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 [14]
- Farnham, Roswell, 1827-1903 [9]
- Barney, Valentine G., 1834-1889 [3]
- Towle, Ransom W., d. 1864 [3]
- Gale, Justus F., 1837-1863 [2]
- Spafford, Joseph, 1837-1866 [2]
- Bancroft, Charles F., 1835-1862 [1]
- Bancroft, Charles F., d. 1862 [1]
- Beard, Albin [1]
- Dillingham, Charles, b. 1837 [1]
Recipient(s)
- Veazey, Julia A. [12]
- Farnham, Mary [8]
- Barney, Maria [3]
- Beard, Albin [2]
- Spafford, Mary Jane [2]
- Towle, Sebra [2]
- , [1]
- Bancroft, Smiley [1]
- Campbell, John W. [1]
- Gale,Charles T., 1845-1862 [1]
Place(s)
- VermontHistoryCivil War, 1861-1865 [16]
- United StatesHistoryCivil War, 1861-1865 [15]
- Military campsVirginia [12]
- Military camps -- Virginia [10]
- United States -- History -- Civil War, 1861-1865 [7]
- Vermont -- History -- Civil War, 1861-1865 [7]
- Military camps -- Washington (D.C.) [4]
- Fort Monroe (Va.) [3]
- Fort Jackson (La.) [1]
- Military camps -- Vermont [1]
Format(s)
- text [43]
Genre(s)
- correspondence [43]
Topic(s)
- Drill and minor tactics [43]
- United StatesArmy.Vermont Infantry Regiment, 3rd (1861-1865) [15]
- United StatesArmy Military life [14]
- Veazey, Wheelock G. (Wheelock Graves)1835-1898 [14]
- Morale [11]
- Diseases [4]
- Marching [4]
- Battle casualties [3]
- Families of military personnel [3]
- Postal service [3]
- United StatesArmy.Vermont Infantry Regiment, 1st (1861) [3]
- African Americans [2]
- Food [2]
- Homesickness [2]
- Operational rations (Military supplies) [2]
- Prisoners of war [2]
- United StatesArmy.Vermont Infantry Regiment, 5th (1861-1865) [2]
- United StatesArmy.Vermont Infantry Regiment, 8th (1861-1865) [2]
- Bull Run, 1st Battle of, Va., 1861 [1]
- Fugitive slaves [1]
- Guerrilla warfare [1]
- Intrenchments [1]
- McClellan, George Brinton1826-1885 [1]
- Military chaplains [1]
- Patriotism [1]
- Pillage [1]
- Promotions, Military [1]
- Ship Island (Miss.) [1]
- United StatesArmy.Vermont Brigade, 1st (1861-1865) [1]
- United StatesArmy.Vermont Infantry Regiment, 2nd (1861-1865) [1]
- United StatesArmy.Vermont Infantry Regiment, 4th (1861-1865)Company B [1]
- War casualties [1]
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Topic: ("Drill and minor tactics")
Title: Valentine G. Barney to Maria Barney
Creator: Barney, Valentine G., 1834-1889
Date: [1861]-06-03
Resource type: correspondence
Barney writes from Newport News, Virginia on the construction of a trench and accounts of alarms from the picket guard including a mule causing one of the alarms. Writes of the 2500 men, their disappointment at not being able to fire upon the Secessionists, fears the box from Swanton will not arrive at all, of the presence of 25 or 30 slaves, of horses, mules, dogs being brought in to camp, requests postage stamps and envelopes.
Title: Valentine G. Barney to Maria Barney
Creator: Barney, Valentine G., 1834-1889
Date: 1861-05-24
Resource type: correspondence
Topics include the journey from Fort Monroe, Virginia to Hampton, the Secessionists setting fire to a bridge that lead to the village, the Colonel being asked to not molest, assault or otherwise interfere with the citizens of Hampton, mentions Sewells Point where the enemy had built a battery, reference to the state election about secession from the union, speaks of his love for his family.
Title: Valentine G. Barney to Maria Barney
Creator: Barney, Valentine G., 1834-1889
Date: 1861-06-19
Resource type: correspondence
Topics include an account of a day of camp life when the regiment is "not on labor", the receipt of a box from home with envelopes, postage stamps, Sunday School singing books, of the family.
