Search results
- Title
- Henry A. Smith to Family
- Description
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Topics include his hope to be released soon and his wish for news about the farm and the fall harvest.
- Title
- Charles H. Blinn Civil War Diary, 1862-1864
- Date Created
- 1862-1864
- Description
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Charles Henry Blinn was born in Burlington, Vt. on January 27, 1843 to Chauncey and Edatha/Editha (Harrington) Blinn. He was educated in Vermont and was preparing to enter the University of Vermont when he entered the army. In September 21, 1861, Blinn enlisted in the 1st Vt. Cavalry. He was...
Show moreCharles Henry Blinn was born in Burlington, Vt. on January 27, 1843 to Chauncey and Edatha/Editha (Harrington) Blinn. He was educated in Vermont and was preparing to enter the University of Vermont when he entered the army. In September 21, 1861, Blinn enlisted in the 1st Vt. Cavalry. He was attached to Sheridan’s Cavalry Corps, and participated in a number of battles, including Gettysburg, Chancellorsville, Spotsylvania, Cold Harbor, Wilderness, Winchester, and Cedar Creek. His regiment captured forty-two cannon at Cedar Creek, the largest number taken by any regiment during the war. Blinn was wounded and taken prisoner at Middletown, Va. on May 24, 1862, in a cavalry charge led by General Banks, and was held at Lynchburg and Belle Island, Va. from May 25 to September 17. After three years and four months of service, he was honorably discharged at Burlington in November 18, 1864.After the war, Blinn was chief clerk for two years at the Welden House in St. Albans, Vt. He moved to California in 1868, and for six years was employed with the Wells-Fargo Express Co. In 1875, he became an editorial writer of the “Alta California.” In 1878, he was appointed chief permit clerk in the San Francisco Custom House, a position he held until his death on May 11, 1926. On December 15, 1870, Blinn married Nellie Holbrook of Salem, NH. Nellie (d. 1909) was a suffragist and public speaker, and took the stump for Hayes, Garfield, Blaine, and Harrison. The couple had one son, Holbrook (1872-1928), who pursued a career in acting and performed on Broadway as well as in silent films. In October 8, 1910, Blinn married Vivian Bailey (d. 1944), a grammar school teacher, with whom he had one daughter, Eleanor.
Topics in Blinn’s diaries include the experiences of Union soldiers in camp, on the battlefield, and as prisoners of war in Confederate prisons; the experiences of Southerners in Union-occupied towns, illness and medical practices in the military, and the Battle of Gettysburg.
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- Title
- Justus F. Gale to Sister
- Description
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Topics include the being saddened by the ill health of his family in Elmore, enjoying good health himself, troops living in an apparently abandoned house in Bayou Boeuf, La., the parole of the prisoners who are still alive (not clear but these may be Union soldiers taken prisoners as some were...
Show moreTopics include the being saddened by the ill health of his family in Elmore, enjoying good health himself, troops living in an apparently abandoned house in Bayou Boeuf, La., the parole of the prisoners who are still alive (not clear but these may be Union soldiers taken prisoners as some were shot for running from their army and joining a Union regiment), the movement of the army on the Potomac and still unable to get a photograph of himself taken.
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- Title
- Charles H. Blinn Civil War Diary, 1861-1862
- Date Created
- 1861-1862
- Description
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Charles Henry Blinn was born in Burlington, Vt. on January 27, 1843 to Chauncey and Edatha/Editha (Harrington) Blinn. He was educated in Vermont and was preparing to enter the University of Vermont when he entered the army. In September 21, 1861, Blinn enlisted in the 1st Vt. Cavalry. He was...
Show moreCharles Henry Blinn was born in Burlington, Vt. on January 27, 1843 to Chauncey and Edatha/Editha (Harrington) Blinn. He was educated in Vermont and was preparing to enter the University of Vermont when he entered the army. In September 21, 1861, Blinn enlisted in the 1st Vt. Cavalry. He was attached to Sheridan’s Cavalry Corps, and participated in a number of battles, including Gettysburg, Chancellorsville, Spotsylvania, Cold Harbor, Wilderness, Winchester, and Cedar Creek. His regiment captured forty-two cannon at Cedar Creek, the largest number taken by any regiment during the war. Blinn was wounded and taken prisoner at Middletown, Va. on May 24, 1862, in a cavalry charge led by General Banks, and was held at Lynchburg and Belle Island, Va. from May 25 to September 17. After three years and four months of service, he was honorably discharged at Burlington in November 18, 1864.After the war, Blinn was chief clerk for two years at the Welden House in St. Albans, Vt. He moved to California in 1868, and for six years was employed with the Wells-Fargo Express Co. In 1875, he became an editorial writer of the “Alta California.” In 1878, he was appointed chief permit clerk in the San Francisco Custom House, a position he held until his death on May 11, 1926. On December 15, 1870, Blinn married Nellie Holbrook of Salem, NH. Nellie (d. 1909) was a suffragist and public speaker, and took the stump for Hayes, Garfield, Blaine, and Harrison. The couple had one son, Holbrook (1872-1928), who pursued a career in acting and performed on Broadway as well as in silent films. In October 8, 1910, Blinn married Vivian Bailey (d. 1944), a grammar school teacher, with whom he had one daughter, Eleanor.
Topics in Blinn’s diaries include the experiences of Union soldiers in camp, on the battlefield, and as prisoners of war in Confederate prisons; the experiences of Southerners in Union-occupied towns, illness and medical practices in the military, and the Battle of Gettysburg.
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- Title
- A. [G.] Browne to John Wolcott Phelps
- Description
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Topics include Lt. Col. A. G. Browne requesting Brig. Gen. John Wolcott Phelps' assistance in forwarding letters to Lieutenant Charles L. Pierson, Adjutant of the Massachusetts 20th Regiment who was taken prisoner along with Colonel Lee and Major Revere. Mentions Col. Lee and Major Revere, the...
Show moreTopics include Lt. Col. A. G. Browne requesting Brig. Gen. John Wolcott Phelps' assistance in forwarding letters to Lieutenant Charles L. Pierson, Adjutant of the Massachusetts 20th Regiment who was taken prisoner along with Colonel Lee and Major Revere. Mentions Col. Lee and Major Revere, the battle of the 21st near Leesburg and flags of truce.
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- Title
- Orlando S. Turner to Joseph and Louisa A. Turner
- Description
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Topics include a brief account of the first Battle of Bull Run, Manassas, Virginia. Writes of the bravery of the soldiers, casualties and men killed, of his opinion that the officers were afraid to go where the soldiers were, damage to the American flag.