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...
Show moreVermont 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 1861-1865. 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) are included; each adds a certain experience and point of view to the whole.
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.
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Sub-collections
- Daniel S. White Correspondence
- Edward P. Stone Correspondence
- George W. Quimby Correspondence
- Henry A. Smith Correspondence
- Henry Harrison Wilder Correspondence
- Horace Barlow Diary
- John Lester Barstow Correspondence
- John W. Campbell Correspondence
- John Wolcott Phelps Correspondence
- Joseph Chase Rutherford Correspondence
- Joseph L. Perkins Correspondence
- Joseph Spafford Correspondence
- Justus F. Gale Correspondence
- Lyman S. Williams Correspondence
- Orlando S. Turner Correspondence
- Ransom W. Towle Correspondence
- Roswell Farnham Correspondence
- Solomon G. Heaton Correspondence
- Valentine G. Barney Correspondence
- Wheelock Graves Veazey Correspondence
- William C. Holbrook Correspondence
- William Wirt Henry Correspondence
Lesson Plans
(21 - 37 of 37)
Pages
- Title
- Ransom W. Towle to Family
- Description
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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
- Description
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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...
Show moreTopics 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.
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- Title
- Ransom W. Towle to Friends
- Description
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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...
Show moreWriting 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.
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- Title
- Ransom W. Towle to Friends
- Description
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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
- Description
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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.
- Title
- Roswell Farnham to [Mary Farnham]
- Description
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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
- Roswell Farnham to Mary [Farnham]
- Description
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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...
Show moreTopics 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.
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- Title
- Valentine G. Barney to Maria Barney
- Description
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Barney writes of the death of Major [Charles] Jarvis, shot in the abdomen when he attempted to capture some Rebels while he was out looking from stolen horses.
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- Valentine G. Barney to Maria Barney
- Description
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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
- Description
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Topics include attempting to take a steamer, John Rice, with 8 companies to New Bern, North Carolina, encountering bad weather, and being forced to return to Fort Monroe. He also writes of the death of one young soldier from Company A, Austin Kennedy, and the death by drowning of another soldier,...
Show moreTopics include attempting to take a steamer, John Rice, with 8 companies to New Bern, North Carolina, encountering bad weather, and being forced to return to Fort Monroe. He also writes of the death of one young soldier from Company A, Austin Kennedy, and the death by drowning of another soldier, Vilas Smith of Marshfield.
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- Title
- Valentine G. Barney to Maria Barney
- Description
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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...
Show moreWrites 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.
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- Title
- Valentine G. Barney to Maria Barney
- Description
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Topics include the death of two men from the Burlington company, news of the Battle at Culpeper, 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 as a floor in Barney's...
Show moreTopics include the death of two men from the Burlington company, news of the Battle at Culpeper, 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 as a floor in Barney's tent and a drawing of Barney's encampment.
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- Title
- Wheelock G. Veazey to Julia A. Veazey
- Description
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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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- William Wirt Henry to Mary Jane Henry
- Description
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September 9, 1861 from Camp Advance near Chain Bridge. Writes of the men being sent out to steal food near Lewinsville, Leesburgh road, casualties, picket duty.
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- William Wirt Henry to Mary Jane Henry
- Description
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Topics include receiving orders to abandon Harpers Ferry, the accidental explosion of a magazine while the 6th Maryland Regiment was trying to destroy it which resulted in 100 casualties, the movement of several Army Corps, and the replacement of General Hooker by General Meade.
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- William Wirt Henry to Mary Jane Henry
- Description
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September 29, 1861 from Camp Advance, Virginia. Writes of Second Vermont ordered out, casualties due to troop confusion and friendly fire, Munsons Hill, picket duty.
- Title
- William Wirt Henry to Mary Jane Henry
- Description
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The death a soldier due to disease, George Crossett, from Co B. Soldier's father was with him and will take the body to Washington & then return home, the effect it is having on the rest of the men.