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.
Show less
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
(1 - 9 of 9)
- Title
- Barton Family Correspondence
- Description
-
William Henry Barton (known as Henry) was born on April 5, 1826 in Moriah, New York, the son of William A. and Electa (Taylor) Barton. By 1860 he had married Abiah Elliott. He enlisted in the 5th New York Cavalry, Company H on December 14, 1863 and was discharged in July, 1865. He fought in the...
Show moreWilliam Henry Barton (known as Henry) was born on April 5, 1826 in Moriah, New York, the son of William A. and Electa (Taylor) Barton. By 1860 he had married Abiah Elliott. He enlisted in the 5th New York Cavalry, Company H on December 14, 1863 and was discharged in July, 1865. He fought in the Battle of the Wilderness, Battle of Spottsylvania Court House, and Ashland Station. His brother, Hiram Horatio Barton, was born on August 20, 1836 in Moriah, New York. He enlisted in Company C, 96th New York State Volunteers. He fought in the Battle of Fair Oaks, the Battle of Kinston and at the Seige of Petersburg, where he was wounded. He was also at Fort Harrison. He was discharged on January 11, 1865. He married Jennie Abbie Johnson on September 5, 1869 in Bridport, Vermont. He died at there of cerebral abcess on April 6, 1903, and was buried in the Bridport Village cemetery. Lyman Barton was born on April 29, 1839 in Moriah, New York, He enlisted on July 7, 1862 in Winsted, Connecticut in Company K, 8th Connecticut Infantry Regiment. He fought at Antietam, Fredericksburg, Petersburg, and Fort Harrison. He was discharged on June 6, 1865. He died in Crown Point, New York on August 14, 1936. Theodore Taylor Barton was born on September 15, 1842 in Crown Point, New York and enlisted on May 1, 1861 in Company H, 34th New York State Volunteers. He was in the Battle of Fair Oaks, Antietam, and Chancellorsville. He was discharged on June 30, 1863, but returned to Washington, D.C. as a teamster and later reenlisted in the Veteran Volunteers. He was discharged in February, 1866. In 1867, he married Augusta Wooster Barton, the widow of his older brother James Bradshaw Barton, who was killed at the Battle of the Wilderness. Theodore moved to Lansing, Michigan and died there on January 2, 1928. Civil War letters written by four brothers, William, Hiram, Lyman, and Theodore. Many of the letters were written to their sister Mary Melissa Barton while she was living at Larabee's Point in Shoreham and the rest of the letters were written to each other. They were all in different units in Virginia and North Carolina. They write of camp life, troop movements, and descriptions of the country side. They also, at times, graphically describe the aftermath of battles. There is a description of the fiasco at the Crater. There is also a patriotic poem by William Izzard.
Show less
- Title
- Hiram H. Barton to [Melissa Barton]
- Description
-
Topics include the journey from Harrisons Landing to Fort Monroe, a fight at Bulls Run (aka 2nd Manassas), and the deaths of Thomas Covil and Lyman Morhouse.
- Title
- Hiram H. Barton to Lyman Barton
- Description
-
Hiram Barton writes a detailed description of a misunderstanding between the 96th New York Regiment and a cavalry company that they were to rendezvous with. The two forces exchanged fire but no one was injured. He then describes his unit’s participation in a pincer movement against Williamston,...
Show moreHiram Barton writes a detailed description of a misunderstanding between the 96th New York Regiment and a cavalry company that they were to rendezvous with. The two forces exchanged fire but no one was injured. He then describes his unit’s participation in a pincer movement against Williamston, North Carolina, in which his unit was supposed to engage the enemy from the front while the 101st and 103rd Pennsylvania Regiments were to attack from the rear.
Show less
- Title
- Hiram H. Barton to Lyman Barton
- Description
-
Writing from Stanley General Hospital in New Bern, N.C. to his brother Lyman, Hiram Barton writes of all the rumors surrounding the Siege of Little Washington (Battle of Washington, March 30-April 18, 1863), including the supposed death of General Francis B. Spinola. He also writes of the arrival...
Show moreWriting from Stanley General Hospital in New Bern, N.C. to his brother Lyman, Hiram Barton writes of all the rumors surrounding the Siege of Little Washington (Battle of Washington, March 30-April 18, 1863), including the supposed death of General Francis B. Spinola. He also writes of the arrival of a Lieutenant sent by General John G. Foster to New Bern to ask for reinforcements. As well, he writes of Rebel scouts that are in the area.
Show less
- Title
- Hiram H. Barton to Melissa Barton
- Description
-
Topics include the number of men in the Regiment, the clothes they received for the first six months, and a description of the barracks.
- Title
- Hiram H. Barton to Melissa Barton
- Description
-
Writing from Camp Gray in Plymouth, North Carolina Barton speaks of white and black North Carolinians coming in to Union lines to join the Union Army, of the brogue they speak, of the sights he has seen in battle, his dislike of army life, particularly the killing. Writes of rumors about...
Show moreWriting from Camp Gray in Plymouth, North Carolina Barton speaks of white and black North Carolinians coming in to Union lines to join the Union Army, of the brogue they speak, of the sights he has seen in battle, his dislike of army life, particularly the killing. Writes of rumors about Vicksburg and what it would mean for the Union cause if it is taken.
Show less
- Title
- Hiram H. Barton to Melissa Barton
- Description
-
A poem titled “The Campaign with McClellan 1862” by William Issard, a private in the 101st Pennsylvania Infantry, copied by Hiram Barton. The poem focuses on Wessell’s Division during the Seven Days Battles, and mentions the 101st and 103rd Pennsylvania Regiments and the 85th, 92nd, and 96th New...
Show moreA poem titled “The Campaign with McClellan 1862” by William Issard, a private in the 101st Pennsylvania Infantry, copied by Hiram Barton. The poem focuses on Wessell’s Division during the Seven Days Battles, and mentions the 101st and 103rd Pennsylvania Regiments and the 85th, 92nd, and 96th New York Regiments.
Show less
- Title
- Hiram H. Barton to Melissa Barton
- Description
-
Hiram Barton writes of an attack on the Union works by a Confederate Brigade at the Seige of Petersburg on June 24th. He also writes of the danger of raising one’s head above the breast works during the day, and of the soldiers killed. As well he writes of the heat and how exhausted the men are...
Show moreHiram Barton writes of an attack on the Union works by a Confederate Brigade at the Seige of Petersburg on June 24th. He also writes of the danger of raising one’s head above the breast works during the day, and of the soldiers killed. As well he writes of the heat and how exhausted the men are after spending two or three days in the trenchs.
Show less
- Title
- Hiram H. Barton to Melissa Barton
- Description
-
Topics include the news that he is in the hospital at New Bern, North Carolina, but he is getting better. He also discusses the lateness of the pay and his attempts to stay out of debt, a description of the city, war profiteers, and his opinion of the celebration of Washington’s birthday and how...
Show moreTopics include the news that he is in the hospital at New Bern, North Carolina, but he is getting better. He also discusses the lateness of the pay and his attempts to stay out of debt, a description of the city, war profiteers, and his opinion of the celebration of Washington’s birthday and how that general might view the war.
Show less