Inventory of the Calvin Leach Diary and Letters, 1861-1867

Collection Number 1875-z

unc seal
Manuscripts Department, Library of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Collection Information
block Descriptive Summary
block Administrative Information
block Online Catalog Headings
block Biographical/Historical Note
block Collection Overview
plus Detailed Description of the Collection
Contact Information:
Manuscripts Department
CB#3926, Wilson Library
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Chapel Hill, NC 27514-8890
Phone: 919/962-1345
Fax: 919/962-3594
Email: mss@email.unc.edu
URL: http://www.lib.unc.edu/mss/
Processed by
Adera Scheinker
Date Processed
April 1997
Encoded by
Lynn Holdzkom
Date Encoded
April 2003
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Descriptive Summary

Repository
Southern Historical Collection
Creator
Leach, Calvin, 1843-1864.
Title
Calvin Leach Diary and Letters, 1861-1867
Call Number
1875-z
Extent
8 items
Abstract
Calvin Leach was born in 1843 and served as a church clerk in Montgomery County, N.C., before he joined the first North Carolina Regiment, C.S.A., in September 1861. He died near Mechanicsville, Va., in June 1864. The collection includes Calvin Leach's pocket diary, 1861-1864, and five letters, 1863-1867. Note that the first entry in the second volume of the diary is marked 1862 and subsequent entries are marked 1863. Contents indicate, however, that the correct date is 1862 throughout. Most of the diary entries recount daily life in the army and record military activities in Virginia and Maryland, especially at Malvern Hill and Antietam. The first four letters were written by Leach to his mother and his sister Louisa and relate his living conditions and news of other men from his hometown. The 1867 letter was to Leach's father, D. A. Leach, from William Owens and concerns land appraisal.
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Administrative Information

Restrictions to Access
This collection has restrictions to access. Please see details below or contact the Manuscripts Department for more information.
Usage Restrictions
Photocopying of diary volumes is prohibited.
Alternate Form of Material
Typed transcription and microfilm copy of second volume of diary, July-December 1862, available.
Provenance
Received from Mrs. D. C. Duncan of Wilkesboro, N.C., in 1951 and from Hal Leach of Burlington, N.C., in March 1997 (Acc. 97029).
Preferred Citation
[Identification of item], in the Calvin Leach Diary and Letters #1875-z, Southern Historical Collection, Wilson Library, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Copyright Notice
Copyright is retained by the authors of items in these papers, or their descendants, as stipulated by United States copyright law.
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Online Catalog Headings

These and related materials may be found under the following headings in online catalogs.

Antietam, Battle of, Md., 1862.
Confederate States of America. Army--Military life.
Confederate States of America. Army. North Carolina Regiment, 1st.
Leach, Calvin, 1843-1864.
Malvern Hill, Battle of, Va., 1862.
Maryland--History--Civil War, 1861-1865.
Soldiers--Confederate States of America--Diaries.
United States--History--Civil War, 1861-1865--Personal narratives, Confederate.
Virginia--History--Civil War, 1861-1865.
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Biographical/Historical Note

Calvin Leach was the oldest of the eight children of D. A. and Rebecca Leach of Scottish descent, from Montgomery County, N.C. He was a church clerk at Walnut Grove before he joined Company B of the First North Carolina Regiment, Confederate States of America, in September 1861. He died in Richmond in 1864.

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Collection Overview

The Calvin Leach diary and letters collection includes the diaries and letters of Civil War soldier Leach during his service with the First North Carolina Regiment. The three-part pocket diary spans the years 1861 to 1864, and the five letters span the years 1863 to 1867. Most of the writing recounts military life in the army and records military activities. During this time, Leach was chiefly in Maryland and Virginia Note that the first entry in the second volume of the diary is marked 1862 and subsequent entries are marked 1863. Contents indicate, however, that the correct date is 1862 throughout..

The five letters, 1863-1867, are mostly concerned with army life. The first four were written to Leach's mother and his sister Louisa and relate his living conditions and news of other men from his hometown. The final letter, 1867, was written to D. A. Leach from William Owens and concerns a land appraisal.

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Detailed Description of the Collection

Diary and Letters, 1861-1867.
8 items.
The Calvin Leach diary and letters collection includes the diaries and letters of Civil War soldier Leach during his service with the First North Carolina Regiment. The three-part pocket diary spans the years 1861 to 1864, and the five letters span the years 1863 to 1867. Most of the writing recounts military life in the army and records military activities. During this time, Leach was in Maryland and Virginia at Mechanicsville, Gaines Mills, Malvern Hill, Gordonsville, Frederic, Boonsboro, Sharpsburg, Winchester, Front Royal, Strasburg, New Market, Fredericksburg, and Orange Court House.
The first diary, July 1861-June 1862, recounts daily events in life in the army. Many of Leach's entries include descriptions of various sermons he has heard. Leach also listed the dead at various battles and wrote about Jefferson Davis's inauguration. At the end of this diary, there is an entry dated 29 June 1864 that tells of Leach's death of a shell wound near Mechanicsville.
In the second diary, July 1862-December 1862, Leach discussed regiment activities and the battles of Malvern Hill and Sharpsburg (Antietam). Note that the first entry is marked 1862 and subsequent entries are marked 1863. Contents indicate, however, that the correct date is 1862 throughout.
In the final diary, February 1863-April 1863, Leach wrote of military activities and also included a few pages of a financial log.
The five letters, 1863-1867, are mostly concerned with army life. The first four were written to Leach's mother and his sister Louisa and relate his living conditions and news of other men from his hometown. The final letter, 1867, was written to D. A. Leach from William Owens and concerns a land appraisal.
   Folder 1-3
Diary, 1861-1863
   Folder 4
Letters, 1863-1867

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