Vermonters in the Civil War
Collection Overview
Vermont soldiers in the Civil War wrote an enormous quantity of letters and diaries, of which many thousands have survived in libraries, historical societies, and in private hands. This collection represents a selection of letters and diaries from the University of Vermont and the Vermont Historical Society.
The collection includes materials dating from 1861 at the start of the Civil War, and will grow with additional materials throughout the years of the sesquicentennial commemoration, from 2011 through 2015. Materials were selected for digitization to provide a variety of perspectives on events and issues. The voices represented in the collection include private soldiers and officers, as well as a few civilians. All of the extant Civil War-era letters or diaries of each of the selected individuals (at least, all that are to be found in the participating institutions’ collections) will eventually be included; each adds a certain experience and point of view to the whole.
1861
In 1861, Vermont produced a three-month volunteer infantry regiment (the First Vermont Infantry) that served in Virginia from May through July. Five additional volunteer infantry regiments, mustered for three-year terms and numbered consecutively, were put in the field in the summer and fall, camping first in Washington and at Camp Griffin through the fall and winter. The First Vermont Cavalry regiment was also mustered and sent south in the fall of 1861.
Subject content for the 1861 letters and diaries covers a great deal of ground. The many logistical issues involved in launching the war effort come to light in the letters of General John W. Phelps, while officers such as Lieutenant Roswell Farnham often made thoughtful observations on the events and personalities in the camps and in the field. The enlisted men occasionally described important events in detail, but more often wrote about everyday life and concerns. Eyewitness accounts of engagements at Big Bethel (June 9-10), Bull Run (July 21), and Lewinsville (September 11) reveal the motivations and expectations of the men in arms, while descriptions of living conditions, drilling, sickness, and political intrigue provide insight on the soldiers’ experiences.
Officers in the photo above are (from left to right): Lieutenant Colonel Charles B. Stoughton, Colonel Edwin H. Stoughton, Major Harry N. Worthen. All are from the Fourth Vermont Infantry Regiment.
Time Period Covered: 1861
Sub-collections
Charles F. Bancroft Correspondence
Horace Barlow Diary
Valentine G. Barney Correspondence
John Lester Barstow Correspondence
Barton Family Correspondence
John W. Campbell Correspondence
Roswell Farnham Correspondence
Justus F. Gale Correspondence
Solomon G. Heaton Correspondence
William Wirt Henry Correspondence
William C. Holbrook Correspondence
Albert A. May Correspondence
Benjamin F. Parmenter Correspondence
Joseph L. Perkins Correspondence
John Wolcott Phelps Correspondence
George W. Quimby Correspondence
Joseph Chase Rutherford Correspondence
Henry A. Smith Correspondence
Joseph Spafford Correspondence
Edward and John Stone Correspondence
Ransom W. Towle Correspondence
Orlando S. Turner Correspondence
Wheelock Graves Veazey Correspondence
Daniel S. White Correspondence
Henry Harrison Wilder Correspondence
Lyman Williams Correspondence
Published: April 11, 2011, University of Vermont, Bailey/Howe Library, Center for Digital Initiatives
Rights: Requests to reproduce this item should be sent to the UVM Libraries' Center for Digital Initiatives at cdi@uvm.edu. For more information, see http://cdi.uvm.edu/about/rights. More information.
