Timeline extended for launch of Wilson Library facilities work.

Collection Number: 04397

Collection Title: Herbert E. Valentine Papers, 1862-1892

This collection has access restrictions. For details, please see the restrictions.

This is a finding aid. It is a description of archival material held in the Wilson Library at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Unless otherwise noted, the materials described below are physically available in our reading room, and not digitally available through the World Wide Web. See the Duplication Policy section for more information.


expand/collapse Expand/collapse Collection Overview

Size 1.5 feet of linear shelf space (3 items)
Abstract Herbert Eugene Valentine (1841-1917) was a private in Company F of the 23rd Massachusetts Volunteers, who served in the United States Army between 1861 and 1864 in eastern Virginia, North Carolina, and South Carolina. The collection includes a diary, pencil and watercolor sketches, correspondence, newspaper clippings, and maps, all contained in two manuscript volumes of Herbert E. Valentine. Valentine's diary discusses the subjects of many of his sketches. It also comments on church services, blacks he encountered, daily life among officers and enlisted men, Confederate deserters, life in Norfolk, Va., the career of General Charles Adam Heckman, and other matters. There are 184 sketches picturing towns, buildings, ships, bridges, fortifications, and everyday life at military bases. Locations with numerous sketches include Beaufort, Morehead City, and New Bern, N.C., and Hilton Head and Saint Helena Island, S.C. Seven color maps pertain to the operations of the 23rd Massachusetts Regiment in eastern North Carolina and Virginia. Correspondence consists of four letters relating to Valentine's military activities in 1861. The Addition of July 2011 consists of a scrapbook of drawings, photographs, and lists of the activities and members of the 18th Army Corps, Department of North Carolina, compiled for General Charles Adam Heckman on his 70th birthday in 1892 by Herbert E. Valentine.
Creator Valentine, Herbert E. (Herbert Eugene), b. 1841.
Curatorial Unit University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Library. Southern Historical Collection.
Language English
Back to Top

expand/collapse Expand/collapse Information For Users

Restrictions to Access
Original volumes 1 and 2 are closed because of their extreme fragility. Researchers should consult either the digital or microfilm copy.
Restrictions to Use
No usage restrictions.
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 Herbert E. Valentine Papers #4397, Southern Historical Collection, The Wilson Library, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Alternate Form of Material
Microfilm copy available.
  • Reel 1: Volumes 1 and 2
Acquisitions Information
Purchased from the Jenkins Company, Austin, Tex., in August 1984. The Addition of July 2011 was purchased from Michael Ginsberg Books, Sharon, Mass., in May 2011 (Acc. 101454).
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.
Back to Top

expand/collapse Expand/collapse Processing Information

Processed by: William Thomas Auman and Roslyn Holdzkom, 1995.

Encoded by: Eben Lehman, April 2006.

Updated by: Kathryn Michaelis, February 2010.

Updated by: Matt Dailey, January 2012.

Updated by: Laura Hart, December 2017.

Back to Top

expand/collapse Expand/collapse Subject Headings

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.

Back to Top

expand/collapse Expand/collapse Related Collections

Back to Top

expand/collapse Expand/collapse Biographical Information

Herbert Eugene Valentine, born in South Danvers (now Peabody) Massachusetts, on 18 January 1841, was the son of Elmer and Mary C. (Walker) Valentine. His father was a schoolmaster. The family moved to Salem where Valentine graduated from the Browne School and the old English High School. He worked for D.W. Bowdoin, a photographer, after graduating from high school.

Valentine enlisted in the United States Army on 5 October 1861, at Salem. On 18 October 1861, he was mustered into Company F, 23rd Regiment, Massachusetts Volunteers at Lynfield. Valentine served as a clerk and occasionally drew military maps. His artwork presumably was not produced for official purposes.

Valentine first was sent to Annapolis, Md., and from there he was shipped to the coast of North Carolina, where he took part in the expedition against Roanoke Island. Valentine then was involved in the New Bern campaign and experienced combat in small battles at Whitehall, Kinston, and Southwest Creek, N.C.

