Restrictions to Access

No restrictions. Open for research.

Copyright Notice

Copyright is retained by the authors of items in these papers, or their descendants, as stipulated by United States copyright law.

Preferred Citation

[Identification of item], in the New York Soldier's Diary, 1861 #5361, Southern Historical Collection, The Wilson Library, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Acquisitions Information

Purchased from Historical Collectible Auctions, October 2007 (Acc. 100788).

Sensitive Materials Statement

Manuscript collections and archival records may contain materials with sensitive or confidential information that is protected under federal or state right to privacy laws and regulations, the North Carolina Public Records Act (N.C.G.S. § 132 1 et seq.), and Article 7 of the North Carolina State Personnel Act (Privacy of State Employee Personnel Records, N.C.G.S. § 126-22 et seq.). Researchers are advised that the disclosure of certain information pertaining to identifiable living individuals represented in this collection without the consent of those individuals may have legal ramifications (e.g., a cause of action under common law for invasion of privacy may arise if facts concerning an individual's private life are published that would be deemed highly offensive to a reasonable person) for which the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill assumes no responsibility.

The following terms from Library of Congress Subject Headings suggest topics, persons, geography, etc. interspersed through the entire collection; the terms do not usually represent discrete and easily identifiable portions of the collection--such as folders or items.

Clicking on a subject heading below will take you into the University Library's online catalog.

• Bull Run, 1st Battle of, Va., 1861.
• Diaries.
• Maryland--History--Civil War, 1861-1865.
• New York--History--Civil War, 1861-1865.
• Soldiers--United States--Diaries.
• United States--History--Civil War, 1861-1865--Personal narratives.
• United States. Army--History--Civil War, 1861-1865.
• United States. Army--Military life--History.
• United States. Army. New York Infantry Regiment, 14th (1861-1864)
• Virginia--History--Civil War, 1861-1865.
• Washington (D.C.)--History--Civil War, 1861-1865.

The writer of this diary was a volunteer soldier in the 14th New York Infantry Regiment in the United States Army, 1861.

The collection is a Civil War diary, with entries 18 June 1861-5 November 1861, of an unknown federal soldier from New York. Entries were made while the writer was serving with the New York 14th Infantry in New York; Philadelphia, Pa.; Baltimore, Md.; Washington, D.C.; and various locations in northern Virgina. Entries describe volunteering for the army; military life, including foods eaten during his tour; military duties, including standing guard, chores, and roll call; interactions with fellow soldiers; and interactions with civilians. Included are an account of the exchange of arms for long Enfield rifles; the Union army's defeat at the first battle of Bull Run and observations of injured troops returning from that battle; and artillery firing near Fall Church, Va., 14-15 October 1861.