Browse Options
Creator(s)
Recipient(s)
- Barney,Maria, 1833-1884 [41]
- Barney, Maria [18]
Place(s)
- Military camps -- Virginia [21]
- Camp Douglas (Ill.) [9]
- Chicago (Ill.) [7]
- United States -- History -- Civil War, 1861-1865 -- Prisoners and prisons [7]
- United States -- History -- Civil War, 1861-1865 -- Medical care [4]
- Military camps -- Vermont [3]
- United States -- History -- Civil War, 1861-1865 -- Campaigns [3]
- Winchester (Va.) [3]
- Harpers Ferry (W. Va.) [2]
- United States -- History -- Civil War, 1861-1865 -- Casualties [2]
Format(s)
- text [59]
Genre(s)
- correspondence [59]
Topic(s)
- United StatesArmy.Vermont Infantry Regiment, 9th (1862-1865) [21]
- Armed Forces Officers [17]
- United StatesArmy Military life [17]
- Prisoners of war [14]
- Diseases [12]
- Families of military personnel [6]
- Marching [4]
- Pillage [4]
- Postal service [4]
- Drill and minor tactics [3]
- War casualties [3]
- Confederate States of AmericaArmy [2]
- Fugitive slaves [2]
- Intrenchments [2]
- Military deserters [2]
- Newspapers [2]
- Operational rations (Military supplies) [2]
- Prisoner-of-war camps [2]
- Soldiers Alcohol use [2]
- Soldiers Suicidal behavior [2]
- United StatesArmy.Vermont Infantry Regiment, 9th (1862-1865).Company B [2]
- Amputation [1]
- Big Bethel, Battle of, Va., 1861 [1]
- Burnside, Ambrose Everett1824-1881 [1]
- Courts-martial and courts of inquiry United States [1]
- Desertion, Military [1]
- Friendly fire (Military science) [1]
- Guerrilla warfare [1]
- Hardtack [1]
- Homesickness [1]
- Love-letters [1]
- Medicine, Military [1]
- Military chaplains [1]
- Military discipline [1]
- Military funerals [1]
- Military hospitals [1]
- Military leaves and furloughs [1]
- Picketing [1]
- Pope, John1822-1892 [1]
- Promotions, Military [1]
- Skirmishing [1]
- Slavery [1]
- United StatesArmy Surgeons [1]
- War Psychological aspects [1]
-
- | 1 - 25 of 59 |
-
- Thumbnails | List | Timeline
Browsing by:
Author: ("Barney, Valentine G., 1834-1889")
Title: Valentine G. Barney to Maria Barney
Creator: Barney, Valentine G., 1834-1889
Date: [1861]-06-03
Resource type: correspondence
Barney writes from Newport News, Virginia on the construction of a trench and accounts of alarms from the picket guard including a mule causing one of the alarms. Writes of the 2500 men, their disappointment at not being able to fire upon the Secessionists, fears the box from Swanton will not arrive at all, of the presence of 25 or 30 slaves, of horses, mules, dogs being brought in to camp, requests postage stamps and envelopes.
Title: Valentine G. Barney to Maria Barney
Creator: Barney, Valentine G., 1834-1889
Date: [1861]-06-09
Resource type: correspondence
Barney writes of camp equipment inspection, Sunday services held by Chaplain Stone, of being one of the singers during the service singing "Sweet Home", of receiving letters from home, of there being 4000 men, two men with the measles, of the arrival of the New York 4th Regiment and Hawkins Zouaves, of camp duties.
Title: Valentine G. Barney to Maria Barney
Creator: Barney, Valentine G., 1834-1889
Date: 1861-06-30
Resource type: correspondence
Writes from Newport, Va. of his improving health after a bout of illness, of about 6000 Rebels in the area which the company is out scouting, the capture of two prisoners from a Regiment of Zouaves from Louisiana who voluntarily surrendered as they thought their company had moved out without them, of Barney's weight loss, death of a man from the Middlebury Co. and his funeral.
Title: Valentine G. Barney to Maria Barney
Creator: Barney, Valentine G., 1834-1889
Date: [1861]-07-04
Resource type: correspondence
Writes from Newport News, Va of an account of the 4th of July celebrations among the troops, of the burning of the Steamer Cataline that was the company's mail boat, hopes of Congress being able to settle the war, his opinion of the war and of his improved health.
Title: Valentine G. Barney to Maria Barney
Creator: Barney, Valentine G., 1834-1889
Date: [1861]-07-28
Resource type: correspondence
Topics include the updated plan of departure for home and the defeat at Manassas.
