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
Pages
- Title
- Lyman Barton to Melissa Barton
- Description
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Lyman Barton writes of his travels from Fredericksburg to Newport News via a steamer, and then on to Suffolk. While at Newport News he saw a monitor and the U.S.S. Galena, as well as the wrecks of the U.S.S. Merrimack (C.S.S. Virginia) and the U.S.S. Cumberland and U.S.S. Congress. He also...
Show moreLyman Barton writes of his travels from Fredericksburg to Newport News via a steamer, and then on to Suffolk. While at Newport News he saw a monitor and the U.S.S. Galena, as well as the wrecks of the U.S.S. Merrimack (C.S.S. Virginia) and the U.S.S. Cumberland and U.S.S. Congress. He also comments on the lack of alcohol available to the troops and that while he is not a drinker, he is “as bad can be” and that it is “hard spoiling a rotten egg.”
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- Title
- Lyman Barton to Melissa Barton
- Description
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Lyman Barton writes of returning to his regiment, even though he was due more sick leave. He also comments on men from Moriah and Crown Point who have not enlisted and those who have. As well he mentions gossip from home and teases his sister about her Vermont suitor. Finally, he includes a...
Show moreLyman Barton writes of returning to his regiment, even though he was due more sick leave. He also comments on men from Moriah and Crown Point who have not enlisted and those who have. As well he mentions gossip from home and teases his sister about her Vermont suitor. Finally, he includes a memoranda of his activities from January 1 to January 15, including detailing the food he eats daily and the games played by the 15th Connecticut Regiment on New Year’s Day.
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- Lyman Barton to Melissa Barton
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Lyman Barton writes of the movements of his Brigade and mentions that the Regiment has received 166 conscripts and that all but one are substitutes. He also mentions that he is unwell.
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- Lyman Barton to Melissa Barton
- Description
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Lyman writes about wishing to receive more letters from his sister, as he is lonely in camp, even though it sounds like he is enjoying himself. He points out the battles printed on the bottom of the writing paper he is using, saying that he was in the last four of them. The letter continues with...
Show moreLyman writes about wishing to receive more letters from his sister, as he is lonely in camp, even though it sounds like he is enjoying himself. He points out the battles printed on the bottom of the writing paper he is using, saying that he was in the last four of them. The letter continues with a detailed description of the movements of his Brigade. He also mentions “confiscating” a beef, writing that soldiers don’t steal, only confiscate and the only difficulty was getting the beef into the camp.
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- Title
- Lyman Barton to Melissa Barton
- Description
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Lyman Barton writes of how disgusted he is with the outcome of the Battle of the Crater (i.e. Battle of Petersburg Cater, Va.) ,and how he feels it was the “shamefullest thing that I have seen or herd of since I have been out” blaming generals of jealousy of one another resulting in great loss of...
Show moreLyman Barton writes of how disgusted he is with the outcome of the Battle of the Crater (i.e. Battle of Petersburg Cater, Va.) ,and how he feels it was the “shamefullest thing that I have seen or herd of since I have been out” blaming generals of jealousy of one another resulting in great loss of men. He also writes of having been in 12 or 13 battles and not gotten hurt yet plus gives news of two of his brothers, Henry and Hiram, who are both in the hospital.
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- Title
- Lyman Barton to Sister
- Description
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Topics include an account of the Battle of Antetam [sic], the cold weather, the high prices of goods at camp, and reports on the health of other soldiers and family members.
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- Lyman S. Williams Correspondence
- Description
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Lyman S. Williams was born in Burlington, Vermont in December, 1839, the son of Warren and Caroline (Pennock) Williams. The family moved to Essex, Vermont before 1850. Lyman S. enlisted as on September 26, 1861 as a Corporal in Company I, Sixth Vermont Infantry Regiment and was mustered in on...
