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)
- Veazey, Wheelock G., 1835-1898 [4]
- Blunt, Asa P. [1]
- Bruce, Horatio P., [1]
- Fairbanks, Erastus [1]
- Farnham, Roswell, 1827-1903 [1]
- Perkins, Joseph L. [1]
Recipient(s)
- Veazey, Julia A. [4]
- Phelps, John Wolcott [2]
- Bancroft,Smiley, 1808-1874 [1]
- Harding, C. H. [1]
- Mason, E. [1]
Place(s)
- United StatesHistoryCivil War, 1861-1865 [4]
- VermontHistoryCivil War, 1861-1865 [4]
- United States -- History -- Civil War, 1861-1865 [3]
- Military campsVirginia [2]
- Fort Monroe (Va.) [1]
- SecessionSouthern States [1]
- United States -- History -- Civil War, 1861-1865 -- Casualties [1]
- Vermont -- History -- Civil War, 1861-1865 [1]
Format(s)
- text [10]
Genre(s)
- correspondence [10]
Topic(s)
- Patriotism [10]
- United StatesArmy.Vermont Infantry Regiment, 3rd (1861-1865) [5]
- Veazey, Wheelock G. (Wheelock Graves)1835-1898 [4]
- Battle casualties [3]
- Morale [3]
- Draft United States [1]
- Drill and minor tactics [1]
- Homesickness [1]
- Marching [1]
- McClellan, George Brinton1826-1885 [1]
- Military leaves and furloughs [1]
- Picketing [1]
- Recruiting and enlistment [1]
- Slaves [1]
- United StatesArmy.Vermont Brigade, 2nd (1862-1863) [1]
- United StatesArmy.Vermont Infantry Regiment, 1st (1861) [1]
- United StatesArmy.Vermont Infantry Regiment, 2nd (1861-1865) [1]
- War Psychological aspects [1]
- War casualties [1]
- Women in war [1]
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Topic: ("Patriotism")
Title: Asa P. Blunt to E. Mason
Creator: Blunt, Asa P.
Resource type: correspondence
Topics include the questioning of G. Mason’s loyalty to the United States government by Col. Blunt, denial of protection Mason has requested, the suggestion that Mason take the oath of allegiance to the U.S. or suffer the consequences of possible destruction of property.
Title: Erastus Fairbanks to John Wolcott Phelps
Creator: Fairbanks, Erastus
Date: 1862-09-23
Resource type: correspondence
Topics include the conduct of the 7th Vermont Regiment and the lack of newspaper coverage of the Regiment's positive attributes. The battles in Maryland would include Antietam Creek, one of the bloodiest battles of the war. Fairbanks also mentions a rumor of Phelps's resignation, which had indeed occurred in August, 1862. Some thoughts about slavery, government, and the Constitution.
Title: Horatio P. Bruce to Smiley Bancroft
Creator: Bruce, Horatio P.,
Date: 1862-06-26
Resource type: correspondence
Topics include the death of Charles Bancroft from typhoid fever, the sickness of other men in the company, and that the fall of Richmond will bring the war to an end. Like many other writers, he refers to McClellan's reluctance to deploy his massive army.
Title: Joseph L. Perkins to Brother
Creator: Perkins, Joseph L.
Date: 1861-04-23
Resource type: correspondence
Topics include a discussion of Liberty and the Constitution and one of women's equality with men.
Title: Letter to John Wolcott Phelps
Date: 1862-08-10
Resource type: correspondence
Holbrook waxes eloquent in his call for a "'Great Awakening' at Washington" and a greater awareness of how "our present severe training" will make the nation stronger; but the federal government needs to take the war seriously in order to have victory. Accordingly, Holbrook supports Lincoln's call for 300,000 additional troops, but suggests that a million men in arms would bring success. Intuits correctly that Phelps's "Dark Brigade" (black troops) would not be allowed to bear arms.
![Thumbnail: Roswell Farnham to [C. H.] Harding](http://cdi.uvm.edu/archives/civilwar/cwuvmfarnham13_1-thumb.jpg)
Title: Roswell Farnham to [C. H.] Harding
Creator: Farnham, Roswell, 1827-1903
Date: 1861-05-26
Resource type: correspondence
Topics include preparing for a march with the 4th Massachusetts Regiment and a New York Regiment most likely to Sewells Point, Virginia. Farnham expresses pride in the Green Mountain Boys. Names mentioned: Officers Stearns, Andross, and Worthen.
Title: Wheelock G. Veazey to Julia A. Veazey
Creator: Veazey, Wheelock G., 1835-1898
Date: 1861-08-17
Resource type: correspondence
Topics include the sacrifice made by all the soldiers, the Vermont 2nd Regiment at Bull Run, and the fight but up by the Zouaves and the New York 69th Regiment.
Title: Wheelock G. Veazey to Julia A. Veazey
Creator: Veazey, Wheelock G., 1835-1898
Date: 1861-11-09
Resource type: correspondence
Topics include the cold nights and the toll it takes and Wheelock G. Veazey’s responsibilities in camp.
Title: Wheelock G. Veazey to Julia A. Veazey
Creator: Veazey, Wheelock G., 1835-1898
Date: [1861]-12-01
Resource type: correspondence
Topics include a brief description of the Thanksgiving celebrations and a description of a trip to Washington.
Title: Wheelock G. Veazey to Julia A. Veazey
Creator: Veazey, Wheelock G., 1835-1898
Date: 1861-12-15
Resource type: correspondence
Topics include Wheelock G. Veazey’s dismay that some people from home believe the pay soldiers receive should be decreased.
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