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]
- Farnham, Roswell, 1827-1903 [2]
- Perkins, Joseph L. [1]
- Quimby, George W., 1835-1862 [1]
- Rutherford, Joseph Chase, 1818-1902 [1]
- Spafford, Joseph, 1837-1866 [1]
- Towle, Ransom W., d. 1864 [1]
- White, Daniel S., 1837-1912 [1]
Recipient(s)
- Veazey, Julia A. [3]
- Farnham, Mary [2]
- Howe, Maria E. [1]
- Rutherford, Hannah [1]
- Spafford, Mary Jane [1]
- Veazey, Julia A., [1]
Place(s)
- Military campsVirginia [3]
- United States -- History -- Civil War, 1861-1865 [3]
- Military camps -- Maryland [2]
- Military camps -- Virginia [2]
- Vermont -- History -- Civil War, 1861-1865 [2]
Format(s)
- text [12]
Genre(s)
- correspondence [12]
Topic(s)
- Women in war [12]
- United StatesArmy Military life [5]
- Families of military personnel [3]
- Morale [3]
- Veazey, Wheelock G. (Wheelock Graves)1835-1898 [3]
- Intrenchments [1]
- Military leaves and furloughs [1]
- Patriotism [1]
- Postal service [1]
- Prisoners of war [1]
- Soldiers Alcohol use [1]
- United StatesArmy Surgeons [1]
- United StatesArmy.Vermont Brigade, 1st (1861-1865) [1]
- United StatesArmy.Vermont Brigade, 2nd (1862-1863) [1]
- United StatesArmy.Vermont Infantry Regiment, 3rd (1861-1865) [1]
- United StatesArmy.Vermont Infantry Regiment, 4th (1861-1865) [1]
- War Psychological aspects [1]
- War casualties [1]
- War victims [1]
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Topic: ("Women in war")
Title: Daniel S. White to Maria E. Howe
Creator: White, Daniel S., 1837-1912
Date: 1861-08-12
Resource type: correspondence
Topics include taking a Negro woman and her children as prisoners to keep them safe from their master, anticipation of a battle, false rumor that officers appropriated a box meant for the soldiers for it was delivered to the men.
Title: George W. Quimby to Mother
Creator: Quimby, George W., 1835-1862
Date: 1862-10-28
Resource type: correspondence
Topics include the improvement of George W. Quimby’s health, the cold nights, and a request for his father to send him an overcoat.
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.
![Thumbnail: Joseph Rutherford to [Hannah Rutherford]](http://cdi.uvm.edu/archives/civilwar/cwuvmrutherford14_01-thumb.jpg)
Title: Joseph Rutherford to [Hannah Rutherford]
Creator: Rutherford, Joseph Chase, 1818-1902
Date: 1862-12-06
Resource type: correspondence
Rutherford writes a description of Thanksgiving dinner in camp prepared with the help of the officers' wives, a reference to John Piper his "orderly", of soldiers plans to steal a gun from a neighboring farmer in order to get some turkeys and chickens for the holiday meal, of their arrest, the unpleasant weather, of Rutherford being jaundice and of his black boy Moses being sick and likely to die.
Title: Joseph Spafford to Mary Jane Spafford
Creator: Spafford, Joseph, 1837-1866
Date: 1862-01-21
Resource type: correspondence
Spafford writes from Camp Griffin, Virginia on topics including the difficulty in getting a furlough, mud and rain, arrival of a New York regiment and their drunkeness because of the mud, a woman living in camp that came with the New York regiment, camp life, and asking for news from home.
Title: Ransom W. Towle to Family and Friends
Creator: Towle, Ransom W., d. 1864
Date: 1862-02-02
Resource type: correspondence
Towle writes of missing his newspaper and his wish to remain informed on both foreign and army news and of some of the men's morale writing home about the hardships of war and a desire to see it end. He writes of Col. Stoughton resignation, of officers' wives attending the camp's religious service and how the service differs from the traditional church worship.
![Thumbnail: Roswell Farnham to [Mary Farnham]](http://cdi.uvm.edu/archives/civilwar/cwuvmfarnham43_1-thumb.jpg)
Title: Roswell Farnham to [Mary Farnham]
Creator: Farnham, Roswell, 1827-1903
Date: 1861-07-13
Resource type: correspondence
Topics include Roswell inviting his wife to visit him, the predicted length of the war, and a elaborate dinner.
![Thumbnail: Roswell Farnham to [Mary Farnham]](http://cdi.uvm.edu/archives/civilwar/cwuvmfarnham91_01-thumb.jpg)
Title: Roswell Farnham to [Mary Farnham]
Creator: Farnham, Roswell, 1827-1903
Date: 1862-11-12
Resource type: correspondence
Farnham writes from Camp Vermont headquarters of the 12th Regiment Vermont Volunteers to his wife, Mary, about her preparing for a visit to camp, what needed items she might bring and what discomforts she might expect living in a small hut he is building. He mentions other wives visiting their spouses, Mrs. Blunt and Mrs. Vaughn. Writes of anticipation of homesickness.
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.
Title: Wheelock G. Veazey to Julia A. Veazey
Creator: Veazey, Wheelock G., 1835-1898
Date: 1862-01-15
Resource type: correspondence
Veazey writes a brief note about waiting for his wife's letters, the muddy weather, and other officers’ wives joining their husbands at camp.
Title: Wheelock G. Veazey to Julia A. Veazey
Creator: Veazey, Wheelock G., 1835-1898
Date: 1862-02-14
Resource type: correspondence
Writing on February 14 (Valentine's Day) topics include worry about his wife’s behavior, hinting at in an unwritten way of his suspicion of Julia's flirting with other men and news from camp.
Title: Wheelock G. Veazey to Julia A. Veazey
Creator: Veazey, Wheelock G., 1835-1898
Date: 1862-07-13
Resource type: correspondence
Still at Harrison's Landing and writing to Julia now in Boston topics include improved health of the men, the resignation of Major Seaver and Major Proctor, and Wheelock Veazey saying when he leaves the army he will not yet be fit for business, laments that if he does not get a regiment he will resign from service, is distraught about the politicians, corruption of the army, and gives a brief mention of women with the army.
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