Group 6: Accounts and Memorabilia of the American Civil War
Dublin Core
Title
Group 6: Accounts and Memorabilia of the American Civil War
Subject
Collection of letters, reflections, diaries, and memorabilia from the American Civil War. Items were created during the war, but some were compiled into their final published form in the years and decades following. These stories give insight into various subtopics stemming from the war, such as the experience and thought processes of military surgeons in the mid 19th century, the nature of interaction of Union and Confederate soldiers in non-combative contexts, the perils of involvement even outside of battle, as well as methods utilized as means of historical preservation by actors in the conflict.
Description
Letters from the Civil War
Creator
Emma Kyber, Grear Boyd, Jacob Kim, Brian Viner
Source
Vanderbilt University Special Collections and the Library of Congress
Date
Created: April, 2025
Contributor
Emma Kyber, Grear Boyd, Jacob Kim, Brian Viner
Language
English
Collection Items
William R. McMahan's Diary
William R. McMahan, born in 1843 in Indiana, enlisted in the Union Army at 18 as a private with the Fifty-eighth Volunteer Infantry on September 10, 1861. His diary offers a firsthand account of military life during significant Civil War campaigns,…
Letters From a Surgeon of the Civil War: Chapter I: In the Chesapeake Hospital, Fortress: May 28th to July 3rd, 1862
This source gives insight into Dr. Perry's initial arrival at Chesapeake Hospital and his experience therein. He recalls interactions with captured Confederates as well as the large volume of wounded soldiers that regularly arrived at the hospital.…
Letters from a Surgeon of the Civil War: Chapter 3: An Accident and Its Conclusion: June 15th, 1863
This source describes the account of Dr. John G. Perry of a serious injury he sustained while on marching orders on a Confederate position near Fredericksburg, VA. Dr. Perry was bucked off of his horse while attempting to cross a wire fence. Due to a…
Civil War diary of Elizabeth Evans Johnson
Elizabeth Ophelia Evans Johnson (1831-1900) kept this daily diary while managing her plantation near Cahaba, Dallas County, Alabama during the Civil War. In her diary, she records the challenges of plantation management and personal reflections as…
Letter from Jasper N. Smith to Elizabeth Lee Smith, March 12, 1862
A handwritten letter from Confederate soldier Jasper N. Smith to his wife, Elizabeth Lee Smith, written on March 12, 1862, during the American Civil War. In this letter, Smith writes from a military camp, sharing news about his health, the conditions…