Two months after the attack at Fort Sumter on April 12, 1861, 18-year-old George W. Gardner enlisted in the 35th Regiment New York State Volunteers. A few months after that, his father, Ebenezer, enlisted in the same regiment. What they did not know was what awaited them: a Union Army of the Potomac struggling to defend its capitol, suffering defeat and losses at the hands of a well-trained rebel Confederate Army. Year 1862 would find the father and son and their comrades on their heels, and in retreat most of the time. It would take them to some of the Civil War's most storied and bloodiest battles; Antietam, Bull Run, Fredericksburg, South Mountain - and valiantly protecting Washington's own doorstep. Corporal Gardner's efficient, curt style of writing, documenting his duties during those battles, is enhanced by added historical information in the footnotes. Relevant Civil War photos from the Library of Congress, George Gardner's personal post-war documents and photos, and photographs of excavated relics from the areas mentioned in the diary, give this book a complete "life story" feel.

Cornelia Peake McDonald kept a diary during the Civil War (1861- 1865) at her husband's request, but some entries were written between the lines of printed books due to a shortage of paper and other entries were lost. In 1875, she assembled her scattered notes and records of the war period into a blank book to leave to her children. The diary entries describe civilian life in Winchester, Va., occupation by Confederate troops prior to the 1st Manassas, her husband's war experiences, the Valley campaigns and occupation of Winchester and her home by Union troops, the death of her baby girl, the family's "refugee life" in Lexington, reports of battles elsewhere, and news of family and friends in the army.

The Civil War Diary, 1862-1865, of Charles H. Lynch 18th Conn. Vol's.

The heart of this book is the remarkable Civil War diary of the author’s great-grandfather, William Benjamin Gould, an escaped slave who served in the United States Navy from 1862 until the end of the war. The diary vividly records Gould’s activity as part of the North Atlantic Blockading Squadron off the coast of North Carolina and Virginia; his visits to New York and Boston; the pursuit to Nova Scotia of a hijacked Confederate cruiser; and service in European waters pursuing Confederate ships constructed in Great Britain and France. Gould’s diary is one of only three known diaries of African American sailors in the Civil War. It is distinguished not only by its details and eloquent tone (often deliberately understated and sardonic), but also by its reflections on war, on race, on race relations in the Navy, and on what African Americans might expect after the war. The book includes introductory chapters that establish the context of the diary narrative, an annotated version of the diary, a brief account of Gould’s life in Massachusetts after the war, and William B. Gould IV’s thoughts about the legacy of his great-grandfather and his own journey of discovery in learning about this remarkable man.

Excerpt from The Civil War Diary, 1862-1865, of Charles H. Lynch, 18th Conn Vol's Mr. Isaac H. Bromley, City Editor of the Norwich Morning Bulletin, at a great war meeting held at Breed's Hall, had enlisted to go to the war. He came out with a card in the Bulletin asking one hundred young men to go with him and organize a company for the 18th Regiment that was forming at the time. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.