Civil War Diaries

1.
Who: W. Adams, a soldier who has fought in two battles outside of Maryland
What: Adams was writing to his family updating them on his health and condition of
his regiment and telling his family a little bit about a few of the battles he was in.
Where: A camp near Bunker Hill
When: September 30th, 1862
Why: Adams was also writing his family to ask them to send him more shoes,
clothes, and blankets because his regiment ran out of them

2.
Who: Alexander Hunter, a soldier who fought in a battle in Maryland
What: Hunter was describing the starvation and lack of food that they experienced
for six days. He also described the battle that he fought in.
Where: Maryland
When: September 21st, 1862
Why: Hunter wrote to describe his experiences in the army

3.
Who: William Child, major and surgeon with the 5 th Regiment New Hampshire
Volunteers
What: Child writes to his wife about how many wounds he dressed, where they are
going, and how much he misses his family.
Where: 14 miles outside of Harpers Ferry
When: September 22, 1862
Why: Child wrote to update his wife on how hes doing. He also writes to tell her to
let his other friends know that he wants to hear from them and that he will try to
write as fast as he can

4.
Who: Robert Kellogg, a soldier in the 14th Connecticut Volunteers
What: Kellogg describes the battle that he fought in in his diary. He describes that
he woke up to read the Bible and pray, then the fighting began a few minutes later.

They moved into the woods where they were still being fired at. They then marched
off the field and marched back near their hospital and rested overnight.
Where: Near Sunken Road
When: September 17, 1862
Why: To keep record of the battle that he survived

5.
Who: Privet David L. Thompson, a member of the 9 th New York Volunteers
What: Thompson wrote that in all honesty, when you are being fired at, your first
instinct is to get out of the way
Where:
When:
Why: To tell the people soldiers first instincts are

6.
Who: George, in the 11th Connecticut Volunteers
What: He is writing to his wife to tell her about what he experiences on the battle
field during their fighting
Where: Sharpsburg, Maryland
When: September 21, 1862
Why: To let his wife know that hes ok and that he will write soon

7.
Who: Henry, a soldier in the 14th Connecticut Volunteers
What: He just wrote really quickly to send something to let his friends and family
know that hes ok and in good spirits.
Where: On their way into Virginia
When: September 19th, 1862
Why: to let people know that their regiments are ok

8.

Who: John Redfield, a soldier in the 13 th New Jersey regiment

What: Redfield wrote and described his health and what hes been up to. Also to let
his family know that he appreciates their letters and will write as soon as he can
Where: Harpers Ferry
When: October 14th, 1862
Why: To let his family know that hes ok and wished that he will be home soon

9.
Who: J. O. Smith, a man who served in the field hospital at Roulette Farm
What: A journal entry to keep record of an account where a Confederate soldier was
brought into the hospital with bullets that shot out his eyes and required surgery.
Where: Roulette Farm Field Hospital
When:
Why: To keep record of everything he saw during the war.

10.
Who: General Joseph Hooker, Official Record Keeper of the US War Department
What: A short entry about how many dead people were laying in the corn fields after
a battle
Where:
When:
Why: Because it was Hookers job to keep records for the US Government

11.
Who:
What: An account of getting new cartridges to put in their guns as ammo
When:
Where:
Why: To document the war from soldiers perspectives
12.
Who: Charles Carleton Coffin, Army Correspondent for the Boston Journal

What: Coffin describes his experience being under attack at a battery at Antietam
Where: Antietam
When:
Why: to document his experience

13.
Who: Lieutenant Matthew J. Graham, a soldier in the 9 th Regiment of the New York
Volunteers
What: Grahams account of a battle where cannons were firing
Where:
When:
Why: To let other Americans know what soldiers go through during a battle
14.
Who: W.H. Gaston, a soldier serving for the Confederate army
What: Gaston was writing his dad about his search for a man name Robert after he
went missing after a battle, and how he is in good health but if he were killed the
search for Robert would stop
Where: Near the Rappahannock River
When: November 28, 1862
Why: To update his father on his condition and what theyre going to expect in the
next few days
15.
Who: Union private of Lieutenant Whites Company
What: Description of a battle where he was shot in the arm and a man near him was
shot in the head and pieces of his head when all over the soldier
Where: Near Cornfield
When:
Why: To document his own experiences in the army

16.

