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Council A. Bryan was born in Washington County, Florida, on January 17, 1830. The Bryan family moved to Leon County in 1832. Bryan attended private schools and later the Cokesbury Institute in South Carolina for two years. He served as the Clerk of the Circuit Court of Leon County from 1855 to 1861.
In February, 1862, Bryan enrolled in the Trapier Guards, which eventually became Company C of the Fifth Florida Infantry. William Dunnington Bloxham, future governor of Florida, commanded the company. In April of 1862, the unit mustered into Confederate service and went to Virginia, where it became part of Robert E. Lee's Army of Northern Virginia. Along with the Second and Eighth Florida Regiments, the Fifth eventually organized into a Florida Brigade under the command of another future Florida Governor, Edward Aylsworth Perry. The Florida Brigade participated in all the major campaigns of Lee's Army, particularly heavily engaged at Gettysburg. Bryan served in the Fifth Florida as a Lieutenant and then as Captain of Company C. His brother, Joseph L. Bryan, was a Sergeant in the same company.
After the war, Bryan was re-elected to the position of Clerk of Circuit Court of Leon County. He died in 1907 and is buried in the Old City Cemetery in Tallahassee.
Summary:
The collection consists of the papers of Council A. Bryan. The materials deal primarily with his Confederate service. Of interest is his correspondence with his wife, Cornelia Archer Bryan, from 1862 to 1864. Bryan often commented on the condition of the men in his company; his concern for his brother, Joe; and his concern for his wife. He also wrote of military activities and campaigns. The July 22-25, 1863 letter describes the Confederate retreat from Gettysburg.
A casualty list of the Florida Brigade for the 1864 Wilderness Campaign is also in the collection, as is a Confederate Veterans pamphlet and two letters written to Mrs. Mary Archer in thanks for her preservation of Florida's Civil War battle flags. Florida Adjutant General and Civil War hero Captain J. J. Dickison wrote one of the letters.
The collection also includes a small folder of loose, miscellaneous material and an account book. Both are antebellum and both contain merchant accounts. The book also contains what appears to be a partial Chancery Court index. The restrictions on the rest of the collection do not affect the miscellaneous materials.
Finding Aids:
Folder listing available. 0
Additional Physical Form:
Reproduction Note:
Photocopies.
Location of Originals/Duplicates:
Originals in possession of donor.
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Electronic Records Access:
Subject Access Fields:
Confederate States of America. Army. --Florida Infantry Regiment, 5th.
Civil War (Fla.) Gettysburg (Pa.), Battle of, 1863. Wilderness, Battle of the, Va., 1864.
Florida History Civil War, 1861-1865 United States History Civil War, 1861-1865
Added Entries
Bryan, Cornelia Archer, d. 1907
Dickison, John Jackson, 1816-1902
for detailed listing.