Title: Valentine G. Barney to Maria Barney
Creator: Barney, Valentine G., 1834-1889
Date: [1861]-08-02
Resource type: correspondence
Topics include the updated plan of departure and of a visit by General Baxter.
Title: Valentine G. Barney to Maria Barney
Creator: Barney, Valentine G., 1834-1889
Date: 1861-05-19
Resource type: correspondence
Topics include the regiment occupying the large Hygeia Hotel located outside the Fort Monroe on Old Point Comfort, the rules and costs of the hotel, Rebels firing on a steamer, 18 or 20 of the enemy killed, mentions vessels occupied by secessionists being captured and General Butler coming with either eight or ten thousand men to form an army.
Title: Valentine G. Barney to Maria Barney
Creator: Barney, Valentine G., 1834-1889
Date: 1861-05-24
Resource type: correspondence
Topics include the journey from Fort Monroe, Virginia to Hampton, the Secessionists setting fire to a bridge that lead to the village, the Colonel being asked to not molest, assault or otherwise interfere with the citizens of Hampton, mentions Sewells Point where the enemy had built a battery, reference to the state election about secession from the union, speaks of his love for his family.
Title: Valentine G. Barney to Maria Barney
Creator: Barney, Valentine G., 1834-1889
Date: 1861-05-26
Resource type: correspondence
Topics include the arrival of the Troy Regiment and the New York Zouaves, runaway slaves, a false alarm set off by the Troy Regiment, Mass 4th Regiment being arrested for pillage and plundering, requests for postage stamps and photographs of his family
Title: Valentine G. Barney to Maria Barney
Creator: Barney, Valentine G., 1834-1889
Date: 1861-06-16
Resource type: correspondence
June 16, 1861. Barney writes from Newport News, Virginia an account of the Battle of Big Bethel including battle casualties, men sent out to look for cattle, illness among the men, soldiers tired to camp life, the arrival of food sent from home some of which was in good condition such as cheese, dried apples and maple sugar with some not.
Title: Valentine G. Barney to Maria Barney
Creator: Barney, Valentine G., 1834-1889
Date: 1861-06-19
Resource type: correspondence
Topics include an account of a day of camp life when the regiment is "not on labor", the receipt of a box from home with envelopes, postage stamps, Sunday School singing books, of the family.
Title: Valentine G. Barney to Maria Barney
Creator: Barney, Valentine G., 1834-1889
Date: 1861-06-23
Resource type: correspondence
Topics include an account of what was seen during a scouting expedition, of orders to bring back lumber, of the men coming upon deserted homes still completely furnished, of the men ordered not to disturb anything (which some did anyway), of his observation and opinion of the negro slaves encountered.
Title: Valentine G. Barney to Maria Barney
Creator: Barney, Valentine G., 1834-1889
Date: [1861]-07-18
Resource type: correspondence
Topics include Valentine G. Barney's improving health, of his wishing to hear news from Swanton, of his newly acquired taste for the plentiful tomatoes that are in the area, of the men wanting to go home.
Title: Valentine G. Barney to Maria Barney
Creator: Barney, Valentine G., 1834-1889
Date: [1861]-07-23
Resource type: correspondence
Topics include the plan for the journey home, the death of Whitney of the Woodstock Co. by the hands of forty or fifty rebels, the capture of two rebels, and of only a few men ill in the hospital.
Title: Valentine G. Barney to Maria Barney
Creator: Barney, Valentine G., 1834-1889
Date: [1862]-07-14
Resource type: correspondence
Topics include Barney sending photographs of himself home to his wife and family.
Title: Valentine G. Barney to Maria Barney
Creator: Barney, Valentine G., 1834-1889
Date: [1862]-07-16
Resource type: correspondence
On board a steamer, topics include the journey from Brattleboro to New Haven and then on to Jersey City and eventually to Washington, D.C. that include marching and going by train. Mentions whiskey being drunk by the soldiers and him needing to keep the men sober. His military pay not expected until September.