Who:
What: an account of a small group of soldiers who were on the march to a different
place and found a soldier who was disguised as a rock in anticipation for a sneak
attack
Where: Near the East Woods
When:
Why: To record the soldiers account of an encounter with the other side of the army
17.
Who: Erred Fowles, soldier who died at Antietam
What: Fowles writes to his wife and tells her that he was shot in the back and the
bullet was lodged in him somewhere. He is not in pain anymore and is being cared
for by his brother, William
Where: Middletown, Maryland
When: September 26, 1862
Why: To let his wife know that he is in good spirits and will be ok and make it home

18.
Who: George Allen, a soldier in the 6th New York Volunteers
What: A short entry depicting that there are men in the hospitals with all kinds of
wounds and need amputations immediately
Where: Keedysville, Maryland
When: March 29, 1890
Why: To document the bloody reality of war

19.
Who: Bird B Wright, a soldier in the 8th Florida Volunteer Infantry Regiment
What: Wright writes to his wife to let her know that he has been shot and is badly
wounded
Where: Shepherdstown, Virginia
When: September 21, 1862
Why: To request his wife and his brother to come visit him before he dies

20.
Who: Henry Kyd Douglas, a soldier
What: Douglas describes riding through the street of a town that would be fired
upon every once in a while when he sees a women in the doorway of her fathers
house who refuses to leave until the Confederate army leaves. She offers him a
glass of water and then took refuge in a cellar for a little while
Where: Near Sharpsburg, Virginia
When: September 16, 1862
Why: To record his interactions with people of the towns his army was occupying

Civil War Character Cards

Profile 8
September 26, 1862
Its been three weeks since I was put in this dungeon of a place. I dont get
fed, I work my fingers to the bone, and the nightmares keep me up all night. I have
lost hope in my cause, and I dont know when I will get out.
I dream of the day that I get to go home to my wife and kids back home in
Alabama. I miss my family so much. Not only do they think Im dead, Im worried I
will die before I am able to let them know that I am alive.
I am being told to turn the lights out. I will write as soon as I can, even if it
only to write that Im still alive.
Joshua Wilkins

Profile 15
May 9, 1861
What has this world come to where young men feel the need to voluntarily
get killed for a war that could be ended quietly? My poor brother, Alexander, at only
the age of 19 has just volunteered himself for the Confederate Army. He will leave
for training mid-June. No one knows what this will do to our family. My mother is
distraught, Eliza, my younger sister, is too young to know what is going on, and my
brother, Thomas (I am four years his elder), only knows that his best friend will be
leaving for a while.
How will this family survive? Will has been the stronghold of the family since
my father was killed in a strange cotton gin accident. I guess my mother and I will
have be innovative with our practices to earn an income too buy food.

I know that I will be writing with updates from Alex as they come in. I hope
and pray to the Almighty God above that Will returns safe and sound from the war.
Angelica Schuylur

Profile 16
June 23rd, 1864
As a slave, I should be excited that the Union is winning the war. But as
Jefferson Davis servant, and sometimes, personal councilor, I am upset. I am torn in
two. Master Davis has been very stressed and short-tempered with everyone, even
his wife, Varina. The house has been filled with tension, especially during meals and
at night, when he does most of his work.
I dont know how much longer this can go on. I am hoping very much that it
will be soon. If the Confederacy wins, everything will go back to normal, but if the
Union wins, I will be free. For the wellbeing of my slave brothers and sisters, I pray
that it is the latter.
I must go now, Master Davis is home.
Daniel Davis