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)
- Gale, Justus F., 1837-1863 [7]
- [1]
- Stone, Edward P., 1830-1920 [1]
- Williams, Francis C. [1]
- Williams, Lyman S., 1839-1905 [1]
Recipient(s)
- , [2]
- Gale,Jonas, 1800-1874 [2]
- Gale,Abigail Albee, 1801-1869 [1]
- Gale,Almeda A., 1835-1876 [1]
- Gale,Samantha A., 1832-1892 [1]
- Holbrook, Frederick [1]
- Williams,Lois L. [1]
Place(s)
- VermontHistoryCivil War, 1861-1865 [2]
- Military camps -- Louisiana [1]
- New Orleans (La.) -- History -- Civil War, 1861-1865 [1]
- Ship Island (Miss.) [1]
- United States -- History -- Civil War, 1861-1865 [1]
- United States -- History -- Civil War, 1861-1865 -- Casualties [1]
- United States -- History -- Civil War, 1861-1865 -- Poetry [1]
Format(s)
- text [11]
Genre(s)
- correspondence [11]
Topic(s)
- Religion [11]
- Families of military personnel [6]
- United StatesArmy.Vermont Infantry Regiment, 8th (1861-1865) [4]
- Food [3]
- United StatesArmy Military life [3]
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Topic: ("Religion")
Title: Edward P. Stone to Family
Creator: Stone, Edward P., 1830-1920
Date: [1861-10-?]
Resource type: correspondence
Topics include a service the regiment attended.
Title: Francis C. Williams to Frederick Holbrook
Creator: Williams, Francis C.
Date: 1862-04-25
Resource type: correspondence
Topics include the regiment being situated at Camp on Ship Island, the establishment of (religious?) services on Tuesdays, and the intellectual capacity of the men of the Vermont regiments.
![Thumbnail: Justus E. Gale to [Family]](http://cdi.uvm.edu/archives/civilwar/cwvhsGaleJustus35_01-thumb.jpg)
Title: Justus E. Gale to [Family]
Creator: Gale, Justus F., 1837-1863
Date: 1862-08-23
Resource type: correspondence
Topics include a poem titled “The Heavenly Home” and clearing up the rumor that Justus Gale is dead.
Title: Justus F. Gale to Father
Creator: Gale, Justus F., 1837-1863
Date: 1862-06-14
Resource type: correspondence
Topics include the living conditions and food in New Orleans, continues with cooking duty, the good weather, soldiers bringing back to camp chickens, eggs, an account of the poor treatment of slaves, two slave boys being rescued from ill treatment from their masters, and the observance of Sabbath in camp, wishing to know more news of the war than he can get in the South.
Title: Justus F. Gale to Father
Creator: Gale, Justus F., 1837-1863
Date: 1862-09-24
Resource type: correspondence
Topics include his reference to his religious faith, the death of Justus Gale’s brother Charlie and of the death of Jester caused by the fever, the poor health of the rest of his family, the good health of himself and of sending on a photograph sent to him and of getting a photograph taken of him to send.
Title: Justus F. Gale to Mother
Creator: Gale, Justus F., 1837-1863
Date: 1862-04-06
Resource type: correspondence
Two letters dated April 4th and 6th. Writing after arriving at Ship Island, Mississippi topics include observing the Sabbath,his devotion for the Bible, arriving on shore, digging and finding plenty of fresh water, being treated with food from the Mass. 30th, thinking war may be over before he gets a chance to fight and the expectation of capturing New Orleans.
Title: Justus F. Gale to Sister
Creator: Gale, Justus F., 1837-1863
Date: 1862-03-07
Resource type: correspondence
Writing to his sister topics include the journey from Camp Holbrook to Ship Island through New York via train car, mentions 45 rebel officers being taken prisoner at Fort Donelson, hopes the war to be over soon, thinks of his family back home and puts his faith in God to rule over all.
Title: Justus F. Gale to Sister
Creator: Gale, Justus F., 1837-1863
Date: 1862-07-18
Resource type: correspondence
Topics include the good health of Justus Gale, the food available at Algiers including confiscated beef from the locals, standing guard for 12 hour shifts, killing alligators, writes of some of his comrades, the sickness of Sargent 2nd Class.Chas. C. Martin with inflammation of the bowels, the capture of Richmond and Vicksburg, mentions Confederate Gen. G. T. Beauregard, receiving a copy of the Green Mountain Freeman and refers to his religious faith.
Title: Justus F. Gale to Sister
Creator: Gale, Justus F., 1837-1863
Date: 1862-10-09
Resource type: correspondence
Topics include the improved health of Justus Gale’s family, speaks of his religious faith, a discussion of deciding on Charley’s gravestone, and the separation of his Gale's parents.
Title: Lyman S. Willams to Lois L. Williams
Creator: Williams, Lyman S., 1839-1905
Date: 1862-07-27
Resource type: correspondence
Topics include the quietness of camp near Harrisons Landing, a church service that Lyman Williams attended, and the food Lyman misses from home.
![Thumbnail: [Frankie?] to Mother](http://cdi.uvm.edu/archives/civilwar/cwuvmwilder31_1-thumb.jpg)
Title: [Frankie?] to Mother
Date: ?-?-?
Resource type: correspondence
A poem, "Death of H. H. Wilder," written by Frankie, presumably Wilder's nephew.
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