Search

Journal authored by James B.C. Vale of Company D, West Virginia 4th Infantry. Compiled in 1891 from a diary kept during the Civil War, it records in some detail operations of his unit in the period June 27, 1861 (when he enlisted) to October 31, 1862. It consists of an introduction (page 1), muster roll (pages 2-5, including names, ranks, enlistement dates, and notes), and narrative (pages 6-15). The narrative regards campaigns in western Virginia, mostly in the vicinity of the Kanawha Valley, in 1861 and 1862, including considerable detail regarding troop movements. Subjects include disease (measles), fighting, military maneuvers, reconnaissance, skirmishing, weather, etc; locations mentioned include Camp Piatt, Point Pleasant, Fort Lightburn, Big Sandy River, Tug Fork, the McDowell Court House, Sissonville, and Ravenswood, among other locations and geographic features. There is brief mention of the 34th Ohio Zouaves under Colonel Piatt. There are also three uncited clippings, including one listing West Virginia units that served during the Civil War, one regarding the Vicksburg campaign, and a third regarding Camp Ford Prison in Texas. James B.C. Vale was born in Meigs County, Ohio, on October 18, 1840.

Diary kept by Corporal James M. Chidester, Co. A, 3rd Regiment, Virginia Volunteer Infantry, during his service in the Civil War, 1861-1864. Contains day by day accounts of the marches and battles in which he participated, descriptions of camp life and general conditions for Union soldiers. His company was active throughout West Virginia, Western Maryland and the Northern Virginia and District Columbia area. He participated in battles at Romney, Cedar Mountain, Manassas Junction, Janelew, Hedgesville, Martinsburg, Bull Run, and White Sulphur Springs. At White Sulphur Springs in 1863 he was wounded and taken prisoner by the Confederate Army and transferred to Richmond, Virginia. He remained in Richmond for about one month, then was traded for Confederate prisoners and sent to Annapolis Hospital at the U.S. Naval Academy, and later discharged, March 1, 1864. The final page of the diary are a memoir of Chidester's life after the war as a teacher and storekeeper in Preston County, West Virginia, where he served as assessor and deputy sheriff for many years. There are also some accounts, a record of letters sent and received while in the hospital in Annapolis, and lists of books read while in Annapolis.

The original manuscript and a typed copy of Johnston's Civil War diary. Serving with Company L, Second Regiment, West Virginia Volunteer Cavalry, Johnston fought at Princeton, Lewisburg, Sinking Creek, and Wytheville. Captured and subsequently exchanged, he served in Washington until mustered out of service.

Diaries, account books, and a surveyor's handbook belonging to John Morton, a farmer of Hollidays Cove, Brooke County, West Virginia. The surveyor's book includes lessons on logarithm, geometry, plane trigonometry, and surveying. The diaries and account books record Morton's life and significant events of the period. There is also an undated land deed, a property list of Morton's father, John Morton, and some genealogical information.

Civil War diaries of Lewis Schaeffer (b. July 4, 1833), of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, who served in Company A of the 68th Regiment, Pennsylvania Volunteers (Scott Legion of Philadelphia) from September 1862 to June 1865. Collection consists of three pocket diaries on microfilm. They cover the periods from September-December 1862; 1863, and January-June 1865. There is no diary for 1864. Schaeffer provides only brief descriptions of his combat service, but offers a detailed record of army life in between battles. He carefully traces his movements and marches and comments frequently on the weather, surrounding landscape, and conditions in quarters, including his food, daily activities in camp, letters sent and received, inspection, drill, dress parade, and desertion and discipline. He also describes his picket and guard duty as well as cattle guard duty. Schaeffer did not see a lot combat, but he does describe his service during the Mud March, the battle of Second Fredericksburg, and the battle of Gettysburg, where he was wounded. Schaeffer also records his activities transporting Confederate prisoners from Virginia to Union prisoners at Point Lookout and Hart's Island in the spring of 1865.

Michael A. Ayers was a sergeant major in the 11th West Virginia Infantry during the Civil War. Three typed copies of Ayers' journal document his military service from April to June 1864 and from January to July 1865. There is a typed journal and a slightly more detailed typed narrative of the 1864 period. Subjects from 1864 include the unit's movements; weather; the surrounding countryside; skirmishes with Confederate troops; the battle of Cloyd's Mountain; searching for food; sermons; Bunger's Mill; interactions with civilians; guerrilla warfare; arriving in Staunton, Virginia, in June; and marching to Lexington, Virginia. Typed journal from 1865 provides brief comments about daily activities. Topics from 1865 include Ayers' promotions; unit movements; skirmishes; marching back to Richmond and preparing to leave the army; and returning home after the war.

This collection includes the Flower Mission Book of the Fairmont W.C.T.U, 1904-1916, including pictures of the state and national officers; A visit to the Centennial Exhibition in Philadelphia, 1876 by W.T.W. Crow; and the Civil War diary of James Williams, Aug 31, 1864-Jun 8, 1865. Williams enlisted at Morgantown and served in the Clarksburg, Grafton, Philippi, Sutton area, apparently with Co. A., 6th Reg., Va. Inf. Vols.

A genealogy of the Ordner family which indicates its relationship to the Carrolls of Carrolton, Maryland; and a Civil War diary of George W. Ordner of Company B, Fifth Regiment, West Virginia Cavalry, relating its movements, encampments, skirmishes and battles. His unit served mainly in West Virginia, fighting at Droop Mountain and driving the Confederates from Mercer County in the 1864 campaign.

This collection contains documents and other material regarding the Civil War, including a diary, letters, reports, clippings, a muster roll, and other material. The majority of items in the collection regard the Civil War in West Virginia. Items within the collection are facsimiles and photocopies. Highlights of the collection include: the diary of Alex McGraw, who served with the West Virginia First Light Artillery; a letter from Captain Robert Coles of Virginia Fortieth Infantry, Wise Legion to Colonel Lucius Davis requesting certification to purchase necessary equipment; a letter from General John B. Floyd to A.W.G. Davis giving authorization to raise supplies for the Confederate Army of the Kanawha; a morning report of the Fifth Brigade, Confederate Army of the Northwest commanded by William Booth Taliaferro; and a muster roll of the Second Virginia Volunteer Cavalry, Company G. See "Scope and Content Note" for more detail.