Manuscripts

Henry Boyer Civil War diary

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Description: Diary kept in Lexington, Kentucky. Laid in: tariff of prices on goods exposed to sale by the sutler.
Type: Manuscripts(Opens in new tab)
Production date: 1863 April 15-18.
Call number: mssHM 30479
Creator: Boyer, Henry(Opens in new tab)
Provenance: Acquired from Mrs. Francis D. Boyer, September 1949.
Restrictions: Open for use by qualified researchers and by appointment. Please contact Reader Services at the Huntington Library for more information.
Rights: The Huntington Library does not require that researchers request permission to quote from or publish images of this material, nor does it charge fees for such activities. The responsibility for identifying the copyright holder, if there is one, and obtaining permission rests with the researcher.

Henry Breidenthal Civil War diary

Manuscripts

Breidenthal's diary that covers the month from October 10 to November 12, 1861, when the 3rd Regiment was attached to Reynolds's command at Cheat Mountain, W. Va. Breidethal, being and a devout Christian and possessing of an indomitable if somewhat morose personality, set to out devote his spare time to writing a diary in large part to avoid "the society here" that he found was "not congenial to my tastes." (He dismissed "the general character of our soldiery" as "lowbred" and their aspirations "rising but little above the instinct of the animal creature.") The daily entry contain detailed expositions on his Bible reading, including political implications of the Scripture, (Breidenthal was a passionate abolitionist who counted "our complicity with African Slavery -- a crime of sufficient enormity to sink this great nation" as one of the great sins and regarded "Bible defenders of the American slavery" as "false prophets"); his opinions on the books he was reading (he studiously avoided "trashy novels" and "obscene books," preferring sermons by Henry Ward Beecher, a biography of Cavour, or a "Life of Balaam, by Rev. Hatfield"); political news, including discussion of Fremont's proclamation of Aug. 30, 1861; and camp life, especially entertainment (of which he heartily disapproved, being particularly troubled by the widespread gambling, "not edifying conversation and vulgar songs" as well as dancing and smoking); regimental gossip and jockeying for promotions. He also recounts, in great detail, the inquiry into the death of a soldier killed by a sentinel too scared to give the required challenge.

mssHM 68485-68486

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John Coyle Civil War diary

Manuscripts

A diary kept by John Coyle while serving as an agent of the United States Christian Commission from July to October, 1864. Daily entries give detailed accounts of Coyle's ministry in Alexandria, Virginia, including hospitals, churches, schools, and prisons and his encounters with the patients, physicians, nurses, preachers, congregants, students, and inmates; the accounts of his ministry to soldiers wounded in the battles of the Overland campaign include African-American troops. Coyle met with many African-American preachers, including Leland Warring, a former slave turned preacher, the founder of Alexandria's "contraband school." Waring autographed the front flyleaf of the diary commemorating their meeting. Coyle's descriptions of the city hospitals include accounts of the L'Ouverture Hospital for African-American troops. The entries also describe some sightseeing, including a day trip to Mount Vernon. Reverend Coyle found service in the field less satisfying, as he was mostly engaged in distributing goods and newspapers, with very few opportunities to preach, but he did take the time to visit neighboring communities.

mssHM 83835

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Mae Donovan Dihel diary of a trip to Mexico City

Manuscripts

Diary kept by Donnie Dihel while on her trip from Lexington, Kentucky, to Mexico City in 1938. The author makes several comments about the conditions she saw due to the Great Depression and the Dust Bowl in Tennessee, Arkansas, and Texas. She also makes several comments regarding the African Americans she saw during her travels as well as the people of Mexico. Accompanied by a letter to Mae Donovan Dihel and a family-related clipping, 1937 and 1951.

mssHM 84013

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Simon R. Frank Civil War diary

Manuscripts

Diary kept during Chattanooga and Atlanta campaigns. Also present certificate of appointment as 3rd Cpl., Co. C, 57th Regiment, Illinois Volunteer Infantry, 1864 April 4.

mssHM 30408

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Charles Lee Civil War diary

Manuscripts

Diary that Charles Lee kept from January 1 to November 10, 1864. In addition to camp life and multiple vows to lay off whiskey, the diary covers visits to the regiment by Ulysses S. Grant and Joshua Thomas Owen, and gives brief accounts of the battles at Morton's Ford (1864, Feb. 6 - 7), Po River, (May 10, 1864), and the Petersburg campaign, including Jerusalem Plank Road (June 22 - 23), Strawberry Plains (Aug. 14), Ream''s Station (Aug. 25), Weldon Railroad (Aug. 25), and Fort Sedgwick (Oct. 27) and describes Finley hospital which Lee described as "a singular place" with the "Band playing at one End of the Ward outside and the Doctors performing an operation at the other."

mssHM 30476

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Mormon Battalion diary of Henry Standage

Manuscripts

Typescript of Henry Standage's diary, kept while he was serving in the Mormon Battalion from 1846-1847. The diary opens with his departure from Council Bluffs, Iowa, with the Mormon Battalion in July 1846. It traces their travels across the plains, including stopping at Fort Leavenworth, arriving in Santa Fe (where he recalls General Kearney's bloodless encounter with Mexican troops, and concludes "the Lord is...opening the way before us"), trading with Alpacha Indians, the taking of "Spanish prisoners," and the difficulties of marching and moving supplies. Once the Battalion had arrived in California, Standage records stopping in San Diego only to be ordered to march to San Luis Rey ("It does seem as though we should never have rest in the service of the United States," Standage complained), drilling in San Luis Rey before preparing to march to Los Angeles, derogatory remarks about the "Spaniards" in Los Angeles, a description of the city, and his interest in Roman Catholic ceremonies. The diary ends on July 19, 1847, while Standage was still in Los Angeles.

mssHM 16998

Henry Boyer Civil War diary

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Henry Breidenthal Civil War diary

John Coyle Civil War diary

Mae Donovan Dihel diary of a trip to Mexico City

Simon R. Frank Civil War diary

Charles Lee Civil War diary

Mormon Battalion diary of Henry Standage