Title: Wheelock G. Veazey to Albin Beard
Creator: Veazey, Wheelock G., 1835-1898
Date: [1861-10-06]
Resource type: correspondence
Topics include the cleanliness of the camp and the arrival of Wheelock G. Veazey’s horse.
Title: Wheelock G. Veazey to Albin Beard, Albin Beard to Wheelock G. Veazey
Creator: Veazey, Wheelock G., 1835-1898; Beard, Albin
Date: [1861]-09-08
Resource type: correspondence
Topics include the assignment of Wheelock G. Veazey’s regiment to the post of honor within their division of the army.
Title: Wheelock G. Veazey to Julia A. Veazey
Creator: Veazey, Wheelock G., 1835-1898
Date: 1861-08-18
Resource type: correspondence
Topics include plans to capture a company in Virginia, the danger the Capitol is in according to General Smith, and the preventative steps being taken to protect it.
Title: Wheelock G. Veazey to Julia A. Veazey
Creator: Veazey, Wheelock G., 1835-1898
Date: [1861]-08-21
Resource type: correspondence
Topics include the safe return of the company from an expedition.
Title: Wheelock G. Veazey to Julia A. Veazey
Creator: Veazey, Wheelock G., 1835-1898
Date: [1861]-08-02
Resource type: correspondence
Topics include Wheelock G. Veazey telling his wife Julia A. Veazey how much he loves and misses her as well as the Regiment’s location on the banks of the Potomac near Washington.
Title: Wheelock G. Veazey to Julia A. Veazey
Creator: Veazey, Wheelock G., 1835-1898
Date: 1861-08-09
Resource type: correspondence
Topics include the measures taken by the camp to secure their safety.
Title: Wheelock G. Veazey to Julia A. Veazey
Creator: Veazey, Wheelock G., 1835-1898
Date: [1861]-09-14
Resource type: correspondence
Topics include Wheelock G. Veazey’s position as field officer of the day, the lack of sleep the soldiers are experiencing, and the ease with which the Rebels could attack the Regiment.
Title: Wheelock G. Veazey to Julia A. Veazey
Creator: Veazey, Wheelock G., 1835-1898
Date: [1861]-09-25
Resource type: correspondence
Topics include a skirmish in which a Rebel officer was taken prisoner and Wheelock G. Veazey’s black servant that he hired to work for him.
Title: Wheelock G. Veazey to Julia A. Veazey
Creator: Veazey, Wheelock G., 1835-1898
Date: [1861]-10-04
Resource type: correspondence
Topics include General Hancock being in command of the 1st Brigade.
Title: Wheelock G. Veazey to Julia A. Veazey
Creator: Veazey, Wheelock G., 1835-1898
Date: [1861]-10-15
Resource type: correspondence
Topics include Colonel Hyde being occupied with special business. Wheelock G. Veazey taking command, and reconnoitering in enemy territory.
Title: Wheelock G. Veazey to Julia A. Veazey
Creator: Veazey, Wheelock G., 1835-1898
Date: 1861-11-09
Resource type: correspondence
Topics include the cold nights and the toll it takes and Wheelock G. Veazey’s responsibilities in camp.
Title: Wheelock G. Veazey to Julia A. Veazey
Creator: Veazey, Wheelock G., 1835-1898
Date: 1861-09-11
Resource type: correspondence
Topics include a detachment that surrounded Lewinsville in hopes of capturing a force of cavalry, however only found a small company of picket guard; as well as an attack on the Regiment that left several men wounded. This is Lt. Col. Veazey's initial account what is now known as the Battle of Lewinsville.
Title: Wheelock G. Veazey to Julia A. Veazey
Creator: Veazey, Wheelock G., 1835-1898
Date: [1861]-11-14
Resource type: correspondence
Topics include a few items Wheelock G. Veazey would like his wife Julia to send him and concern that his horse will die.
Title: Wheelock G. Veazey to Julia A. Veazey
Creator: Veazey, Wheelock G., 1835-1898
Date: 1861-12-04
Resource type: correspondence
Topics include Wheelock G. Veazey telling his wife Julia A. Veazey how much he loves and misses her.
Title: William Wirt Henry to Mary Jane Henry
Creator: Henry, William Wirt, 1831-1915
Date: 1861-11-04
Resource type: correspondence
Writes of waiting for discharge papers from Washington, D.C. and complains of how long it is taking, willing to wait for Vermont soldiers to be paid so he can bring the pay home to their families, no military action except a lot of drilling.
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