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)
- Spafford, Joseph, 1837-1866 [8]
- Rutherford, Joseph Chase, 1818-1902 [5]
- Barney, Valentine G., 1834-1889 [1]
- Bliss, Warren E., 1840-1930 [1]
- Fairbanks, Erastus [1]
- Farnham, Roswell, 1827-1903 [1]
- Holbrook, Frederick [1]
- Parmenter, Benjamin F., 1832-1896 [1]
- Veazey, Wheelock G., 1835-1898 [1]
- Wilder, Henry Harrison [1]
Recipient(s)
- Rutherford, Hannah [5]
- Spafford, Mary Jane [5]
- Phelps, John Wolcott [3]
- Bancroft,Smiley, 1808-1874 [1]
- Barney,Maria, 1833-1884 [1]
- Farnham, Mary [1]
- Spafford, Mary Jane, [1]
- Spafford, Marianne [1]
- Veazey, Julia A., [1]
- White, Homer [1]
Place(s)
- Military camps -- Virginia [4]
- United States -- History -- Civil War, 1861-1865 -- Medical care [4]
- Military camps -- Maryland [3]
- Military campsVirginia [2]
- United States -- History -- Civil War, 1861-1865 -- Campaigns [1]
- United States -- History -- Civil War, 1861-1865 -- Casualties [1]
- United StatesHistoryCivil War, 1861-1865 [1]
- United StatesHistoryCivil War, 1861-1865Casualties [1]
- United StatesHistoryCivil War, 1861-1865Medical care [1]
- VermontHistoryCivil War, 1861-1865 [1]
- Winchester (Va.) [1]
Format(s)
- text [23]
Genre(s)
- correspondence [23]
Topic(s)
- Military hospitals [23]
- Diseases [6]
- United StatesArmy Surgeons [5]
- Military leaves and furloughs [4]
- United StatesArmy.Vermont Infantry Regiment, 4th (1861-1865) [4]
- Carver General Hospital (Washington, D.C.) [2]
- Marching [2]
- McClellan, George Brinton1826-1885 [2]
- Military discharge [2]
- Picketing [2]
- Soldiers Alcohol use [2]
- United StatesArmy Military life [2]
- War casualties [2]
- African Americans [1]
- Capitulations, Military [1]
- Confederate States of AmericaArmy [1]
- Fair Oaks, Battle of, Va., 1862 [1]
- Freedmen [1]
- Homesickness [1]
- Medicine, Military [1]
- Newspapers [1]
- Prisoners of war [1]
- Savage's Station, Battle of, Va., 1862 [1]
- Seven Days' Battles, Va., 1862 [1]
- Ship Island (Miss.) [1]
- Sutlers [1]
- United StatesArmy.Vermont Infantry Regiment, 10th (1862-1865) [1]
- United StatesArmy.Vermont Infantry Regiment, 2nd (1861-1865) [1]
- United StatesArmy.Vermont Infantry Regiment, 5th (1861-1865)Company F [1]
- United StatesArmy.Vermont Infantry Regiment, 7th (1862-1866) [1]
- United StatesArmy.Vermont Infantry Regiment, 7th (1862-1866).Company C [1]
- United StatesArmy.Vermont Infantry Regiment, 8th (1861-1865) [1]
- United StatesArmy.Vermont Infantry Regiment, 9th (1862-1865) [1]
- Veazey, Wheelock G. (Wheelock Graves)1835-1898 [1]
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Topic: ("Military hospitals")
Title: Benjamin F. Parmenter to Brother
Creator: Parmenter, Benjamin F., 1832-1896
Date: 1861-10-12
Resource type: correspondence
Topics include Benjamin F. Parmenter's hospital stay and him enlisting his brother to take care of things at home.
![Thumbnail: Erastus Fairbanks to John Wolcott Phelps and [Daniel] Roberts to
Erastus Fairbanks](http://cdi.uvm.edu/archives/civilwar/cwuvmphelps07_1-thumb.jpg)
Title: Erastus Fairbanks to John Wolcott Phelps and [Daniel] Roberts to Erastus Fairbanks
Creator: Fairbanks, Erastus
Date: 1861-06-04
Resource type: correspondence
First letter is from Governor Erastus Fairbanks writing from St Johnsbury, Vt. Topic includes scandalous reports of officers in the 1st Regiment regarding the neglect of sick soldiers by the surgeon and assistant surgeon in military hospital. Second letter to the Gov. from Danl. Roberts writes of the sources of the reports and that the matter requires investigation.
Title: Frederick Holbrook to John Wolcott Phelps
Creator: Holbrook, Frederick
Date: 1862-05-02
Resource type: correspondence
Topics include the arrival of the 7th and 8th Vermont Regiments at Ship Island, off the coast of Miss., and arrangements with the War Department for wounded troops to be sent home. Holbrook mentions the Battle of Yorktown (April 5-May 4, 1862), esp. the "affair" on April 16 that left ca. 100 Vermont soldiers wounded. Holbrook is in charge of the U.S. Marine Hospital in Burlington, Vt.
