The Documents section features digitized copies of documents relating to the history of the school. These documents include correspondence, graduation pamphlets, and other forms of ephemera, and have been digitized by Digital Resource Center staff. Today, these documents are preserved in a number of locations, including the Dickinson College Archives and Special Collections as well as private collections.
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December 20-30, 1878
Hampton Institute Principal Samuel Chapman Armstrong responds to Commissioner of Indian Affairs E. A. Hayt's inquiry regarding the need for Captain Richard Henry Pratt to stay at Hampton to help care for and manage the Indian students. Armstrong…
Repository: National Archives and Records Administration
Topics:
Format: Letters/Correspondence
View Document: Preference that Pratt Stay at Hampton to Assist with Indian Students301.68 KB
January 9, 1879
Secretary of War George W. McCrary forwards and endorses a letter from the General of the Army in response to a request to grant Richard Henry Pratt the authority to remain at the Hampton Institute for three months. The note states that Pratt is…
Repository: National Archives and Records Administration
Topics:
Format: Letters/Correspondence
View Document: Need for Pratt to Choose Between Hampton Institute and his Military Service346.13 KB
January 14, 1879
Richard H. Pratt states that he currently has 57 male students at Hampton and is looking to recruit 20 female students. He goes on to say that he plans to send most of the former Ft. Marion prisoners currently enrolled at Hamtpon on outings,…
Repository: National Archives and Records Administration
Format: Letters/Correspondence
View Document: Sending "Florida Boys" at Hampton on Outings 351.46 KB
February 14, 1879
Spencer Fullteron Baird, Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution, writes to Secretary of the Interior Carl Schurz to endorse Captain Richard H. Pratt's request to establish an Indian School at the Carlisle Barracks. Baird contends that there is…
Repository: National Archives and Records Administration
Topics: Founding of the School
Format: Letters/Correspondence
View Document: Recommendation of Carlisle Barracks as Location for Indian School161.88 KB
May 29, 1879
Richard H. Pratt informs Commissioner of Indian Affairs E. A. Hayt that it will take a week to place the male students from Hampton on farms in Massachusetts and then he will travel to Florida. Pratt expects to place a dozen male students on…
Repository: National Archives and Records Administration
Format: Letters/Correspondence
View Document: Placing Hampton Students on Outing on Farms in Massachusetts109.33 KB
June 2, 1879
Richard H. Pratt informs Commissioner of Indian Affairs E. A. Hayt that there are problems "persuading these Yankee farmers" in Massachusetts to be outing hosts for Hampton students. While seven farmers are interested in hosting a student, Pratt…
Repository: National Archives and Records Administration
Topics: Outing Patrons
Format: Letters/Correspondence
View Document: Problem with Finding Outing Hosts in Massachusetts142.25 KB
June 2, 1879
Hampton Institute Principal Samuel C. Armstrong states that they are currently educating 38 Indian boys and only 9 Indian girls, so he requests that they recruit 20 Dakota female Indian students. He requests that, if his wish is granted, Captain…
Repository: National Archives and Records Administration
Format: Letters/Correspondence
View Document: Request to Recruit Dakota Students for Hampton308.59 KB
July 18 - July 19, 1879
Lieutenant Melville C. Wilkinson requests to temporarily engage in "Indian educational work" in Oregon, and Acting Secretary of the Interior A. Bell forwards and endorses Wilkinson's request to the Commissioner of Indian Affairs and the Secretary…
Repository: National Archives and Records Administration
Topics: Indian School System
Format: Letters/Correspondence
View Document: Request to Engage in Indian Education in Oregon305.18 KB
July 23, 1879 - August 1, 1879
Secretary of War George W. McCrary informs Assistant Secretary of the Interior A. Bell that he does not have authority to allow Lieutenant Melville C. Wilkinson to engage in Indian education as Richard Henry Pratt is already in that line of work…
Repository: National Archives and Records Administration
Topics: Indian School System
Format: Letters/Correspondence
View Document: Denial of Authority to Engage in Indian Education in Oregon263.03 KB
August 4, 1879
Letter from Richard Henry Pratt to Commissioner of Indian Affairs Ezra A. Hayt suggesting an increase in the per-student funding afforded by the government to Indian schools. Pratt also encourages the Commissioner to continue pursuing…
Repository: National Archives and Records Administration
Format: Letters/Correspondence
View Document: Per-Student Funding and Establishment of School at Carlisle12.43 MB
August 22, 1879
Commissioner of Indian Affairs E. A. Hayt instructs the Acting Commissioner to allow Richard Henry Pratt to select 70 students from Sioux Nations and 30 from the Kiowa, Comanche, Cheyenne, and Arapaho Nations.
Note: This item was copied…
Repository: National Archives and Records Administration
Topics: Founding of the School
Format: Letters/Correspondence
View Document: Order to Recruit Sioux, Kiowa, Comanche, Cheyenne, and Arapaho Students98.96 KB
August 22, 1879
Adjutant General E. D. Townsend states that the Secretary of War has approved the Secretary of the Interior's request to transfer the Carlisle Barracks from the War Department to the Interior. The Barracks will be used as a school for Indian…
Repository: National Archives and Records Administration
Topics: Founding of the School
Format: Letters/Correspondence
View Document: Transfer of Carlisle Barracks from War Department to Interior Department221.86 KB
August 23, 1879
Secretary of War George W. McCrary informs the Secretary of the Interior that he has issued orders to transfer the Carlisle Barracks to the Interior Department to use as an Indian school.