By August 1863, Valentine was stationed in New Bern, N.C., where he served as a clerk in General Heckman's First Division Headquarters. Valentine also served briefly at nearby Morehead City, Carolina City, and Beaufort. At some point before 1864, his regiment was at Hilton Head and Saint Helena Island, S.C., and then returned to New Bern.

In September 1863, Valentine went home to Salem on furlough, visiting Jersey City, New York City, and Boston on the way. On his return to duty, he was sent to Newport News, Va., where the 23d Massachusetts had been transferred in his absence. In January 1864, Valentine was serving at Getty's Station near Portsmouth. In May 1864, Valentine's regiment sailed up the James River to City Point and took part in the siege of Petersburg.

Valentine did not re enlist at the expiration of his service and was discharged from the army on 16 October 1864.

Available details of the remainder of Valentine's life are sketchy. He married, had one son and one daughter, and spent the remainder of his life in West Somerville, Mass., occupation unknown, where he died on 17 June 1917. Valentine was active in veterans organizations, and in 1896 he published Story of Company F, 23d Massachusetts Volunteers in the War For The Union 1861-1865.

Back to Top

expand/collapse Expand/collapse Scope and Content

The collection includes a diary, pencil, and watercolor sketches, correspondence, newspaper clippings, and maps, all contained in two manuscript volumes of Herbert E. Valentine, a soldier in the United States Army serving from 1861 to 1864 in eastern Virginia, North Carolina, and South Carolina. Herbert E. Valentine's diary discusses the subjects of many of his sketches. It also comments on church services, blacks he encountered, daily life among officers and enlisted men, Confederate deserters, life in Norfolk, Va., the career of General Charles Adam Heckman, and other matters. There are 184 sketches picturing towns, buildings, ships, bridges, fortifications, and everyday life at military bases. Locations with numerous sketches include Beaufort, N.C., Morehead City, N.C., and New Bern, N.C., and Hilton Head, S.C., and Saint Helena Island, S.C. Seven color maps pertain to the operations of the 23rd Massachusetts Regiment in eastern North Carolina and Virginia. Correspondence consists of four letters relating to Herbert E. Valentine's military activities in 1861.

The Addition of July 2011 consists of a scrapbook of drawings, photographs, and lists of the activities and members of the 18th Army Corps, Department of North Carolina, compiled for General Charles Adam Heckman on his 70th birthday in 1892 by Herbert E. Valentine. The scrapbook spans the years 1862-1864 and includes an itinerary of battles and events; sketches of headquarters and encampments; lists of clerks, orderlies and soldiers; a small photograph of Valentine; a photograph of soldiers in Morehead City, N.C., 1863; and a photograph of the clerks of headquarters, Red Star Brigade, New Bern, N.C., 1863.

Back to Top

Contents list

expand/collapse Expand/collapse Herbert E. Valentine Papers, 1861-1864.

Volume 1: Scrapbook/Sketchbook

81 numbered leaves

Military Orders, Reports, Etc. : There are about 60 items in this category, 1862 1864, with one item from 1892. Valentine collected these items when he served as a clerk in the headquarters of Heckman's Division of the 18th Army Corps in coastal North Carolina, South Carolina, and Virginia, from 1862 to 1864. These include copies of general orders (printed and written), rosters, circulars, statistics, accounts, casualty lists, passes, and reports by southern Unionists and refugees about living conditions within Confederate lines and about the design and strength of Confederate fortifications around Wilmington, North Carolina. The military correspondence is located on the following pages: 4 8, 10 18, 20 25, 28, 33 34, 45, 61, and 72.

Newspaper Clippings: There are about 18 newspaper clippings, mostly dating from the war years, but a few from the 1890s. The clippings include obituaries, poems, copies of military orders, accounts of battles (mostly in North Carolina and Virginia), accounts of reunions of veterans (mainly in the 1890s), articles detailing the military operations of the 23d Massachusetts regiment, and pictures of Union generals. The newspaper clippings are located on the following pages: 4 6, 10, 14 17, 21, 23 28, and 30 32.

