Newburg farmer and alum Robert Henry donates rare Civil War book collection

UND alum Robert Henry, who farms near Newburg, N.D., with his wife Wanda, recently donated a collection of rare Civil War history books to the Elwyn B. Robinson Department of Special Collections at the Chester Fritz Library. The collection contains books by and about some of the most recognized names in American history, including Ulysses Grant and Robert E. Lee.

Henry, who graduated from UND in 1960 with a bachelor’s degree and in 1962 with a law degree, has been an avid rare book collector for several decades. This donation largely consists of autobiographies and biographies of generals and aides-de-camp from both the Union and the Confederacy. This collection includes books—all in excellent condition—written by and about Ulysses S. Grant, Stonewall Jackson, Robert E. Lee, James Longstreet, George McClellan, John Mosby, Phillip Sheridan, William Tecumseh Sherman and Jeb Stuart. The books will be housed in the Chester Fritz Libray’s Rare Book Collection.

“We are truly indebted to Henry for this amazing gift,” said Curt Hanson, head of Special Collections. “The books are a wonderful addition to the many resources the Chester Fritz Library already owns about this pivotal time period in American history.”

Henry also donated “The Last Buffalo Hunt” by Thomas Riggs, a rare pamphlet regarding the last winter buffalo hunt on the Great Plains, in 1880-1881. Henry—who was on the UND Foundation Board of Directors for nine years and chaired the board for one—previously donated to Special Collections several books written by noted Arctic explorer and fellow UND alum Vilhjalmur Stefansson.

To view these books, contact Special Collections at 701-777-4625 archives@mail.und.edu .

— Curt Hanson, head of Special Collections, Chester Fritz Library, 777-4626, curthanson@mail.und.edu.