Title: Valentine G. Barney to Maria Barney
Creator: Barney, Valentine G., 1834-1889
Date: 1862-08-05
Resource type: correspondence
From Camp Siegel topics include the mail from home being delivered after being misdirected, comments on family, digging in the ground creating storage spaces for items such as butter and milk, having fresh berries to eat, clearing up rumors revolving around the regiment, sun stroke suffered by one soldier due to the heat, cost of food.
Title: Valentine G. Barney to Maria Barney
Creator: Barney, Valentine G., 1834-1889
Date: 1862-08-09
Resource type: correspondence
Topics include the progress made on the fort, the cutting down of many trees within a mile of the fort, of orchards and shade trees also cut down nearby buildings to the great dismay of local residents, an outbreak of dysentery, and the hope to be able to send some military pay home soon.
Title: Valentine G. Barney to Maria Barney
Creator: Barney, Valentine G., 1834-1889
Date: 1862-08-20
Resource type: correspondence
Topics include the duties of being the Officer of the Guard being in charge of overseeing men under watch, media misrepresentation of the regiments in the Northern newspapers, living conditions and costs in the South, death of Joseph La'Mondy (or Lamondy), the Battle of Baton Rouge, and the suicide of a man in Company I.
Title: Valentine G. Barney to Maria Barney
Creator: Barney, Valentine G., 1834-1889
Date: 1862-08-24
Resource type: correspondence
Topics include the arrival of a package from home that included much needed boots, hospital care by Southern women to southern soldiers far better than to the Union men hospitalized, the men of Virginia who are afraid to support the Union cause openly for fear it will fail, drunkenness among the soldiers, reference to Lamondy (or La'Mondy) death, the deaths in the regiment since leaving Clouds Mills, receives newspapers.
Title: Valentine G. Barney to Maria Barney
Creator: Barney, Valentine G., 1834-1889
Date: 1862-08-28
Resource type: correspondence
Topics include the capturing of some Rebels at Newtown who stated Rebels do not go hungry as long a Union troops are around from which to steal food, issues with the postal mail service, the difficulty of getting rest in camp, and the sickness of the regiment.
Title: Valentine G. Barney to Maria Barney
Creator: Barney, Valentine G., 1834-1889
Date: 1862-09-06
Resource type: correspondence
Topics include the regiment marching towards Harpers Ferry, the regiment disheartened to being ordered to retreat, loss of much equipment and people left behind in the hospital, the destruction of supplies left behind, their hard march to current location, the brief mention of a "heavy battles". (Maryland Campaign Sept 3-15, 1862). Reference to prisoners being paroled.
Title: Valentine G. Barney to Maria Barney
Creator: Barney, Valentine G., 1834-1889
Date: 1862-10-01
Resource type: correspondence
Writing from Chicago topics include the journey to an area 2 miles from Chicago, a description of the living quarters that include a good dinner, fixing up the sheds they are living in which are on the fairgrounds (the site of a Sanitary Fair to benefit soldier relief funds, Oct. 27, 1863), the morale of the men, food of pork, bread, beef, talk of being relocated to Minnesota, and the disparate need for money.
Title: Valentine G. Barney to Maria Barney
Creator: Barney, Valentine G., 1834-1889
Date: 1862-10-05
Resource type: correspondence
Topics include the conditions at Camp Tyler, the observation of the Sabbath not to his liking as the duty of dispensing clothing to the men, etc. took up much of it, recounts the past 3 weeks, of seeing Vermont marble on the floors of some buildings on his visit to the city of Chicago, the Chicago marble business using Vermont marble and of there being a lot of Vermonters in the area.
Title: Valentine G. Barney to Maria Barney
Creator: Barney, Valentine G., 1834-1889
Date: [1862]-10-30
Resource type: correspondence
Topics include the improvement of Barney’s health, the care he is receiving, and a description of the bilious fever with which he was afflicted (i.e. jaundice).
-
- | 1 - 25 of 59 |
-
- Thumbnails | List | Timeline