William W. Belknap Papers

The collection consists primarily of correspondence, documents, and miscellaneous
material of William Worth Belknap (Princeton Class of 1848) and his father,
William Goldsmith Belknap (1794-1851), of Newburgh, New York. Included are
official correspondence of William Goldsmith Belknap, a career soldier, covering
his service in the army at the battle of Fort Erie, Canada, during the War of
1812, in Florida (1841-1843) during the Seminole War, and in Texas (1844-1851),
where he fought in the Mexican-American War. Correspondents include William
Jenkin Worth, J. T. Sprague, and Henry Whitney. There is also a series of
letters (1835-1851), to his wife, Anne Clark Belknap, from various military
posts in the Southwest, Florida, and Texas.William Worth Belknap settled in Keokuk, Iowa, in 1851. The papers include his
official correspondence and documents relating to his service with the 15th Iowa
Infantry in the Civil War and, afterwards, as collector of internal revenue in
Iowa (1865-1869), but they mainly concern his trial and impeachment on charges
of receiving bribes for appointments of post-traders at Fort Sill, Indian
Territory (Oklahoma), while serving as secretary of war (1869-1876). There are
letters by Chester Alan Arthur, Ulysses S. Grant, and Philip Sheridan, as well
as a large file of family correspondence, including correspondence of Belknap's
sister, Clara Belknap Wolcott, and other Wolcott family members. Also present
are Civil War ordnance and casualty records, tax reports, War Department
reports, a few photographs, printed matter, and genealogical material.