Vermonters in the Civil War

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 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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Miniature of Roswell Farnham to Laura
Roswell Farnham to Laura
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    • Creator: Farnham, Roswell, 1827-1903.
    • Date Created: 1863-02-01
    • Description: Letter includes two drawings, one of a stockaded tent the soldiers have done and one of Farnham's cabin, all at Wolf Run Shoals, Va., a description of camp life and conditions, his sister Mary‚Äôs visit to camp, the mud and snow, and reconsidering sending money home to repay debts.
    • Parent Collections: Vermonters in the Civil War, Roswell Farnham Correspondence
    Miniature of Valentine G. Barney to Maria Barney
    Valentine G. Barney to Maria Barney
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      • Creator: Barney, Valentine G., 1834-1889.
      • Date Created: 1862-09-20
      • Description: Topics include Barney and other men being taken prisoner at Harpers Ferry while on picket guard duty, being paroled and walking towards Annapolis, sleeping with no gear or equipment, little to eat but hard bread and raw pork, and the promise to give a detailed account of the events when Barney has more time to write. Maryland Campaign Sept 3-15, 1862.
      • Parent Collections: Vermonters in the Civil War, Valentine G. Barney Correspondence
      Miniature of Henry Harrison Wilder to Mother
      Henry Harrison Wilder to Mother
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        • Creator: Wilder, Henry Harrison.
        • Date Created: 1862-06-11
        • Description: Topics include clarifying things that were written home about Merrill, what Wilder will do once he leaves the army alive, and a man named Damon Hunter returning home after having his leg amputated. One Civil War chronology notes on this date "little or no action on the main front in Virginia along the Chickahominy."
        • Parent Collections: Vermonters in the Civil War, Henry Harrison Wilder Correspondence
        Miniature of Theodore Barton to Melissa Barton
        Theodore Barton to Melissa Barton
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          • Creator: Barton, Theodore, 1842-1926.
          • Date Created: 1863-01-25
          • Description: Theodore Lyman writes of seeing his brother Lyman, Company K, 8th Connecticut Infantry Regiment, who is camped only two miles away. He also writes of the attempt by General Burnside to cross the Rappahannock and how the Confederate soldiers jeered and set up a sign saying ‚ÄúBurnside stuck in the mud.‚Äù
          • Parent Collections: Vermonters in the Civil War, Barton Family Correspondence
          Miniature of Ransom W. Towle to [Family and Friends]
          Ransom W. Towle to [Family and Friends]
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            • Creator: Towle, Ransom W., d. 1864.
            • Date Created: 1862-06-16
            • Description: Writing from the field topics include cleaning up the streets of Richmond, Va., Rebel and Union pickets conversing and trading bread and whiskey, the hot weather causing Sun Stroke, and building bridges and shoring up roads to ease the difficulty of moving the heavy artillery on the soft roads.
            • Parent Collections: Vermonters in the Civil War, Ransom W. Towle Correspondence