Note: This item was copied from U.S. National…
Repository: National Archives and Records Administration
Topics: Founding of the School
Format: Letters/Correspondence
View Document: Plans to Transfer Carlisle Barracks to the Interior Department234.9 KB
August 23, 1879 - October 14, 1879
The Chief Clerk for the Secretary of War forwards a series of documents to the Secretary of the Interior regarding the transfer of the Carlisle Barracks from the War Department to the Interior Department. First, Adjutant General E. D. Townsend…
Repository: National Archives and Records Administration
Topics: Founding of the School
View Document: Special Order to Appraise Property Transferred from Department of War to Interior616.55 KB
August 25, 1879
Acting Secretary of the Interior A. Bell informs the Commissioner of Indian Affairs that he is giving permission to Lieutenant Richard Henry Pratt to proceed to Lee, Massachusetts. Bell notes that Pratt will secure current Hampton Institute…
Repository: National Archives and Records Administration
Format: Letters/Correspondence
View Document: Authority for Pratt to Bring Hampton Students to Carlisle219.68 KB
August 25, 1879 - January 7, 1880
Secretary of War Alex Ramsey transmits to Secretary of the Interior Carl Schurz a report from Lieutenant E. T. C. Richmond indicating that the transfer of the Carlisle Barracks from the War Department to the Interior was completed on January 6,…
Repository: National Archives and Records Administration
Topics: Founding of the School
View Document: Documents Relating to the Transfer of the Carlisle Barracks to the Interior Department834.11 KB
August 25, 1879 - August 29, 1879
Captain William G. Mitchell issues Special Orders No. 52 ordering the transfer of the Carlisle Barracks from the War Department to the Interior Department, with the Barracks' commanding officer Lieutenant E. T. C. Richmond overseeing the transfer…
Repository: National Archives and Records Administration
Topics: Founding of the School
View Document: Special Order for the Transfer of Carlisle Barracks to the Interior Department450.12 KB
August 30, 1879 - September 9, 1879
Adjutant General E. D. Townsend informs the Commanding General of the Atlantic that the Secretary of War George W. McCrary has ordered that all "movable property" at the Carlisle Barracks be turned over to the Indian Bureau as part of the…
Repository: National Archives and Records Administration
Topics: Founding of the School
Format: Letters/Correspondence
View Document: Order to Transfer all "Movable Property" at Carlisle Barracks to the Bureau of Indian Affairs383.12 KB
September 2, 1879
Richard H. Pratt forwards an estimate of cost for necessary repairs to the buildings at the Carlisle Barracks. These repairs, which are needed to prepare the buildings for use by the Carlisle Indian School, are estimated to cost $1,399.00.
…Repository: National Archives and Records Administration
View Document: Estimate of Cost for Repairing Buildings at Carlisle Barracks for Indian School548.37 KB
September 6, 1879
Acting Secretary of the Interior A. Bell informs the Commissioner of Indian Affairs that the War Department has transferred the buildings at the Carlisle Barracks to the Interior Department and that Special Agent Richard Henry Pratt is authorized…
Repository: National Archives and Records Administration
Format: Letters/Correspondence
View Document: Pratt Authorized to Recruit Students for Carlisle and Take Charge of the Barracks for the School281.95 KB
September 8, 1879
Letter from Richard Henry Pratt to the Commissioner of Indian Affairs, transferring his account of travel expenses from Florida. Immediately before this time, Pratt had been sent to Florida to locate, enumerate, and report on the condition of the…
Repository: National Archives and Records Administration
Topics:
View Document: Account for Transit Expenses from Florida1.05 MB
September 9, 1879
List of supplies requested by Richard Henry Pratt for the school he is preparing to establish at Carlisle Barracks. Requested supplies include clothing, fabric, sewing supplies, tableware, cooking supplies, and firefighting equipment.
…
Repository: National Archives and Records Administration
Format: Letters/Correspondence
View Document: Request for Personal and School Supplies for Carlisle Indian School4.88 MB
September 10, 1879
Richard Henry Pratt forwards his Supplementary Property Return forms to the Commissioner of Indian Affairs.
Repository: National Archives and Records Administration
Topics: Financial Affairs - Management
Format: Letters/Correspondence
View Document: Forwarding Supplementary Property Return Forms1.72 MB
September 10, 1879
Letter from Superintendent Richard Henry Pratt to Commissioner of Indian Affairs Ezra Hayt, forwarding drawings of the Carlisle Barracks and a copy of the transfer order. Those enclosures are not included here.
Repository: National Archives and Records Administration
Format: Letters/Correspondence
View Document: Letter About Drawings of Carlisle Barracks1.95 MB
September 10, 1879
Correspondence from Superintendent Pratt to Commissioner of Indian Affairs Ezra Hayt noting that any communication regarding supplies will receive immediate attention.
Other documents from this same time period attest to Pratt's desperate…
Repository: National Archives and Records Administration
Format: Letters/Correspondence
View Document: Notice Regarding Need for Supplies1.72 MB