![Thumbnail: Joseph Rutherford to [Hannah Rutherford]](http://cdi.uvm.edu/archives/civilwar/cwuvmrutherford06_01-thumb.jpg)
Title: Joseph Rutherford to [Hannah Rutherford]
Creator: Rutherford, Joseph Chase, 1818-1902
Date: 1862-09-28
Resource type: correspondence
Rutherford writes of the illness of the his assistant surgeon, Dr. Clarke, of his own excellent health, and all he is enjoying at camp including a hive of bees. He writes of fresh meat, fowl and fruit available to eat, of a companion dog and of his horse he admires so much. He speaks of the difference in military medical care of the soldiers and notes how the care results in more or fewer sick soldiers and of deaths.
![Thumbnail: Joseph Rutherford to [Hannah Rutherford]](http://cdi.uvm.edu/archives/civilwar/cwuvmrutherford08_01-thumb.jpg)
Title: Joseph Rutherford to [Hannah Rutherford]
Creator: Rutherford, Joseph Chase, 1818-1902
Date: 1862-10-19
Resource type: correspondence
Rutherford writes to wife, Hannnah,about the regiment's movement to his camp at Seneca Creek in Maryland. Topics include what was involved in the moving of the troops at night, the baggage he carried on horseback, his pride for his mare, of feeling proud to serve his country in time of need, of him being put in charge of building of a hospital to be named after him and called the Rutherford Hospital.
![Thumbnail: Joseph Rutherford to [Hannah Rutherford]](http://cdi.uvm.edu/archives/civilwar/cwuvmrutherford10_01-thumb.jpg)
Title: Joseph Rutherford to [Hannah Rutherford]
Creator: Rutherford, Joseph Chase, 1818-1902
Date: 1862-11-15
Resource type: correspondence
Rutherford writes of the regiment's movement to Camp Grove Offults Cup, Maryland. Also of his contempt for soldiers who want to shirk their military duties, of how well the truly sick soldiers are cared for in the hospital, and a slanderous report written about the Surgeon which Rutherford firmly denies, gives his side of the story including military discipline and an account of who a man named Murk who is responsible for the false report.
![Thumbnail: Joseph Rutherford to [Hannah Rutherford]](http://cdi.uvm.edu/archives/civilwar/cwuvmrutherford21_01-thumb.jpg)
Title: Joseph Rutherford to [Hannah Rutherford]
Creator: Rutherford, Joseph Chase, 1818-1902
Date: 1863-01-16
Resource type: correspondence
Topics include being in Baltimore, assisting with errands in the city for fellow officers, guarding the river for 20 miles, not receiving an appointment because some men provided bad accounts of Rutherford to the Governor, taking charge of hospital, references to Col. Jewett and Dr. Willard Augustus Childe (surgeon), inquiring after his children and his premonitions regarding their welfare.
![Thumbnail: Joseph Rutherford to [Hannah Rutherford]](http://cdi.uvm.edu/archives/civilwar/cwuvmrutherford24_01-thumb.jpg)
Title: Joseph Rutherford to [Hannah Rutherford]
Creator: Rutherford, Joseph Chase, 1818-1902
Date: 1863-02-03
Resource type: correspondence
From White's Ford, MD topics include Rutherford in charge of hospital while Dr. Willard Augustus Childe returns home to get married, sickness among the men less than in other regiments, a visit from the Inspector General with excellent reports on how he runs his department, expresses his anger and outrage at the complaining of people back home about having to pay taxes because of the war.
Title: Joseph Spafford to Homer White
Creator: Spafford, Joseph, 1837-1866
Date: 1862-04-29
Resource type: correspondence
Now in Carver Hospital in Washington, D.C. topics include military discharge, plans to meet Homer White in New York City and the wounding of Captain Atherton.
Title: Joseph Spafford to Marianne Spafford
Creator: Spafford, Joseph, 1837-1866
Date: 1862-03-29
Resource type: correspondence
Writing to his mother from the Mansion House Hospital topics include being left behind by the Regiment due to his illness, impossibility of getting a furlough, number of men from the 4th Vermont in the hospital, Ellsworth’s house, and possibility of being sent to another hospital.
Title: Joseph Spafford to Mary Jane Spafford
Creator: Spafford, Joseph, 1837-1866
Date: 1862-04-02
Resource type: correspondence
Spafford continues to write from the Mansion House Hospital on topics that include worrying about his mother’s health, difficulty of getting a furlough, commenting on his preference to be a 2nd lieutenant and not a captain, detailed description of a day in the hospital, rules posted in the hospital, a dialogue he had with a drunken soldier from a California regiment, and description of a visit by a Vermonter from Windsor.
Title: Joseph Spafford to Mary Jane Spafford
Creator: Spafford, Joseph, 1837-1866
Date: 1862-04-27
Resource type: correspondence
Writing from Carver Hospital in Washington, D.C. topics include the probability of a military discharge, hospital nurses, unhealthiness of hospitals, liking his living situation in the barracks, and fiddle playing and dancing heard coming from a nearby house.
