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)
Place(s)
- Military camps -- Virginia [4]
- United States -- History -- Civil War, 1861-1865 [3]
- United States -- History -- Civil War, 1861-1865 -- Campaigns [2]
- United States -- History -- Civil War, 1861-1865 -- Casualties [2]
- United States -- History -- Civil War, 1861-1865 -- Military reconnaissance [2]
- Fort Monroe (Va.) [1]
- Military camps -- Maryland [1]
- United States -- History -- Civil War, 1861-1865 -- Medical care [1]
- United States -- History -- Civil War, 1861-1865 -- Women [1]
Format(s)
- text [12]
Genre(s)
- correspondence [12]
Topic(s)
- Marching [6]
- Armed Forces Officers [5]
- Morale [5]
- Battle casualties [3]
- United StatesArmy.Vermont Infantry Regiment, 5th (1861-1865) [3]
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Author: ("Quimby, George W., 1835-1862")
Title: George W. Quimby to Emeline B. Masta
Creator: Quimby, George W., 1835-1862
Date: 1862-01-26
Resource type: correspondence
Topics include a "miniature" (porttrait?) that Quimby wants to send home; instructions for his sister to collect on a debt owed by Captain Tucker; and expectation of the Regiment advancing. The order to advance would come from Lincoln himself on Jan. 27, 1862, and would be his first General War Order.
Title: George W. Quimby to Emeline B. Masta
Creator: Quimby, George W., 1835-1862
Date: 1862-03-22
Resource type: correspondence
Topics include the anticipation of marching to Alexandria in just over a week’s time, the resignation of Captain Tucker, and the promotion of George W. Quimby to captaincy. Mentions the slow moving Grand Army of the Potomac and the feeling that it may never see any fighting.
Title: George W. Quimby to Emeline B. Masta
Creator: Quimby, George W., 1835-1862
Date: 1862-02-10
Resource type: correspondence
Topics include descriptions of George W. Quimby’s superior officers, plus an incident that led to the arrest of a commanding officer, who was later exonerated.
Title: George W. Quimby to Emeline B. Masta
Creator: Quimby, George W., 1835-1862
Date: 1862-05-11
Resource type: correspondence
Topics include the hardships George W. Quimby is enduring, a brief account of fighting on the 6th of May (Battle of Williamsburg, Va.). Quimby describes "the horrid scenes of war": dead and dying soldiers in the aftermath of battle. Mentions generals Smith, Hancock, Sumner, Hooker, and Magruder.
Title: George W. Quimby to Emeline B. Masta
Creator: Quimby, George W., 1835-1862
Date: 1862-11-30
Resource type: correspondence
Topics include George W. Quimby giving advice to his sister on whether or not to sell her house and the location of the regiment. Also, some grumblings about "that imbecile cabinet in Washington" and the post-McClellan command.
Title: George W. Quimby to Emeline B. Masta
Creator: Quimby, George W., 1835-1862
Date: 1862-09-13
Resource type: correspondence
Topics include the hardships of war, the unfairness between the men who are at home and those that are fighting, and the progress of George W. Quimby’s recuperation. Mentions a long march "on a certain Sunday" from Charles City C. H. (Court House) across the Chickahominy River.
Title: George W. Quimby to Emeline B. Masta
Creator: Quimby, George W., 1835-1862
Date: 1862-01-20
Resource type: correspondence
Topics include the terrible weather at Camp Griffin, Va. and the numerous deaths from sicknesses such as Typhoid Fever. "Smith's Division" refers to the Vt. 5th Infantry Regiment under the command of Gen. William F. "Baldy" Smith.
Title: George W. Quimby to Emeline B. Masta
Creator: Quimby, George W., 1835-1862
Date: 1862-07-12
Resource type: correspondence
Topics include an account of a battle starting on the 27th of June (Battle of Gaines' Mill/First Cold Harbor/Chickahominy). Quimby mentions some explosions that surprisingly caused less harm than expected. Difficulties include long marches, usually at night; surprise attacks; and water deprivation.
Title: George W. Quimby to Mother
Creator: Quimby, George W., 1835-1862
Date: 1862-09-21
Resource type: correspondence
Topics include the improvement of George W. Quimby’s health and a description of the heaps of dead, unburied Rebels on the battlefields. These were casualties of the Battle of Antietam Creek (Wednesday, Sept. 17, 1862), considered one of the bloodiest days of the war.
Title: George W. Quimby to Mother
Creator: Quimby, George W., 1835-1862
Date: 1862-10-28
Resource type: correspondence
Topics include the improvement of George W. Quimby’s health, the cold nights, and a request for his father to send him an overcoat.
Title: George W. Quimby to Parents
Creator: Quimby, George W., 1835-1862
Date: 1862-11-14
Resource type: correspondence
Topics include rumors of an upcoming march and the suspension of General McClellan. (Major Gen. Ambrose E. Burnside would assume command of the Army of the Potomac.) Quimby still hoping to receive a warm coat from home.
Title: George W. Quimby to Tucker
Creator: Quimby, George W., 1835-1862
Date: 1862-04-25
Resource type: correspondence
Topics include the location of the company and a brief account of the battle of Lee's Mill. Also a comment about one legislator "Morrels" (Justin Morrill?) stating that Gen. William Smith was drunk. A summary of promotions.
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