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)
- Holbrook, William Cune, 1842-1904 [4]
- Barstow, John Lester, 1832-1913 [3]
- Gale, Justus F., 1837-1863 [2]
- Holbrook, Frederick [2]
- Fullam, Volney S. [1]
Recipient(s)
- Holbrook, Frederick [2]
- Phelps, John Wolcott [2]
- Butler, B. F. [1]
- Gale,Almeda A., 1835-1876 [1]
- Gale,Charles T., 1845-1862 [1]
Place(s)
- Military camps -- Louisiana [6]
- New Orleans (La.) -- History -- Civil War, 1861-1865 [5]
- United States -- History -- Civil War, 1861-1865 [3]
- Baton Rouge (La.) -- History -- Siege, 1862 [2]
- Fort Jackson (La.) [2]
- Fort Saint Philip (La.) [2]
- United States -- History -- Civil War, 1861-1865 -- Social aspects [2]
- United States -- History -- Civil War, 1861-1865 -- African Americans [1]
- United States -- History -- Civil War, 1861-1865 -- Casualties [1]
- United States -- History -- Civil War, 1861-1865 -- Destruction and pillage [1]
Format(s)
- text [12]
Genre(s)
- correspondence [12]
Topic(s)
- Butler, (Benjamin Franklin)Mr1818-1893 [12]
- Armed Forces Officers [6]
- United StatesArmy.Vermont Infantry Regiment, 7th (1862-1866) [6]
- United StatesArmy.Vermont Infantry Regiment, 8th (1861-1865) [6]
- United StatesArmy.Vermont Infantry Regiment, 7th (1862-1866).Company C [4]
- African American soldiers [1]
- African Americans [1]
- Banks, Nathaniel Prentiss1816-1894 [1]
- Contraband of war [1]
- Diseases [1]
- Military discharge [1]
- Morale [1]
- Newspapers [1]
- Promotions, Military [1]
- Recruiting and enlistment [1]
- Slaves [1]
- Steamboats [1]
- Surgery, Military [1]
- United StatesArmy.Vermont Infantry Regiment, 4th (1861-1865) [1]
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Topic: ("Butler, (Benjamin Franklin)Mr1818-1893")
Title: Frederick Holbrook to John Wolcott Phelps
Creator: Holbrook, Frederick
Date: 1862-08-08
Resource type: correspondence
Topics include Mrs. Holbrook requesting General Phelps to forward her letters to her son and Frederick Holbrook inquiring after the sick men and the number of surgeons. Holbrook expresses frustration that the Vt. Regiments (7th & 8th) are still not under Phelps's command, per an agreement with Gen. Butler. Holbrook also mentions Phelps's "Dark Brigade," black troops that Phelps recruited in Louisiana without permission from the War Dept. (Phelps resigned in Aug., 1862.)
Title: Frederick Holbrook to John Wolcott Phelps
Creator: Holbrook, Frederick
Date: 1862-03-10
Resource type: correspondence
Upbeat letter delivered to Gen. Phelps by the writer's son, William C. Holbrook, who apparently turned down an offer to join Phelps's staff. The writer, Gov. Holbrook, lavishes praise on Vermont officers and soldiers (including his son), and sends warm wishes for success to Phelps, sharing his conviction that "the Union Cause must triumph." Holbrook concludes with some reflections on the difficulty of being a wartime governor.
Title: John Lester Barstow to ?
Creator: Barstow, John Lester, 1832-1913
Date: 1862-05-18
Resource type: correspondence
Topics include the comfortable lodgings of the regiment in New Orleans, the cost of food items, and the state of New Orleans when the Vermont Regiment arrived.
Title: John Lester Barstow to Laura
Creator: Barstow, John Lester, 1832-1913
Date: 1862-12-14
Resource type: correspondence
Topics include General Banks superseding General Butler, the capture of one of the rebel officers, and the dishonorable discharge of Lieutenant Day.
Title: John Lester Barstow to Laura
Creator: Barstow, John Lester, 1832-1913
Date: 1862-05-03
Resource type: correspondence
Topics include an overview of the daily schedule in camp, firing on Fort Jackson and Fort St. Philips by General Butler, General Phelps, and about 10,000 men that lasted for three days, and orders for the rest of the regiment to head for New Orleans.
Title: Justus F. Gale to Brother
Creator: Gale, Justus F., 1837-1863
Date: 1862-05-25
Resource type: correspondence
Topics include the process of choosing new officers and police in New Orleans, Gen. Butler's orders to the N.O. police being refused, illness among some of the soldiers, fruit berries available, other provisions few and expensive, summary of all the letters that have been received by Justus Gale, and how welcome the Vermont regiment is in New Orleans.
Title: Justus F. Gale to Sister
Creator: Gale, Justus F., 1837-1863
Date: 1862-05-15
Resource type: correspondence
Topics include leaving Ship Island, being towed back up the Mississippi River to camp in New Orleans, the poor conditions of Fort Jackson and Philips, traveling into the city, the positive attitude of the natives of New Orleans toward Gale and companion now that it is occupied by the Union, General Butler redistributing provisions to the poor of the city that were captured from the rebels
Title: Volney S. Fullam to B. F. Butler
Creator: Fullam, Volney S.
Date: 1862-08-18
Resource type: correspondence
Topics include vacancies in the regiment caused by the death and sickness of some officers, the resignation and guilt of misconduct by Lt. G. W. Sheldon, and the intention to send a list of promotions.
Title: William C. Holbrook to Frank
Creator: Holbrook, William Cune, 1842-1904
Date: 1862-11-21
Resource type: correspondence
To his brother Frank, William writes of the findings of the Court of Inquiry that was held by General Butler regarding the conduct of the 7th Vt. Infantry Regiment during the Battle of Baton Rouge in August; his decided opinion of a soldier's unreliable word; his expectation of having comfortable living quarters in Pensacola as his regiment has moved there (to which he adds he well deserves as he has lived in "bush houses long enough"); mentions the steamer Cumbria and of his having a fever for the past several days.
Title: William C. Holbrook to Frederick Holbrook
Creator: Holbrook, William Cune, 1842-1904
Date: 1862-05-27
Resource type: correspondence
Topics include the Union gaining control of New Orleans, General Shepley becoming Military Commandant of the city, and the news that the Vermont Brigade has been gaining control on the Potomac. Evaluations of Generals Butler and Shepley. Also mentions the "contrabands" or slaves coming within Union lines. (Butler would later start recruiting African Americans to be Union soldiers.)
Title: William C. Holbrook to Frederick Holbrook
Creator: Holbrook, William Cune, 1842-1904
Date: 1862-11-05
Resource type: correspondence
Topics include a description of the Court of Inquiry that was held by General Butler, his disdain for Gen. Butler; sending men to Vt to recruit for the regiment, the wish to establish recruiting stations by the Canadian border, praise for the French Canadians as soldiers and recommending the Quartermaster Morse for a promotion.
Title: William C. Holbrook to Mother
Creator: Holbrook, William Cune, 1842-1904
Date: 1862-08-14
Resource type: correspondence
Topics include the number of men that were killed and wounded at the battle of Baton Rouge August 5th, lost of his "boy Jack" [does he refer to a Black man in his service or to a child?], the loss of Col. Roberts, the unpopularity of the current officer Col. Faillam, the men's request that Holbrook replace Faillam, Holbrook’s desire to go into a regiment located in Virginia, Gen. Phelps and his opinions on the slave question, Gen. Butler's compliments to the regiment for its brave conduct in the Baton Rouge battle, sending home of the Secessionist's flag retrieved from Fort Pike, desire for newspapers from Vt.
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