Title: Joseph Spafford to Mary Jane Spafford
Creator: Spafford, Joseph, 1837-1866
Date: 1862-03-25
Resource type: correspondence
Writing from the Mansion House Hospital in Alexandria VA, topics include difficulty in getting a furlough at the present time, illness among others at the hospital from the Regiment, and the keeping and responsibility of using the Company's money for needed purchases for the men.
Title: Joseph Spafford to Mary Jane Spafford
Creator: Spafford, Joseph, 1837-1866
Date: 1862-03-15
Resource type: correspondence
Topics include being unable to march with the Regiment when orders came down to move out, of his dislike of how the hospital was run in Camp Griffin and him leaving that hospital, of living in tent with soldier who also had not moved out with the earlier call to march, being sent by ambulance to the Mansion House Hospital in Alexandria, being diagnosed with pleurisy and a detailed description of hospital life and medical care at the Mansion.
Title: Joseph Spafford to Mary Jane Spafford
Creator: Spafford, Joseph, 1837-1866
Date: 1862-04-09
Resource type: correspondence
Writing to his sister from the Mansion House Hospital topics include bad weather in Alexandria, Virginia, delayed arrival of letters from home, sewing on chevrons on his coat to help pass the time in his hospital room, and battle news of rebels defeated at Corinth and surrender of island no. 10.
Title: Joseph Spafford to Mary Jane Spafford
Creator: Spafford, Joseph, 1837-1866
Date: 1862-12-30
Resource type: correspondence
Topics include the whole brigade on picket duty on Bull Run, a catholic church having been emptied of its pews so as to used for a hospital, a brief encounter with Rebel soldiers, Spafford's anger with the Rebels being able to infiltrate the Union troops, the captured rebel prisoner stated aim was to take Sutler's supplies, acceptance of officers' resignations and the potential promotion of George Clark to Captain.
Title: Lyman S. Williams to Parents
Creator: Williams, Lyman S., 1839-1905
Date: 1862-07-06
Resource type: correspondence
Topics include a retreat to the James River (known later as a "great skedaddle," a word that Williams uses here but in the context of not being paid), a fight at Savage's Station, a review by General McClellan, and the men killed and wounded in the fight.
![Thumbnail: Roswell Farnham to [Mary Farnham]](http://cdi.uvm.edu/archives/civilwar/cwuvmfarnham90_01-thumb.jpg)
Title: Roswell Farnham to [Mary Farnham]
Creator: Farnham, Roswell, 1827-1903
Date: 1862-11-09
Resource type: correspondence
Farnham writes from nearby Hunting Creek, Virginia at the headquarters of the 12th Vermont Volunteers about the cold weather in the South, eleven sick in the hospital, two of which had shot themselves. Reference made to Gen. McClellan being superseded by Gen. Burnside.
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: Warren E. Bliss to Smiley Bancroft
Creator: Bliss, Warren E., 1840-1930
Date: 1862-06-19
Resource type: correspondence
Topics include moving to camp near the Chickahominy, anticipation of a battle at Richmond, the capture of Fort Darling, a description of the Battle of Fair Oaks, and the death of Charles Bancroft. Topics include moving to camp near the Chickahominy, anticipation of a battle at Richmond, the capture of Fort Darling, a description of the Battle of Fair Oaks, and the death of Charles Bancroft. Use of hot air balloons in reconnaissance is mentioned, as is the observation that many plantations are deserted by their owners and run by slaves, Gen. McClellan threatened to turn every "White House" (plantation) into a hospital.
Title: Wheelock G. Veazey to Julia A. Veazey
Creator: Veazey, Wheelock G., 1835-1898
Date: 1862-09-07
Resource type: correspondence
Topics include a favorable description of Columbia College Hospital in Washington, D.C. and its surgeons, his praise of General McClellan and his command, and the sickness of Colonel Hyde.
![Thumbnail: [Harry N.] Worthen to John Wolcott Phelps](http://cdi.uvm.edu/archives/civilwar/cwuvmphelps06_1-thumb.jpg)
Title: [Harry N.] Worthen to John Wolcott Phelps
Creator: Worthen, Harry N.
Date: 1861-06-02
Resource type: correspondence
Writes from Camp Butler, Newport News, Virginia. Topics include a report of the hospital and a list of names of the sick men and names of the steward and attendants. Mentions Fort Monroe, the unsanitary conditions of the hospital, how the sick men have been neglected by the steward and attendants.
![Thumbnail: [Henry Harrison Wilder] to Mother](http://cdi.uvm.edu/archives/civilwar/cwuvmwilder07_1-thumb.jpg)
Title: [Henry Harrison Wilder] to Mother
Creator: Wilder, Henry Harrison
Date: 1861-11-08
Resource type: correspondence
Henry writes from Camp Griffin, Virginia of the difficulty of camp life, of Fenton being very ill and taken to Georgetown to the General Hospital.
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