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)
- Wilder, Henry Harrison [2]
- Barney, Valentine G., 1834-1889 [1]
- Gale, Justus F., 1837-1863 [1]
- Smith, Henry A., d. 1864 [1]
Recipient(s)
- , [2]
- Barney, Maria [1]
Place(s)
- United States -- History -- Civil War, 1861-1865 -- Campaigns [2]
- Military camps -- Virginia [1]
- United States -- History -- Civil War, 1861-1865 -- Casualties [1]
Topic(s)
- Guerrilla warfare [5]
- Families of military personnel [2]
- Prisoners of war [2]
- Banks, Nathaniel Prentiss1816-1894 [1]
- Battle casualties [1]
- Skirmishing [1]
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Topic: ("Guerrilla warfare")
Title: Henry A. Smith to Family
Creator: Smith, Henry A., d. 1864
Date: 1862-05-16
Resource type: correspondence
Topics include General Banks' Division falling back to Strasburgh, the frequent skirmishes with Ashbys Cavalry, an account of a man in Company I who shot a rebel, Smith's hand wounded by a fellow soldier playing carelessly with a sabre, men eating well, mention of Oliver Cushman of Hartland who was promoted to second Lieutenant, reference to military pay.
Title: Henry Harrison Wilder to Mother
Creator: Wilder, Henry Harrison
Date: 1862-04-01
Resource type: correspondence
Topics include the route the regiment marched to arrive at camp near Newport News and a skirmish with the rebels coming down the river, firing at the coast.
Title: Henry Harrison Wilder to Mother
Creator: Wilder, Henry Harrison
Date: 1862-04-28
Resource type: correspondence
Topics include two officers from the New York regiment joining the rebel army and a description of a rebel attack. Wilder is writing at the time of the Siege of Yorktown, Va.
Title: Justus F. Gale to Sister & Friends
Creator: Gale, Justus F., 1837-1863
Date: 1862-09-09
Resource type: correspondence
Topics include the sickness of Justus Gale’s mother and brother Charley, mentions his dismay of men trying to skip military duty, the rebel prisoners taken by various Union regiments, mentions Gen. Butler may be taking care of the guerrilla fighters and the injuries sustained by the men in the train accident whereby many seemed to have avoided amputations.
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.
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