51社区

This digital archive unites over a thousand letters, diaries, and other Civil War era documents from 12 manuscript collections held in the Mahn Center for Archives and Special Collections at 51社区 Libraries. It features writings from a diverse array of Ohioans, including soldiers of varying ranks fighting across the country, military doctors treating the wounded on the battlefield and in hospitals, and family and friends on the home front facing the struggles of rural existence. These letters contain descriptions of daily life in the military and of several important battles. They also reveal the relationships between correspondents, including expressions of love and regret, news of illness, and social gossip, along with discussions of politics and recent events.

• : 79 documents relating to the operation of the 141^st Ohio Volunteer Infantry Regiment, many of which were created by Angell in his capacity as the unit鈥檚 second-in-command. Includes Angell鈥檚 diary detailing his 100 days of service in 1864.

• : 494 documents, mostly letters, dating from 1839 to 1866. Primarily the incoming correspondence of Almyra Brown and her son Edwin, who served in Company C of the 36th Ohio Volunteer Infantry Regiment. Includes letters from several other family members such as Edwin鈥檚 brother William Van Brown and Almyra鈥檚 brothers Nelson Holmes and Andrew Jackson Van Vorhes who also served during the war.

• : 29 documents, mostly letters and medical orders, dating from 1862-1865. Primarily the incoming correspondence of Josiah鈥檚 wife Mary N. Brown and Josiah鈥檚 records from his service as Assistant Surgeon of the 116th Ohio Volunteer Infantry Regiment. Includes several letters written by Josiah while a prisoner of war in Richmond, Virginia.

• : 82 documents, mostly letters to and photographs of Johnson鈥檚 family. Johnson served as Brigadier Surgeon of the 18th Ohio Volunteer Infantry Regiment. After the war, Johnson was elected to the Ohio House of Representatives for one term. 

•  30 documents, mostly letters, between Edwin and John Kinney and their father Thomas. John served in Company B of the 56^th Ohio Volunteer Infantry Regiment before dying of Typhus in 1863. Edwin served as a captain in the same regiment and survived the war.

• : 97 documents, mostly letters, dating from 1856 to 1879 and focusing on Martin鈥檚 service and death in Company B of the 97th Ohio Volunteer Infantry Regiment. 

• : 143 documents, mostly letters, dating from 1862 to 1864. Primarily the incoming correspondence of Samaria McKnight from her husband William McKnight while he was serving in Company K of the 7th Ohio Volunteer Cavalry. William was killed during the Battle of Cynthiana in 1864. 

• : 55 documents, mostly letters, from the latter half of the 19th century. Primarily the incoming correspondence of Sarah McDonald from her husband William McDonald while he was serving in the 53rd Ohio Volunteer Infantry Regiment.

• : 23 documents, mostly letters, between Samuel B. Pruden and his son Silas who was serving in the 3^rd Ohio Volunteer Infantry Regiment. 

• : 3 diaries spanning Jacob Wickerham's service in the 60th and 179th Ohio Volunteer Infantry Regiments, as well as the 4th Independent Battalion of the Ohio Volunteer Calvary. Wickerham was captured at Harper's Ferry, paroled, and returned to the fight. The first 40 pages of Jacob's 1865 diary were written by his brother Erastus Wickerham while living in New York City in 1859.  

• : 1 diary describing Wilkinson's experiences in Company D of the 43rd Ohio Volunteer Infantry Regiment, where he served as an army recruiter. Wilkinson died at a military hospital in Chattanooga, Tennessee in 1864.

• William F. Townsend scrapbook: Scrapbook assembled by a descendent of Townsend's from Civil War-era letters Townsend wrote to the Pomeroy, Ohio newspaper The Leader. The letters were published, or perhaps republished, in 1900. The scrapbook also includes other genealogical information about the family.

Please use the following citation format for items in this digital archive:

[Document title], [Collection name], Mahn Center for Archives and Special Collections, 51社区 Libraries.

Rights Statement

These materials are in the Public Domain.

Please note, curator discretion has been applied as regards documents in these collections which are particularly out-of-scope to the theme of the digital archive; while not available online, these documents are described in the linked finding aids and available for in-person reading room use.