Maps: There are seven maps, all in color. Six of these were drawn by Valentine, and all pertain to the operations of the 23d Massachusetts Regiment in eastern North Carolina and Virginia. They are as follows:

Page 3 Map of the Seat of War in Virginia, published by C. Bohn, Washington, D.C., 1862
Page 9 Map of the area in eastern North Carolina from Morehead City in the north to Swansboro in the south and including Bogue Sound, White Oak River, Cedar Point Landing, Carolina City, and Havelock Railroad, showing the positions of Union cavalry and infantry pickets, circa 1862-1863.
Page 13 Siege of Suffolk, showing Union and Confederate positions, 31 May 1864.
Page 17 Wilmington [North Carolina] Approaches 1863. This map locates Fort Fisher, Fort Caswell, Wilmington, Masonboro, Confederate gun emplacements and ship obstructions along the Cape Fear River, and railroads.
Page 21 Near Petersburg, Va., 11 July 1864. Locates Union and Confederate troop positions on opposite sides of the Appomattox River near Petersburg.
Page 22 Line of Works Occupied by 1st Division 18 Corps Before Petersburg, Va., 5 August 1864. Shows Appomattox River and Confederate and Union lines.
Page 81 Plan of Headquarters Heckman's Division at Getty's Station, Va., circa 1864.

Sketches: There are about 184 sketches by Valentine of buildings, ships, bridges, fortifications, and everyday life at military bases. Valentine made birds eye view sketches of the towns in which he was stationed, as well as sketches of their principal buildings such as hospitals, churches, warehouses, and private residences that served as military command headquarters and as officers' quarters. Sketches appear on the following pages.