Show moreLyman S. Williams was born in Burlington, Vermont in December, 1839, the son of Warren and Caroline (Pennock) Williams. The family moved to Essex, Vermont before 1850. Lyman S. enlisted as on September 26, 1861 as a Corporal in Company I, Sixth Vermont Infantry Regiment and was mustered in on October 15, 1861. He rose through the ranks and was commissioned captain of Co. I of the 6th Vermont Regiment on November 12, 1864. He was mustered out June 26, 1865. He married Mary Mirandi Gorton of Essex, Vermont and in 1867 moved to Estherville, Iowa. He died there on June 29, 1905. The letters from Lyman S. Williams of the 6th Vermont Regiment are addressed to his father, Warren Williams, his mother, Caroline Williams, and his sister, Lois L. Williams. They discuss camp life, he election of officers, and the journey to Camp Griffen.
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- Title
- Lyman S. Williams to Caroline Williams
- Description
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Topics include the comforts of camp life.
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- Lyman S. Williams to Carrie A. Williams
- Description
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Topics include moving camp towards Winchester, Virginia, a Confederate attack on the picket lines resulting in rebel prisoners, captured artillery & ammunition trains, receiving his commission as 1st Lieutenant of Company I, and his happiness that President Abraham Lincoln was re-elected.
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- Lyman S. Williams to Family
- Description
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Writes of receiving a box from home with food and much needed clothing. He hears of fighting in Tennessee and Kentucky.
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- Lyman S. Williams to Parents
- Description
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Topics include a retreat to the James River (known later as a "great skedaddle," a word that Williams uses here but in the context of not being paid), a fight at Savage's Station, a review by General McClellan, and the men killed and wounded in the fight.
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- Lyman S. Williams to Warren Williams
- Description
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Topics include Lyman Williams coming down with a fever, an encounter with the rebels that left four men wounded, and the rebels' description of the Vermont regiment as dare devils. Stationery has an illustration of a "Vermont Boy," plus two verses of a song with the title "Vermont Soldier." The...
Show moreTopics include Lyman Williams coming down with a fever, an encounter with the rebels that left four men wounded, and the rebels' description of the Vermont regiment as dare devils. Stationery has an illustration of a "Vermont Boy," plus two verses of a song with the title "Vermont Soldier." The refrain, "Away down in Dixie," suggests an attempt to compete with the immortal southern song "Dixie."
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- Title
- Lyman S. Williams to Warren Williams
- Description
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Topics include the election of officers.
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- Martha to Amanda Hayward
- Description
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Topics include condolences for Wilder's death.
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- Mary [E. Farnham] to Henry
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Letter from Mary to brother Henry carries a demanding tone of an older sibling to a younger one ; topics include inquiring about Henry’s examinations, her plan to stay at camp until June, responding to Henry's remarks about her being in camp saying several of the officers' wives are also in camp,...
Show moreLetter from Mary to brother Henry carries a demanding tone of an older sibling to a younger one ; topics include inquiring about Henry’s examinations, her plan to stay at camp until June, responding to Henry's remarks about her being in camp saying several of the officers' wives are also in camp, the sick men in the regiment, and Mary demanding to know who thinks Mary should return home suggesting someone thinks it may not be appropriate for a woman (according the social norm of the day) to be in a military camp.
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- Mary E. Farnham to Henry
- Description
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Mary Farnham writes from Wolf Shoals Creek, Va. on the Occoquan River to brother Henry about desserts and other food the troops are enjoying eating, her instructions for food to be sent to brother Zeke in the 10th Regiment, terrible traveling conditions due to deep muddy roads, horses having to...
Show moreMary Farnham writes from Wolf Shoals Creek, Va. on the Occoquan River to brother Henry about desserts and other food the troops are enjoying eating, her instructions for food to be sent to brother Zeke in the 10th Regiment, terrible traveling conditions due to deep muddy roads, horses having to be walked, she riding with other officers' wives, and her feeling uncomfortable with the looks of the Southerns (Secesh)
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- Mary E. Farnham to Henry
- Description
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Mary Farnham writes from near Fairfax Court House in Virginia to her brother, Henry, of soldiers being taken prisoners, of the wounded, of casualties, of checking rabbit traps for food. She mentions the weather, of her tour of camp, of sickness among the troops, of her excellent dinner at camp...
Show moreMary Farnham writes from near Fairfax Court House in Virginia to her brother, Henry, of soldiers being taken prisoners, of the wounded, of casualties, of checking rabbit traps for food. She mentions the weather, of her tour of camp, of sickness among the troops, of her excellent dinner at camp with Mrs. Blunt, Mrs. Stearns and others, and writes of family back home.
