey who inspected Union convalescent hospitals and reported on the experience of Rhode Island troops. Also included is a field diary for the year 1862 written by Private...