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
(1 - 20 of 1,034)
Pages
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Letter No. 23 pages missing ; date & location known ; preserved here is him writing of news of health issues of folks at home, of wanting to hear the results of a town meeting regarding bounty (system used as an incentive to increase enlistments), of Heaton's auction, of his weight being 149 pounds.
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- ? to Father
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Unsigned letter to his father with topics including Col Farnham's horses being sick but getting better ; the variable weather, how people can make do with few conveniences, Mr. Peach the cook, the food that is available in camp ; the dark looks the southerners give the soldiers, his negative...
Show moreUnsigned letter to his father with topics including Col Farnham's horses being sick but getting better ; the variable weather, how people can make do with few conveniences, Mr. Peach the cook, the food that is available in camp ; the dark looks the southerners give the soldiers, his negative opinion of the white southerners, mentioning writing to Henry, Laura and hoping to see Zeke.
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- ? to Lorenzo Thomas
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Topics include the request to inquire after statements made by the Major General, and a request for an investigation of the Battle of Baton Rouge by a court of inquiry.
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- [B. Murray?] to Aunt
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Topics include the army photographs of Wilder being sent to his family.
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- [Frankie?] to Mother
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A poem, "Death of H. H. Wilder," written by Frankie, presumably Wilder's nephew.
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- [Harry N.] Worthen to John Wolcott Phelps
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Writes from Camp Butler, Newport News, Virginia. Topics include a report of the hospital and a list of names of the sick men and names of the steward and attendants. Mentions Fort Monroe, the unsanitary conditions of the hospital, how the sick men have been neglected by the steward and attendants.
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- [Henry Harrison Wilder] to ?
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Henry writes from Camp Holbrooke in St. Albans (5th Regiment Vt Volunteers Co. B) that he is taking a route on the east side of the mountain instead of the Rutland and Burlington Railroad.
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- [Henry Harrison Wilder] to Mother
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Henry writes from Camp Griffin, Virginia of the difficulty of camp life, of Fenton being very ill and taken to Georgetown to the General Hospital.
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- [Henry Harrison Wilder] to Mother
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Henry writes from Camp Holbrooke in St. Albans of the 5th Vt Vol Regiment to his mother about rainy weather, acting as Corporal of the Guard, and receiving pay for his services and talks about how his pay should be handled.
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- [Roswell Farnham] to [Mary Farnham]
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Farnham writes from Camp Vermont, Alexandria, Va. 12th Vt. Regiment Volunteers Militia and writes of his wife Mary's visit camp, of meeting with Mr. Morrill and Senator Foote, of his house being finished with 2 bedrooms and a fireplace.
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- [Roswell Farnham] to [Mary Farnham]
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Farnham writes from within his new house in Camp Vermont, near Alexandria Va., of three regiments moving to Fairfax Station, a description of the men’s quarters and mentions Mary's dental issues.
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- Albert A. May Correspondence
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Albert A. May of Ludlow enlisted in Co. A, Second Vermont Infantry, in May, 1861, at the age of 17. He reenlisted in December 1863 and was promoted to corporal, and later sergeant. He received a commission as Second Lieutenant in Co. I in June, 1865, but was mustered out of service the following...
Show moreAlbert A. May of Ludlow enlisted in Co. A, Second Vermont Infantry, in May, 1861, at the age of 17. He reenlisted in December 1863 and was promoted to corporal, and later sergeant. He received a commission as Second Lieutenant in Co. I in June, 1865, but was mustered out of service the following month. Though wounded at the Wilderness on May 5, 1864, he served with his regiment from the very beginning to the very end of its existence. The letters describes the skirmish at Lewinsville, September 28, 1861, the improved morale of the Army of the Potomac, and rumors about the regiment being sent home to enforce conscription.
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- Albert A. May to Friends
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Writing from White Oak Church, Bell Plains, Va. topics include being in good health, the warm spring weather, a year since the Army of the Potomac started their summer campaign, the army in good spirits, hoping that the 2nd Vt. will be lucky and be sent home, and the prediction that May only has...
Show moreWriting from White Oak Church, Bell Plains, Va. topics include being in good health, the warm spring weather, a year since the Army of the Potomac started their summer campaign, the army in good spirits, hoping that the 2nd Vt. will be lucky and be sent home, and the prediction that May only has fifteen months left in the service.
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- Alfred H. Keith to John Lester Barstow
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Topics include being relieved from duties, money.
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- Asa P. Blunt
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A pass for Mary Farnham, Mrs. Nichols, Mrs. Vaughan, and Mrs. Peach to go to Washington.
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- Asa P. Blunt to E. Mason
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Topics include the questioning of G. Mason’s loyalty to the United States government by Col. Blunt, denial of protection Mason has requested, the suggestion that Mason take the oath of allegiance to the U.S. or suffer the consequences of possible destruction of property.
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- Asa P. Blunt to Roswell Farnham
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Topics include a pass allowing Roswell Farnham to and from Washington D.C.
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- Barton Family Correspondence
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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.
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- Battle of Big Bethal, Va June 10th, 1861
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Topics include a map that shows various maneuvers of Farnham's company; inaccuracies in the newspaper account of the Battle of Big Bethel; and various ailments, aches & pains endured during the march.
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- Benjamin F. Butler to John Wolcott Phelps
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Topics include the summoning of Roys Nicholas Colbert and Charles Stepheny to Command General Benjamin F. Butler.