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 [5]
- Barney, Valentine G., 1834-1889 [3]
- Rutherford, Joseph Chase, 1818-1902 [3]
- Spafford, Joseph, 1837-1866 [3]
- Davis, George F., 1815-1901 [2]
- Farnham, Roswell, 1827-1903 [2]
- Gale, Justus F., 1837-1863 [2]
- Henry, William Wirt, 1831-1915 [2]
- Wilder, Henry Harrison [2]
- [1]
- Bruce, Horatio P., [1]
- Murray, B. [1]
- Quimby, George W. [1]
- Veazey, Wheelock G., 1835-1898 [1]
Recipient(s)
- Bancroft,Smiley, 1808-1874 [3]
- Rutherford, Hannah [3]
- Barney,Maria, 1833-1884 [2]
- Farnham, Mary [2]
- Henry, Mary Jane [2]
- Spafford, Mary Jane [2]
- Barney, Maria [1]
- Gale,Charles T., 1845-1862 [1]
- Gale,Samantha A., 1832-1892 [1]
- Veazey, Julia A. [1]
- White, Homer [1]
Place(s)
- Military campsVirginia [10]
- United States -- History -- Civil War, 1861-1865 -- Casualties [7]
- Military camps -- Virginia [4]
- United States -- History -- Civil War, 1861-1865 -- Medical care [3]
- Military camps -- Maryland [2]
- Chicago (Ill.) [1]
- Culpeper County (Va.) [1]
- Military camps -- Louisiana [1]
- United StatesHistoryCivil War, 1861-1865Medical care [1]
- Vermont -- History -- Civil War, 1861-1865 [1]
Format(s)
- text [29]
Genre(s)
- correspondence [29]
Topic(s)
- War casualties [29]
- Diseases [15]
- United StatesArmy Military life [10]
- United StatesArmy.Vermont Infantry Regiment, 4th (1861-1865) [7]
- Families of military personnel [5]
- McClellan, George Brinton1826-1885 [2]
- Military hospitals [2]
- Prisoners of war [2]
- Sutlers [2]
- United StatesArmy.Vermont Infantry Regiment, 5th (1861-1865)Company F [2]
- United StatesArmy.Vermont Infantry Regiment, 8th (1861-1865) [2]
- Armed Forces Officers [1]
- Armies Medical and sanitary affairs [1]
- Battle casualties [1]
- Bull Run, 1st Battle of, Va., 1861 [1]
- Drill and minor tactics [1]
- Food [1]
- Hancock, Winfield Scott1824-1886 [1]
- Intrenchments [1]
- Military chaplains [1]
- Military funerals [1]
- Military leaves and furloughs [1]
- Patriotism [1]
- Picketing [1]
- Postal service [1]
- Recruiting and enlistment [1]
- Religion [1]
- Ship Island (Miss.) [1]
- Soldiers Suicidal behavior [1]
- United StatesArmy Surgeons [1]
- United StatesArmy.Vermont Infantry Regiment, 3rd (1861-1865) [1]
- United StatesArmy.Vermont Infantry Regiment, 9th (1862-1865) [1]
- War victims [1]
- Women in war [1]
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Topic: ("War casualties")
Genre: ("correspondence")
Title: George F. Davis to Smiley Bancroft
Creator: Davis, George F., 1815-1901
Date: 1862-05-07
Resource type: correspondence
Topics include the death of Charles Bancroft while on the "Propeller Richard Willing" and an account of his possessions. The quartermaster's tone is remarkably sympathetic even while addressing official business.
Title: George F. Davis to Smiley Bancroft
Creator: Davis, George F., 1815-1901
Date: 1862-05-18
Resource type: correspondence
Topics include plans to return Charles Bancroft's possessions to his father. One senses that the quartermaster is defending the military's hospital care in response to a complaint from Bancroft's father.
Title: George W. Quimby to Sister
Creator: Quimby, George W.
Date: 1861-11-30
Resource type: correspondence
Writes to sister Emeline B. Masta from Camp Griffin, Va of a description of a Grand Review by Gen. McClellan and staff with Pres. Abraham Lincoln in attendance, marching to Bailey's Cross Roads, expedition to Fairfax Court House for grain, receipt of quilt and pillow, death of two men from disease, reference to Thanksgiving Day
Title: Henry Harrison Wilder to Mother
Creator: Wilder, Henry Harrison
Date: 1861-?-29
Resource type: correspondence
Henry writes from Camp Griffin, Va. of being in good health, of having gained ten pounds, of sleeping well, of having a comfortable bed and coverings, of the burial service of two men held by the Chaplain and of Fenton ill with the measles.
Title: Henry Harrison Wilder to Mother
Creator: Wilder, Henry Harrison
Date: 1861-12-07
Resource type: correspondence
Henry writes from Camp Griffin, Va. of a scouting and foraging expedition of 30,000 men whereby corn, hay and wood were obtained, of the death of Fenton on November 29th, of few meetings held by the Chaplain who is not very well thought of and of visiting the sick in the hospital.
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.
![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/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/cwuvmrutherford15_01-thumb.jpg)
Title: Joseph Rutherford to [Hannah Rutherford]
Creator: Rutherford, Joseph Chase, 1818-1902
Date: 1862-12-13
Resource type: correspondence
Rutherford writes to wife Hannah about the death of General Newcomb, Rutherford's medical duties and the birth of Mrs. Turn’s baby.
