John Thomas Scharf (May 1, 1843 – February 28, 1898) was an American historian, author, journalist,antiquarian, politician, lawyer andConfederate States of America soldier and sailor. He is best known for his published historical works. Modern historians and researcherscite his comprehensive histories asprimary source materials.
Scharf used a formulaic and detailed approach to preparing his historical works. He contacted everyone who could provide information about his subject and used detail questionnaires to capture responses to his inquiries.[1] The J. Thomas Scharf Collection, 1730s–1892, held by theMaryland Historical Society, shows off his massive collection of original source materials.[2]
Scharf was one of the first American historians to consistently use newspapers as a primary source. Rather than trying to analyze the source material, he often quoted at length from newspapers, magazines, pamphlets, and state and city documents. His books are written in the flowery style of his day, and several of his works, although long, are still considered among the best primary sources available. When writing about the American Civil War, the central event of his generation, he could not remain objective, and clearly articulated his strongpro-South perspective and prejudice about the war in which he fought. Still, hisHistory of the Confederate States Navy remains a particularly valuable contribution to the literature of the American Civil War.[1]
At the outbreak of the war, Scharf enlisted with the1st Maryland Artillery. He fought in theConfederate States Army andNavy.[2] Returning from the war, Scharf helped reorganize theMarylandstate militia. He practiced law and took positions as a city editor for the Baltimore Evening News and managing editor for the Baltimore Sunday Telegram. He accumulated a mass of papers on the city ofBaltimore and from these he published his first major work,The Chronicles of Baltimore.[3]
^abCynthia H. Requardt (May 1978)."J. Thomas Scharf Collection, 1730s–1892".H. Furlong Baldwin Library. Maryland Historical Society.Archived from the original on August 7, 2008. RetrievedDecember 28, 2009.
Richard J. Cox,A Century of Frustration: The Movement for a State Archives in Maryland, 1811–1935, Maryland Historical Magazine, 78 (Summer 1983): 106–117.
Francis B. Culver,The War Romance of John Thomas Scharf, Maryland Historical Magazine, 21 (September 1926): 295–302.
Edward G. Howard,Introduction to History of Baltimore City and County, by J. Thomas Scharf (Baltimore: Regional Publishing, 1971).
Morris L. Radoff,An Elusive Manuscript—The Proceedings of the Maryland Convention of 1774,American Archivist, 30 (January 1967): 59–65.
Radoff,Foreword to The History of Maryland, by J. Thomas Scharf (Hatboro, Pa.: Tradition Press, 1967).
Frank F. White, Jr., ed.,Correspondence of Jefferson Davis and J. Thomas Scharf, Journal of Mississippi History, 10 (April 1948): 118–131.
Tom Kelley,The personal memoirs of Jonathan Thomas Scharf of the First Maryland Artillery, Baltimore: Butternut and Blue, (1992).LCCN93-216151.ISBN0-935523-30-8.
Maryland Historical Society,Proceedings of the Maryland historical society, in connection with the celebration of the one hundred and fiftieth anniversary of the settlement of Baltimore, Baltimore:J. Murphy & Co, (1880).LCCNrc01-3466.
Catalogue of aportion of the library of J. Thomas Scharf, Boston, Mass: C.F. Libbie & Co, (1883).LCCNunk81031593.