Page 38 Annapolis: View from Naval Building
Page 53 Amory, Col.: Headquarters
Page 53 Appomattox River: View
Page 76 Appomattox River: Sharpshooter
Page 76 Appomattox River: Pontoon
Page 50 Allison: Steamer
Page 75,76 Bivouac
Page 71 Broken Bridge: Over Broad Creek
Page 65 Brant Island Light Ship
Page 65 Borden Banks
Page 40 Bloody Run
Page 43 Battery: 4 guns
Page 44 Bridge: Railroad to Goldsboro
Page 46,50 Bridge: Over Trent River
Page 53,80 Bridge between Newburne and C. City
Page 54 Bloody Corner: Post 5
Page 53 Blockhouses: Bogue Sound
Page 61 Blockhouses: Near Newberne
Page 61 Blockhouses: Havelock Station
Page 71 Beaufort: View from
Page 68 Beaufort: Channel to
Page 72 Beaufort: Harbor
Page 74 Beaufort: Fleet Sailing from
Page 64 Beaufort: Storm
Page 62 Beaufort: Office
Page 62 Beaufort: Stable
Page 68 Beaufort: Hotel
Page 19 Camps: 23rd Massachusetts Lynfield
Page 58 Camps: Saint Helena (23d)
Page 33 Camps: Newberne: Barracks, 23rd
Page 54 Camps: Stockaded Camp Company F
Page 52 Camps: Fort Yorktown
Page 64 Camps: Of Section Men
Page 37 Camps: 21st Massachusetts Roanoke
Page 38 Camps: Tent Company F at Annapolis
Page 44 Camps: Quarters Company F Newberne
Page 81 Corn Mill
Page 67 Convoy S.S.
Page 75 Champion S.S.
Page 53 Chapel Fort Monroe
Page 51 Commissary Stores (unloading)
Page 35 Candle stick
Page 35 Catawba S.S. (Beaufort)
Page 41 Capsize in Neuse River
Page 57 Commissary quarters (Saint Helena)
Page 65 Cotton storage
Page 63 Carolina City
Page 60 Carolina City: Barn
Page 60 Carolina City: View Fort Macon
Page 79 Distribution Camp: Waiting
Page 81 Distribution Camp: Cookhouse
Page 65 Davis, L.: Sketch
Page 43 Floating battery
Page 48 Foster, General J.G.: Headquarters
Page 43 Guns at Fort Macon
Page 42 Goodrich, Captain: Quarters
Page 51 Goldsboro March: Road and Curious Tree
Page 62 Hilton Head: Creek
Page 73 Hilton Head: Pier
Page 74 Hilton Head: Fort: Interior and Exterior
Page 36 Hilton Head: Hotel
Page 54,73 Hilton Head: United States General Hospital
Page 36 Hilton Head: Post Office
Page 62 Hilton Head: Signal Station
Page 54 Hilton Head: Fort walls
Page 65 Hatteras from Vidette
Page 79 Hampton: Bridge at
Page 33 Heckman: John
Page 35 Hatteras Church
Page 39 Highlander
Page 48 Hospitals: Academy Green: Newberne
Page 73,54 Hospitals: United States General: Hilton Head
Page 79 Hospitals: Hampton General
Page 46 Hospitals: 24th Regiment: Newberne
Page 47 Hospitals: 23rd Regiment: Newberne
Page 64 Hospitals: General: Beaufort
Page 32 Heckman General Headquarters: Newport News
Page 34 Heckman General Headquarters: Gettys Station
Page 52 Heckman General Headquarters: Carolina City Yorktown
Page 56,73 Heckman General Headquarters: Saint Helena Island
Page 57 Heckman General Headquarters: Saint Helena Island: Bird's eye view
Page 58 Heckman General Headquarters: Beaufort, N.C.: Rear view
Page 59 Heckman General Headquarters: Newburn
Page 64 Heckman General Headquarters: Hilton Head
Page 66 Heckman General Headquarters: Morehead
Page 80 Heckman General Headquarters: Gettys Station: Plan
Page 79 Hopkins, H. W.: Sketch
Page 74 Ironsides: New
Page 63 Kinsley, Frank: Poking crabs in Calico Creek
Page 44 Lancer S.S.
Page 51 Light on the Subject
Page 29 Louisiana and tug alert
Page 80 Monitor
Page 52 Macon: Largest gun at
Page 75 Macon Fort
Page 79,80 Muir, Jno.: Sketches
Page 64 Morehead: Ruins of Bath Houses
Page 61 Morehead: Commissary Dept.
Page 61 Morehead: Clerks Dwelling House
Page 64 Morehead: Graves of Soldiers
Page 61,63 Morehead: Hotel
Page 69 Morehead: Headquarters Guard Tent
Page 52 Morehead: A.A.G. Office
Page 53,62 Morehead: Depot
Page 55 Morehead: Bird's Eye View
Page 60 Morehead: Stoop and Little Red House
