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.
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Creator(s)
Recipient(s)
- , [26]
Place(s)
- Military campsVirginia [5]
- Military campsMaryland [3]
- United StatesHistoryCivil War, 1861-1865 [3]
- Military camps -- Virginia [2]
- Culpeper County (Va.) [1]
- Military camps -- Vermont [1]
- New Orleans (La.) -- History -- Civil War, 1861-1865 [1]
- United States -- History -- Civil War, 1861-1865 [1]
- United States -- History -- Civil War, 1861-1865 -- Poetry [1]
- United States -- History -- Civil War, 1861-1865 -- Songs and music [1]
Format(s)
- text [26]
Genre(s)
- correspondence [26]
Topic(s)
- Battle casualties [8]
- Confederate States of AmericaArmy [7]
- Horses [7]
- United StatesArmy Military life [7]
- Prisoners of war [5]
- Families of military personnel [3]
- Banks, Nathaniel Prentiss1816-1894 [2]
- Bull Run, 2nd Battle of, Va., 1862 [2]
- Food [2]
- Guerrilla warfare [2]
- McClellan, George Brinton1826-1885 [2]
- Military pay [2]
- Operational rations (Military supplies) [2]
- Pillage [2]
- Pope, John1822-1892 [2]
- Religion [2]
- Vicksburg (Miss.) [2]
- Beauregard, G. T. (Gustave Toutant)1818-1893 [1]
- Children and war [1]
- Contraband of war [1]
- Drill and minor tactics [1]
- Homesickness [1]
- Military discharge [1]
- Military discipline [1]
- Postal service [1]
- Promotions, Military [1]
- Racism [1]
- Richmond (Va.) [1]
- Slavery [1]
- Slaves [1]
- Sutlers [1]
- Winchester, 1st Battle of, Winchester, Va., 1862 (May 25) [1]
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Recipient: (",")
Title: Henry A. Smith to Family
Creator: Smith, Henry A., d. 1864
Date: 1862-11-28
Resource type: correspondence
Topics include the arrival of the package from home that had includes apples and chicken but those were eaten by Jarvis Wentworth, pictures of relatives received, admiration of his new boots, Henry Smith's friend Fenney hoping to become his brother-in-law, and the death of a boy names Henry Holt of Hartland, gives advice on how to best care for a horse.
Title: Henry A. Smith to Family
Creator: Smith, Henry A., d. 1864
Date: 1862-09-02
Resource type: correspondence
From Alexandria, Virginia topics include transporting the sick, injured and "used up horses", the expectation of new horses, the extensive fortifications between Alexandria and Centerville, the horrors of war, the restriction of letter writing until 10 days following a battle, reference to men having fought in a battle but does not say which one (Pope's Campaign??) and Henry Smith's wish to return home.
Title: Justus E. Gale to Family
Creator: Gale, Justus F., 1837-1863
Date: 1862-08-31
Resource type: correspondence
Topics include a train crash, confiscating rebel property including horses, cattle, sheep and mules. Writes of having plenty of food on their travel back to camp including dining on lamb. Provided a meal at an old planters house. Mentions Negroes (slaves) and 1500 Blacks at camp, sending troops to Gen. Phelps, the expectation of getting paid, rebels killed in an encounter with the enemy.
![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 Family
Creator: Gale, Justus F., 1837-1863
Date: 1862-07-24
Resource type: correspondence
Topics include the sickness and deaths in the regiment due to Typhoid Fever and poor water, a report that Vicksburg was burned, and the call for the 11th and 12th regiments from Vermont.
Title: Justus F. Gale to Friends
Creator: Gale, Justus F., 1837-1863
Date: 1862-05-04
Resource type: correspondence
Topics include packing up to march most likely towards New Orleans, the occupation of New Orleans by the Union troops, thinking the war will be over soon.
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 & Friends
Creator: Gale, Justus F., 1837-1863
Date: 1862-09-09
Resource type: correspondence
Topics include the sickness of Justus Gale’s mother and brother Charley, mentions his dismay of men trying to skip military duty, the rebel prisoners taken by various Union regiments, mentions Gen. Butler may be taking care of the guerrilla fighters and the injuries sustained by the men in the train accident whereby many seemed to have avoided amputations.
Title: Justus F. Gale to Sister & Friends
Creator: Gale, Justus F., 1837-1863
Date: 1862-09-24
Resource type: correspondence
From Algiers, La topics include ill health of his mother and sister, the death of his brother Charley, how difficult it is to get a military discharge, Justus Gale’s negative opinion of the Blacks, his hope slavery is ended, and his hope that his sister and mother will become healthy again.
![Thumbnail: Justus F. Gale to [Family]](http://cdi.uvm.edu/archives/civilwar/cwvhsGaleJustus08_01-thumb.jpg)
Title: Justus F. Gale to [Family]
Creator: Gale, Justus F., 1837-1863
Date: 1862-02-19
Resource type: correspondence
Writing from Brattleboro topics include drilling, a few companies being sworn into the United States service, Justus Gale’s health improving from a brief cold, mentions "rag" hash soup, boiled beef & potatoes, news of family members and the snow at camp.
![Thumbnail: Justus F. Gale to [Family]](http://cdi.uvm.edu/archives/civilwar/cwvhsGaleJustus19_01-thumb.jpg)
Title: Justus F. Gale to [Family]
Creator: Gale, Justus F., 1837-1863
Date: [1862-04]
Resource type: correspondence
Topics include lyrics to a song that is sung while marching.
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