Inventory of the William H. Tillson Diary, 1863-1864

Collection Number 5007-z


Manuscripts Department, Library of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Collection Information
Descriptive Summary
Administrative Information
Online Catalog Headings
Biographical Note
Collection Overview
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/
Back to Top

Descriptive Summary

Repository
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Library. Southern Historical Collection.
Creator
Tillson, William H.
Title
William H. Tillson Diary, 1863-1864
Call Number
5007-z
Language of Materials
Materials in English
Extent
Items: 1
Abstract
William H. Tillson was mustered into Company E, 84th Illinois Infantry Regiment, United States Army, on 1 September 1862. He was captured by Confederate troops while foraging for water on 21 September 1863, the day after the Battle of Chickamauga. He was eventually taken to Libby Prison in Richmond, Va., travelling through Chattanooga, Tenn.; Atlanta, Ga.; Augusta, Ga.; Columbia, S.C.; Charlotte, N.C. (which he mistakenly called Charlottesville); Raleigh, N.C.; and Petersburg, Va. He spent the next several months as a prisoner of war before being exchanged in April 1864. He was discharged from the Army due to wounds on 22 September 1864.
The collection contains William H. Tillson's handwritten transcription of the diary that he kept, 1863-1864, while a prisoner of war. The diary describes his capture while foraging for water the day after the Battle of Chickamauga, where he was serving with the 84th Illinois Infantry Regiment; his transportation from Georgia to Virginia through various locations in the South; and his confinement in a warehouse adjoining Libby Prison in Richmond, Va. The diary details conditions within the prison and the reaction of southern soldiers and civilians to the captured Union soldiers.

Back to Top

Administrative Information

Restrictions to Access
No restrictions.
Alternate Form of Material
Microfilm copy (filmed 2007) available.
Reel 1: Entire collection
Acquisitions Information
Received from McGowan Book Company of Chapel Hill, N.C., in December 1999 (Acc. 98530).
Processing Information
Processed by: John Foster, November 2000
Encoded by: John Foster, November 2000
Revisions: Finding aid updated in February 2005 by Nancy Kaiser.
Funding from the Watson-Brown Foundation, Inc., supported the microfilming of this collection.
Preferred Citation
[Identification of item], in the William H. Tillson Diary #5007-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.
Back to Top

Online Catalog Headings

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

Chickamauga (Ga.), Battle of, 1863.
Confederate States of America--Social conditions.
Diaries.
Libby Prison.
Soldiers--United States--Diaries.
Tillson, William H.
United States. Army. Illinois Infantry Regiment, 84th (1862-1865)
United States. Army--History--Civil War, 1861-1865.
United States. Army--Military life--History.
United States--History--Civil War, 1861-1865--Military life.
United States--History--Civil War, 1861-1865--Personal narratives.
United States--History--Civil War, 1861-1865--Prisoners and prisons.
Back to Top

Biographical Note

William H. Tillson was mustered into Company E, 84th Illinois Infantry Regiment, United States Army, on 1 September 1862. He was captured by Confederate troops while foraging for water on 21 September 1863, the day after the Battle of Chickamauga. He was eventually taken to Libby Prison in Richmond, Va., travelling through Chattanooga, Tenn.; Atlanta, Ga.; Augusta, Ga.; Columbia, S.C.; Charlotte, N.C. (which he mistakenly called Charlottesville); Raleigh, N.C.; and Petersburg, Va. He spent the next several months as a prisoner of war before being exchanged in April 1864. He was discharged from the Army due to wounds on 22 September 1864.

Back to Top

Collection Overview

The collection contains Civil War soldier William H. Tillson's handwritten transcription of the diary that he kept, 1863-1864, while a prisoner of war. The diary describes his capture while foraging for water the day after the Battle of Chickamauga, where he was serving with the 84th Illinois Infantry Regiment; his transportation from Georgia to Virginia through various locations in the South; and his confinement in a warehouse adjoining Libby Prison in Richmond, Va. The diary details conditions within the prison and the reaction of southern soldiers and civilians to the captured Union soldiers.

Detailed Description of the Collection

Diary, 1863-1864.
1 item.
Folder 1
Diary, 1863-1864

Back to Top