Page 63,67 Morehead: View from Office Window
Page 68 Morehead: Little House on Railroad
Page 81 Morehead: Captain Abel's Office
Page 69 Morehead: Pro. Marshall's Office
Page 54 Morehead: Windmill
Page 69 Morehead: Wharf
Page 40 Newberne: Batteries and Blockade
Page 47 Newberne: Neuse River View
Page 66 Newberne: View of City
Page 53 Newberne: Burnt District
Page 49 Newberne: Engine House
Page 47 Newberne: Guard House 3rd District
Page 46 Newberne: House opposite Bridge Guard Tent
Page 46 Newberne: House near which Sentry was fired on
Page 71 Newberne: Jail for Secesh
Page 33 Newberne: Ordinance Store
Page 35 Newberne: View from Observatory
Page 51 Newberne: Observatory: 3rd District
Page 70 Newberne: House on Pollock Street
Page 34,51 Newberne: Pro. Marshall's Office
Page 50 Newberne: Picket Post
Page 53 Newberne: Pump: 1st District
Page 46 Newberne: Quartermaster's Office
Page 44 Newberne: Railroad Depot
Page 45 Newberne: Room of H.E.V's Squad: Pollock Street
Page 45 Newberne: Sergeant's Room
Page 60 Newberne: Railroad view from Wood Wharf
Page 43,47 Newberne: Shipyard
Page 49 Newberne: Fort Totten
Page 50 Newberne: View of 3rd District
Page 43 Newberne: Vessels in River
Page 34 Newberne: Wharf
Page 60 Newberne: Wood Wharf
Page 49 Newberne: View from Windmill
Page 46 Newberne: Stable Gaston House
Page 48 Newberne: Sketch from 3rd District Guard House
Page 56 Newberne: Saw Mill
Page 80 Newberne: Governor Stanley's Residence
Page 50 Newberne: View from Post 21
Page 29 Newberne: Cedar Gove Cemetary
Page 57 North Edisto River Rockville, S.C.
Page 61 North Edisto River Sunset
Page 72 North Edisto River and fleet
Page 79 Newsdealer
Page 68 Oak Trees: With moss
Page 66 Pickett: Widow's house
Page 34 Pillow fight
Page 36 Princess Royal S.S.
Page 38 Pickett S.S.
Page 50 Picket Post
Page 42 Pioneer S.S.
Page 48 Pendleton: Near Camp
Page 28,56 Port Royal Harbor
Page 76 Petersburg: Sharpshooter
Page 76 Petersburg: Pontoon over Appomattox
Page 77,78 Petersburg: Headquarters 1st Division 18th A.C.
Page 77 Petersburg: Headquarters 1st Brigade 1st Division
Page 76 Petersburg: Replying to the Rebel Batteries
Page 77 Petersburg: Freshet
Page 77 Petersburg: Bridge over railroad
Page 80 Petersburg: Office A.A.G and Post Office
Page 67,76 Petersburg: Field Office 18th A.C.
Page 37 Petersburg: Interior of Tent: 1st Division Headquarters
Page 78 Petersburg: Wagon Park: 1st Brigade: 2nd Division
Page 37 Roanoke Island: Bombardment)
Page 42 Ranger S.S.
Page 43 Raft Breaking Up
Page 51 Reno Fort
Page 57 Rockville, S.C.
Page 75 Russian Fleet: Last of the
Page 35,63 Saint Helena Island: General Ledlie's Headquarters
Page 55,56,74 Saint Helena Island: Landing at
Page 56 Saint Helena Island: Provost Guard Quarters
Page 57 Saint Helena Island: Signal Corps Quarters
Page 44 Stevenson Fort
Page 40 Soldiers Grave: Bank of Trent River, N.C.
Page 58 Spinola Fort
Page 62 South Carolina S.S.
Page 68 Seabrook Landing
Page 81 Seabrook Landing: Corn mill
Page 36 Seabrook Landing: Plantation
Page 70 Saunders Plantation
Page 38 Spring at Annapolis
Page 70 Swansboro, N.C.
Page 66,68 Turpentine Distillery
Page 69 Target Shooting: Borden Banks
Page 79 Tossing in a Blanket
Page 39 Tree: Curious: Cars to Philadelphia
Page 33,37,38,39,41,42 Vidette S.S.
Page 39,40 Vidette S.S.: Passing bridges
Page 73 Virginia S.S.
Page 75 Virginia Mud: Stuck
Page 38 Washing in Road Puddle
Page 63 What is it
Page 65 Window: L. Davis
Page 69 Washerwoman (Our)
Page 69 Willis, Elijah
Page 59,70 White Oak River: Aground
Page 59,70 White Oak River: Waiting for orders
Page 59,70 White Oak River: Bell's Plantation
Page 72 Winton: Landing
Page 72 Winton: River
Page 73 Winton: Captured Cotton
Page 73 Winton: Guard House for Prisoners
Folder 1