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- Mary E. Farnham to Henry
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From Mary Farnham to Henry topics include letters received and responded to, military action among the men, pickets and taking of Rebel soldiers, fighting engagement at Kelly’s Ford, her thoughts on the unhealthy environment she is in, the varying degrees of health or illness of the men in camp,...
Show moreFrom Mary Farnham to Henry topics include letters received and responded to, military action among the men, pickets and taking of Rebel soldiers, fighting engagement at Kelly’s Ford, her thoughts on the unhealthy environment she is in, the varying degrees of health or illness of the men in camp, her horse ride even though the weather has been inclement, her comments on what the military trained horses will do, the ill health and death of some horses.
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- Mary E. Farnham to Laura
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From Mary Farnham to sister Laura with topics including a detailed description of Mary Farnham’s visit to camp, a visit to Washington visiting the Capitol & Senate buildings ; Farnham's horses sick with horse distemper, one of them being Burnie ; Mary's discomfort traveling in the ambulance ; her...
Show moreFrom Mary Farnham to sister Laura with topics including a detailed description of Mary Farnham’s visit to camp, a visit to Washington visiting the Capitol & Senate buildings ; Farnham's horses sick with horse distemper, one of them being Burnie ; Mary's discomfort traveling in the ambulance ; her embarrassing slip and fall in the ambulance ; her horse ride back ; the good health of the regiment ; weight gain of Lt. Herrick ; her affection for horse Jenny.
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- Title
- Mary Farnham Diary, 1862-1863
- Date Created
- 1862-1863
- Description
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Mary Elizabeth (Johnson) Farnham, the daughter of Ezekiel and Nancy (Rodgers) Johnson, was born in Bath, NH, on January 19, 1828. She came to Bradford with her parents at a young age and was educated at Bradford Academy and the Newbury Seminary. On December 25, 1849, she married Roswell Farnham ...
Show moreMary Elizabeth (Johnson) Farnham, the daughter of Ezekiel and Nancy (Rodgers) Johnson, was born in Bath, NH, on January 19, 1828. She came to Bradford with her parents at a young age and was educated at Bradford Academy and the Newbury Seminary. On December 25, 1849, she married Roswell Farnham (1827-1903) in St. Albans, Vt. They returned to Bradford to teach in the Bradford Academy, Farnham as the teacher of painting and French, and her husband as principal of the academy. The couple joined the Bradford Congregational Church in 1854 and participated in a number of its activities: both Farnhams taught in the church’s Sunday school, and Mary Farnham held a chair on its music committee and was active in its missionary efforts.Farnham spent several months during the winter of 1862-63 in Union camps near Fairfax Court House and Wolf Run Shoals, VA, with her husband, who had been appointed Lieutenant Colonel and placed in command of the 12th Vermont Volunteer Regiment. Farnham returned to Vermont in April 1863 and her husband was discharged later that year, after which he entered into a career in politics. When Roswell Farnham was elected governor of Vermont in 1880, Mary Farnham became the state’s first lady and played an active role in gubernatorial social events.
Farnham was involved in a number of civic organizations in her town, including Bradford’s Relief Corps. She helped found the Ladies’ Public Library and was its librarian for many years. Her interest in literature led her to enroll in the Chautauqua Literary and Scientific Course, from which she graduated in 1884. She went on to earn one hundred and forty seals on her diploma and was recognized for this achievement at the 1906 Chautauqua Assembly in Chautauqua, NY. Three of Farnham’s four children lived to adulthood: Charles Cyrus Farnham (1864–1937), Florence Mary Osgood (1866–1958), and William M. Farnham (1869–1927). Her first child, Roswell Phelps Farnham Jr., died in infancy in 1861. Mary Farnham died on June 13, 1913, having suffered a stroke two weeks prior.
Topics in Farnham’s diary include living conditions in Union camps and towns near the front lines, the roles and expectations of women during the American Civil War, Washington D.C. in the 1860s, mid-century modes of travel, and health and medicine during the Civil War.
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