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)
- Towle, Ransom W., d. 1864 [4]
- Veazey, Wheelock G., 1835-1898 [2]
- Williams, Lyman S., 1839-1905 [2]
- Barton, Theodore [1]
- Gregg, Charles C., 1832-1910 [1]
Recipient(s)
- Veazey, Julia A., [2]
- Barton,Melissa [1]
- Henry, William Wirt, [1]
- Williams,Lois L. [1]
- Williams,Warren [1]
Place(s)
- United StatesHistoryCivil War, 1861-1865Campaigns [4]
- Fort Monroe (Va.) [2]
- Military campsVirginia [1]
- United States -- History -- Civil War, 1861-1865 -- Casualties [1]
- United StatesHistoryCivil War, 1861-1865Medical care [1]
- United StatesHistoryCivil War, 1861-1865Military reconnaissance [1]
Format(s)
- text [10]
Genre(s)
- correspondence [10]
Topic(s)
- Peninsular Campaign, 1862 [10]
- Battle casualties [5]
- Marching [5]
- Armed Forces Officers [3]
- Picketing [3]
- McClellan, George Brinton1826-1885 [1]
- Soldiers Alcohol use [1]
- Sutlers [1]
- United StatesArmy.Vermont Infantry Regiment, 6th (1861-1864) [1]
- United StatesArmy.Vermont Infantry Regiment, 9th (1862-1865) [1]
- United StatesArmy.Vermont Infantry Regiment, 9th (1862-1865).Company B [1]
- War Psychological aspects [1]
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Topic: ("Peninsular Campaign, 1862")
Title: Charles C. Gregg to William Wirt Henry
Creator: Gregg, Charles C., 1832-1910
Date: 1862-05-28
Resource type: correspondence
Topics include the expectation of a "big old fight" near Richmond (Battle of Seven Pines or Fair Oaks, ended June 1st, 1862), and the report of a fight led by "Porter and Stonman" (Fitz John Porter and George Stoneman, both Union officers) against 17,000 rebels (actual number: 4,500). This was the Battle of Hanover Court House, 18 miles north of Richmond, on May 27th, 1862. Mentions the appointment of Col. George J. Stannard to lead the Vt. 9th Regiment.
Title: Lyman S. Williams to Lois L. Williams
Creator: Williams, Lyman S., 1839-1905
Date: 1862-04-01
Resource type: correspondence
Topics include the journey from Alexandria to Newport News.
Title: Lyman S. Williams to Warren Williams
Creator: Williams, Lyman S., 1839-1905
Date: 1862-04-20
Resource type: correspondence
Topics include Lyman Williams coming down with a fever, an encounter with the rebels that left four men wounded, and the rebels' description of the Vermont regiment as dare devils. Stationery has an illustration of a "Vermont Boy," plus two verses of a song with the title "Vermont Soldier." The refrain, "Away down in Dixie," suggests an attempt to compete with the immortal southern song "Dixie."
Title: Ransom W. Towle to Sister and Friends
Creator: Towle, Ransom W., d. 1864
Date: 1862-06-22
Resource type: correspondence
Camping in the field near Richmond topics include the weather in Virginia with food crops growing well in the hot temperatures, pickets conversing and trading papers, coffee, whiskey, fighting resulting in losses, reference to Rifle Pits, preparations for the Battle of Richmond, sickness among the soldiers.
![Thumbnail: Ransom W. Towle to [Family and Friends]](http://cdi.uvm.edu/archives/civilwar/cwvhsTowleRansom21_01-thumb.jpg)
Title: Ransom W. Towle to [Family and Friends]
Creator: Towle, Ransom W., d. 1864
Date: 1862-05-08
Resource type: correspondence
Towle's regiment pursues the Rebels after finding their hasty departure from their camps. The men marched to the enemy's strong holds at Williamsburg, Virginia including Fort Magruder and a battle was fought. Killed and wounded reported. Soldiers had to endure heavy rain and muddy conditions. Some men did reconnaissance.
![Thumbnail: Ransom W. Towle to [Family and Friends]](http://cdi.uvm.edu/archives/civilwar/cwvhsTowleRansom27_01-thumb.jpg)
Title: Ransom W. Towle to [Family and Friends]
Creator: Towle, Ransom W., d. 1864
Date: 1862-06-14
Resource type: correspondence
Still in the field near Richmond, Va topics include the Battle of Richmond being fought since May 31, soldiers wounded and killed by Rebel fire, shell fire by the Rebels, balloon reconnaissance.
![Thumbnail: Ransom W. Towle to [Family and Friends]](http://cdi.uvm.edu/archives/civilwar/cwvhsTowleRansom29_01-thumb.jpg)
Title: Ransom W. Towle to [Family and Friends]
Creator: Towle, Ransom W., d. 1864
Date: 1862-06-18
Resource type: correspondence
Towle writes from the field near Richmond, Va on heavy firing between Union gun boats on James River and Fort Darlin, an exchange of fire with the enemy, the seemingly deterioration of Gen. McClellan's appearance and the arrest of Colonel Stoughton for not turning out with his regiment to in line of battle.
Title: Theodore Barton to Sister
Creator: Barton, Theodore
Date: 1862-09-29
Resource type: correspondence
Topics include the journey from Harrison's Landing to Boliver via Newport News and Alexandria. Names several wounded and deceased soldiers, perhaps known by his sister. Concludes with a somewhat gruesome description of "picnic."
Title: Wheelock G. Veazey to Julia A. Veazey
Creator: Veazey, Wheelock G., 1835-1898
Date: 1862-06-07
Resource type: correspondence
Writing somewhere near Richmond, Virginia topics include expression of sadness over the death of Captain William Parker Ainsworth of Nashua (May 30, 1862), a description of the Battle of Richmond (Peninsular Campaign), his praise for General McClellan and the reporting of the favorable opinion of François-Ferdinand-Philippe-Louis-Marie d'Orléans, prince de Joinville of the Yankees.
Title: Wheelock G. Veazey to Julia A. Veazey
Creator: Veazey, Wheelock G., 1835-1898
Date: 1862-08-22
Resource type: correspondence
Writing from Heigera Hotel at Fortress Monroe topics include marching to the fort, his feelings of how the Peninsular Campaign has been for naught, only for the loss of so many lives, storm postponing the division from moving, the resignation of Captain Atherton and reminding Julia of not to engage in flirtatious behavior.
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