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 [5]
- Barton, Lyman [1]
- Bliss, Warren E., 1840-1930 [1]
- Farnham, Roswell, 1827-1903 [1]
- Gale, Justus F., 1837-1863 [1]
- Gregg, Charles C., 1832-1910 [1]
- Henry, William Wirt, 1831-1915 [1]
- Smith, Henry A., d. 1864 [1]
- Williams, Lyman S., 1839-1905 [1]
Recipient(s)
- Spafford, Mary Jane [5]
- , [1]
- Bancroft,Smiley, 1808-1874 [1]
- Barton,Melissa [1]
- Farnham, Mary [1]
- Gale,Samantha A., 1832-1892 [1]
- Henry, Mary Jane, [1]
- Henry, William Wirt, [1]
- Williams,Lois L. [1]
Place(s)
- Military campsVirginia [3]
- Military camps -- Virginia [2]
- United States -- History -- Civil War, 1861-1865 -- Campaigns [2]
- United States -- History -- Civil War, 1861-1865 -- Casualties [1]
- United StatesHistoryCivil War, 1861-1865Campaigns [1]
- United StatesHistoryCivil War, 1861-1865Flags [1]
- United StatesHistoryCivil War, 1861-1865Medical care [1]
- VermontHistoryCivil War, 1861-1865 [1]
Format(s)
- text [13]
Genre(s)
- correspondence [13]
Topic(s)
- Sutlers [13]
- United StatesArmy Military life [5]
- Armed Forces Officers [3]
- Families of military personnel [3]
- Diseases [2]
- Antietam, Battle of, Md., 1862 [1]
- Battle casualties [1]
- Bull Run, 2nd Battle of, Va., 1862 [1]
- Confederate States of AmericaArmy [1]
- Fair Oaks, Battle of, Va., 1862 [1]
- Farnham, Roswell1827-1903 [1]
- Food [1]
- Freedmen [1]
- McClellan, George Brinton1826-1885 [1]
- Military deserters [1]
- Military hospitals [1]
- Morale [1]
- Operational rations (Military supplies) [1]
- Peninsular Campaign, 1862 [1]
- Photographers [1]
- Pope, John1822-1892 [1]
- Postal service [1]
- Prisoners of war [1]
- Promotions, Military [1]
- Religion [1]
- Ship Island (Miss.) [1]
- Soldiers Suicidal behavior [1]
- United StatesArmy Flags [1]
- United StatesArmy Surgeons [1]
- United StatesArmy.Vermont Infantry Regiment, 4th (1861-1865) [1]
-
- | 1 - 13 of 13 |
-
- Thumbnails | List | Timeline
Browsing by:
Topic: ("Sutlers")
Format: ("text")
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: Henry A. Smith to Family
Creator: Smith, Henry A., d. 1864
Date: 1862-09-11
Resource type: correspondence
From camp near Alexandria Va. topics include the journey from Alexandria to Munsons Hill and back to a camp near Alexandria, to his lending money to fellow soldiers, reference to Vermont regiments 9th, 10th and 11th, a description of Wesley Watts being wounded in a skirmish against the rebels, praise of McClellan, reference to Bull Run, John Pope and some of the other men who have been wounded.
Title: Joseph Spafford to Mary Jane Spafford
Creator: Spafford, Joseph, 1837-1866
Date: 1861-10-23
Resource type: correspondence
Writes of muddy conditions at Camp Griffin, Virginia, of seeing Gen. Davis from Cavendish, of learning George is to be married, of being still in good health, of having gone out scouting but seeing no Rebels, asks about Thanksgiving in Vermont, meals of wheat bread and coffee, getting butter from sutler to enhance his meal.
Title: Joseph Spafford to Mary Jane Spafford
Creator: Spafford, Joseph, 1837-1866
Date: 1861-10-30
Resource type: correspondence
October 30, 1861. Topics include the postponement of a review of the Army of the Potomac, the numerous regiments at Camp Griffin, Virginia, a prediction of a move to Vienna after a naval strike, requests for stocking yarn, sealing wax and two sealing stamps, a daguerreotype photographer to travel with the regiment, mentions pay, the need to purchase shoes, going to the sutler for butter, general health of the men, praises the surgeon,
Title: Joseph Spafford to Mary Jane Spafford
Creator: Spafford, Joseph, 1837-1866
Date: 1861-11-04
Resource type: correspondence
Topics include Battalion and Regiment drills, having had a photograph taken of him, arrangements for Joseph Spafford's mother and sister to send him items and food from home, has received gloves from home, getting writing materials from the sutler, illness among the men, death from disease, personal family matter, wants lyrics sent to the song "Rock me to sleep".
Title: Joseph Spafford to Mary Jane Spafford
Creator: Spafford, Joseph, 1837-1866
Date: 1862-01-02
Resource type: correspondence
Written to his sister from his Virginia camp, topic include politics of promotion and his chances of getting promoted, theft in the Regiments, photographs, and the opium habit of an unnamed soldier from Jamaica, Vermont.
Title: Joseph Spafford to Mary Jane Spafford
Creator: Spafford, Joseph, 1837-1866
Date: 1862-03-06
Resource type: correspondence
Spafford writes of difficulty of getting postage stamps in the correct amount needed to mail letters home and that the prepared rations ordered for possible march on Feb 27th were consumed in camp.
Title: Justus F. Gale to Sister
Creator: Gale, Justus F., 1837-1863
Date: 1862-04-21
Resource type: correspondence
Topics include the improvement in Justus Gale's health, the cost of food items in camp, the death of three men in the regiment, the attempted suicide of a man in Company F, mentions "sugar place" back home in Elmore and writes about the lack of information in camp about the rest of the Union Army.
Title: Lyman Barton to Sister
Creator: Barton, Lyman
Date: 1862-11-25
Resource type: correspondence
Topics include an account of the Battle of Antetam [sic], the cold weather, the high prices of goods at camp, and reports on the health of other soldiers and family members.
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: Roswell Farnham to [Mary Farnham]](http://cdi.uvm.edu/archives/civilwar/cwuvmfarnham94_01-thumb.jpg)
Title: Roswell Farnham to [Mary Farnham]
Creator: Farnham, Roswell, 1827-1903
Date: 1862-11-20
Resource type: correspondence
Farnham writes from Camp Vermont about preparations for his wife, Mary's visit to camp, about how comfortable their dwelling will be, how he will meet up with her once she arrives, reference to a new sutler, and mentions other wives coming to visit.
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: William Wirt Henry to Mary Jane Henry
Creator: Henry, William Wirt, 1831-1915
Date: 1862-02-23
Resource type: correspondence
Topics include a travel route planned to return home via Annapolis, Brattleboro and maybe even Burlington, the capture of 18 Rebel prisoners near Fairfax, and the hope of one of the wounded prisoners, a Virginian, to retake the oath to become a citizen of the United States again, reference to a Flag of Truce to send a letter to the Confederate Army, his side business doing poorly as the men have expected orders to move and the Sutlers not buying for the same reason.
-
- | 1 - 13 of 13 |
-
- Thumbnails | List | Timeline