Title: Joseph Spafford to Homer White
Creator: Spafford, Joseph, 1837-1866
Date: 1862-02-07
Resource type: correspondence
Spafford writes to his friend Homer on topics including Typhoid Fever in the Regiment, friendship, camp life, Hancock’s Brigade [Winfield Scott Hancock], and answering his friend’s questions about joining the Regiment and fear of dying.
Title: Joseph Spafford to Mary Jane Spafford
Creator: Spafford, Joseph, 1837-1866
Date: 1861-11-17
Resource type: correspondence
Topics include an expected package from home, lack of military pay, death of three men in the company from the fever, of a father retrieving his son's body..
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: Justus F. Gale to Brother
Creator: Gale, Justus F., 1837-1863
Date: 1862-08-01
Resource type: correspondence
Topics include the sickness and deaths in the regiment including that of Lucias M Benson of Worcester from diphtheria whom Gale was caring for in the hospital, inquiries about home and family members, the lack of news from Richmond, and the hot weather in Algiers.
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: Ransom W. Towle to Family
Creator: Towle, Ransom W., d. 1864
Date: [1862]-01-20
Resource type: correspondence
Towle writes from his Virginia camp to his parents and sister on the mud while out on picket duty, fearfulness of some of the soldiers, list of items to send from home including a reference to his much needed new boots, sickness and deaths in the Regiment, and news of the Rochester boys.
Title: Ransom W. Towle to Friends
Creator: Towle, Ransom W., d. 1864
Date: 1862-02-17
Resource type: correspondence
Topics include Towle’s sickness Saturday night, of illness and death within the company and regiment, praise for officer Lieut. Pingree, reference to rumor of the capture of Savannah (does he refer to Georgia?), and a brief reference to the possible firing of guns at Fort Ethan Allen for some victory somewhere.
Title: Ransom W. Towle to Friends
Creator: Towle, Ransom W., d. 1864
Date: 1861-02-27
Resource type: correspondence
Writing from his Virgina camp Griffin, Towle gives a description of a Battalion Drill and the ill health effects on the soldiers, of a gale storm damaging tents and overturning an ambulance with a sick soldier inside. He writes of orders from General McClellan to be ready to move, and states men are sick and death count to date for his regiment is 66.
Title: Ransom W. Towle to Friends
Creator: Towle, Ransom W., d. 1864
Date: [1862]-03-05
Resource type: correspondence
From Camp Griffin, Towle writes of a brigade and bayonet drill, the increasing number of sick men with the death count for the regiment at 77, and of the monotony of camp life.
Title: Ransom W. Towle to Sister and Friends
Creator: Towle, Ransom W., d. 1864
Date: 1862-05-15
Resource type: correspondence
From camp in Whitehouse Landing, Va. topics include the destruction of the Merrimac (the ironclad warship), a bear hunt, the occupation of Norfolk, Virginia troops under the command of President Lincoln, a description of skirmishes with the Rebels, and the warm weather in Virginia.
![Thumbnail: Roswell Farnham to Mary [Farnham]](http://cdi.uvm.edu/archives/civilwar/cwuvmfarnham59_1-thumb.jpg)
Title: Roswell Farnham to Mary [Farnham]
Creator: Farnham, Roswell, 1827-1903
Date: 1861-08-12
Resource type: correspondence
Topics include the Regiment being held up at Camp Phelps in Brattleboro, VT while awaiting the paymaster, the men being more disciplined than is previous days, reference to a girl with mental disabilities being taken home by Mr. Slocome, mentions the death of a St. Albans boy and others who have died.
![Thumbnail: Roswell Farnham to [Mary Farnham]](http://cdi.uvm.edu/archives/civilwar/cwuvmfarnham50_1-thumb.jpg)
Title: Roswell Farnham to [Mary Farnham]
Creator: Farnham, Roswell, 1827-1903
Date: 1861-07-23
Resource type: correspondence
July 23, 1861. Topics include disastrous news from Manassas Junction that will delay the departure for home, death of a soldier named Whitney from Woodstock who left the troops with Lt. Becker but without being given leave by the Colonel, and terrible rain storms.
Title: Valentine G. Barney to Maria Barney
Creator: Barney, Valentine G., 1834-1889
Date: 1861-06-30
Resource type: correspondence
Writes from Newport, Va. of his improving health after a bout of illness, of about 6000 Rebels in the area which the company is out scouting, the capture of two prisoners from a Regiment of Zouaves from Louisiana who voluntarily surrendered as they thought their company had moved out without them, of Barney's weight loss, death of a man from the Middlebury Co. and his funeral.
Title: Valentine G. Barney to Maria Barney
Creator: Barney, Valentine G., 1834-1889
Date: 1862-11-09
Resource type: correspondence
Topics include the continued improvement of Barney’s health from jaundice though his legs tire quickly, the need for money from home, thoughts of a furlough and the sickness and deaths in the regiment.
Title: Valentine G. Barney to Maria Barney
Creator: Barney, Valentine G., 1834-1889
Date: 1862-08-13
Resource type: correspondence
Topics include the death of two men from the Burlington company, news of the Battle at Culpepper, Capt BeBee of Burlington ill and sent home, and the death of Captain Brooks by the Rebels, confiscating doors from a building inside one of Johnson's abandoned forts to be used a a floor in Barney's tent and a drawing of Barney's encampment.
Title: Wheelock G. Veazey to Julia A. Veazey
Creator: Veazey, Wheelock G., 1835-1898
Date: 1861-10-20
Resource type: correspondence
Topics include the toll the war is taking on the wives, mothers, and sisters of soldiers, the lack of awareness by Northerners, and a discussion of Gen. McClellan.
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