Original volume

Access Restriction: Original volume is closed.

Digital Folder DF-4397/1

PDF of entire digitized volume; Tifs of each digitized page in the volume

Reel M-4397/1

Microfilm

Back to Top

Volume 2: Diary and autograph book, 11-17 November 1861, 7 August 1863-28 May 1864, 4-9 September 1864

The diary is in three parts. The earliest part of the volume is not strictly a diary; it consists of copies of four letters from Valentine to his parents written between 11 and 17 November 1861. In these letters, Valentine described his trip by ship and rail from Lynfield, Massachusetts, to Annapolis, Maryland, where his regiment encamped and joined the Union naval expedition then preparing for an invasion of eastern North Carolina. The remaining two parts of the diary cover Valentine's tour of duty in eastern North Carolina, South Carolina, and Virginia.

During most of his military career, Valentine served as a clerk in division headquarters, with living conditions much better and daily work routine more interesting than the average soldier's. His clerical duties were episodic: when monthly, quarterly, or special reports came due he was very busy for a few days, but, between these periods, Valentine had a great deal of free time to roam about the base and surrounding area and make sketches of anything or anyone that drew his interest. His diary has almost daily entries about the subjects of his sketches. Thus, virtually every sketch in his sketchbook can be dated by diary entries.

Valentine attended the services of various Protestant denominations on which he often commented in his diary. He was an avid singer and apparently had a trained voice. His diary is sprinkled with opinions on the quality of church choirs and of public and private vocal entertainers that he encountered.

There are observations about blacks their music, dancing, singing, looks, behavior, for example; about entertainment, camaraderie, rowdiness, and other aspects of daily life among the officers and enlisted men; about Confederate deserters and Unionist refugees who told of sufferings at the hands of the "rebels" and of living conditions and military defenses behind Confederate lines, especially around Wilmington, North Carolina; and about life in Norfolk, Virginia.

In November 1863, Valentine mentioned seeing Generals Benjamin F. Butler and Ambrose E. Burnside at a Thanksgiving Day celebration. On 16 December 1863, Valentine wrote a description of his role in the battle of White Hall, North Carolina, where he witnessed the almost instant death of two of his friends.

On 11 February 1864, Valentine wrote a six page history of General C.A. Heckman's military career from the day he volunteered in Pennsylvania in 1861 through campaigns in eastern North Carolina, South Carolina, and Virginia. Valentine noted in March 1864 that General Heckman praised a black cavalry regiment as more valuable to him than two white ones and that white soldiers resented it when the black regiment was merged into a formerly all white brigade.

There are no entries between those of 28 May and 4 September. The last entry was made at Hatches Farm near Bermuda Hundred on 9 September 1864 while Valentine's brigade was still engaged in the Petersburg campaign.

The last section of Valentine's diary is devoted to autographs (approximately 60 leaves), mostly by junior officers and enlisted men. The hometown of many autographers was noted, and in four instances, a small photograph of the subject was pasted above the name. One of the autographs was by Henry Clay; it was "taken from a house near Drury's Bluff Va, May 15, 1864."

Folder 2

Original volume

Access Restriction: Original volume is closed.

Digital Folder DF-4397/2

PDF of entire digitized volume; Tifs of each digitized page in the volume

Reel M-4397/1

Microfilm

Back to Top

18th Army Corps Scrapbook, 1892 (Addition of July 2011)

Scrapbook of drawings, photographs, and lists of the activities and members of the 18th Army Corps, Department of North Carolina, compiled for General Charles Adam Heckman on his 70th birthday in 1892 by Herbert E. Valentine. The scrapbook spans the years 1862-1864 and includes an itinerary of battles and events; sketches of headquarters and encampments; lists of clerks, orderlies and soldiers; a small photograph of Valentine; a photograph of soldiers in Morehead City, N.C., 1863; and a photograph of the clerks of headquarters, Red Star Brigade, New Bern, N.C., 1863.

Folder 3

Original volume

Back to Top

expand/collapse Expand/collapse Items Separated

Back to Top