
James R. Woodworth papers, 1862-1864
Using These Materials
- Restrictions:
- The collection is open for research.
Summary
- Creator:
- Hotchkiss, Lawrence E.
- Abstract:
- The James R. Woodworth papers contain the letters and diaries of a Union soldier in the 44th New York Infantry during the Civil War (1862-1864). Woodworth provides detailed reflections on life as a soldier and on his regiment's part in the battles of Fredericksburg, Chancellorsville, and Gettysburg.
- Extent:
- 151 items (0.5 linear feet)
- Language:
- English
- Authors:
- Collection processed and finding aid created by Philip Heslip, April 2011
Background
- Scope and Content:
-
The James R. Woodworth papers (151 items) contain the letters and diaries of a Union soldier in the 44th New York Infantry during the Civil War (1862-1864). The collection consists of 143 letters, four diaries, one poem, and a bundle of 37 envelopes. In both the letters and the diaries, Woodworth provided detailed reflections on life as a soldier, his regiment's part in the battles of Fredericksburg, Chancellorsville, and Gettysburg, and the horrors of war.
The Correspondence series (143 items) consists of 122 letters from James Woodworth to his wife Phebe, five from Phebe to James, three from friends and relatives to James, one from a friend to Phebe, and 12 fragments written by James and Phebe.
Woodworth's letters to Phebe contain descriptions of his war experiences. Topics include foraging, gambling, homesickness, lice, prostitutes, singing, sickness (fever, dysentery, smallpox, typhus fever, scarlatina), food (alcohol, beans, beef, bread, coffee, and hardtack), and opinions on religious matters. Woodworth was well educated and a skillful writer who often provided emotional and perceptive observations on life in his regiment and the aftermath of battles. Woodworth also frequently discussed his wife's struggles on the home front, raising their young son and running their farm in Seneca Falls, New York. This series also contains a printed poem by William Oland Bourne entitled "In Memoriam, Gettysburg, July 1-4, 1863."
The Diaries series (4 volumes, 426 pages) contains Woodworth's wartime diaries covering the period from his arrival in Virginia in October, 1862, to a few weeks before his death in 1864. Though the entries are often brief, they provide complementary information for the letters and often fill in gaps concerning travel and troop life. Of particular note are Woodworth's reflections on the battles of Fredericksburg, Chancellorsville, and Gettysburg.
The third diary contains two additional items, stored in a pocket in the back of the volume. One item is a small volume entitled "The Soldier on Guard," which explains the responsibilities of a Union soldier on guard duty (64 pages). The other is a 3-page printed item entitled "Rules for Dr. Gleason's Patients," which contains advice for healthy living.
- Biographical / Historical:
-
James R. Woodworth (1838-1864) was born in Ovid, New York, to Nancy Dickerson and Alanson Woodworth. On July 25, 1860, he married Phebe Burroughs. By the outbreak of the Civil War he had established a farm in Seneca Falls, New York. He enlisted as a private in Company E of the 44th New York Infantry (the Ellsworth Avengers), and served in the Army of the Potomac from September 1862 until his death in May 1864. In that time, Woodworth and his regiment saw action at Fredericksburg, Chancellorsville, and Gettysburg. He contracted a fever in October 1863 and was hospitalized in Washington D.C. and New York City military hospitals until December of that year. He rejoined his regiment, and died at Laurel Hill on May 8, 1864, a casualty of the Battle of the Wilderness.
- Acquisition Information:
- Donated by Lawrence E. Hotchkiss, 1962. M-1217 .
- Custodial History:
-
These papers were collected by James R. Woodworth's great-grand-nephew Lawrence E. Hotchkiss and donated to the Clements Library.
- Processing information:
-
Cataloging funded by the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) and the "We the People" project.
- Arrangement:
-
This collection is organized into two series:
- Series I: Correspondence
- Series II: Diaries
Each series is ordered chronologically.
- Rules or Conventions:
- Finding aid prepared using Describing Archives: A Content Standard (DACS)
Related
- Additional Descriptive Data:
-
Related Materials
The Clements Library Graphics Division holds a piece of Sheet music entitled Songs of the Ellsworth Avengers
Bibliography
Hunter, Christopher. "A Civil War Private: James Woodworth of the Forty-Forth New York Volunteer Infantry Regiment and the Family He Left Behind." Diss. University at Albany, State University of New York. 2000. Print.
Partial Subject Index
April Fool's Day. - Letter: April 2, 1863
Birthdays. - Diary: January 9, 1863
Blankets and Bedding . - Letter: January 21, 1863
Brady, Mathew B., ca. 1823-1896. - Letter: March 13, 1864
Bread. - Diary: 1862
Camp life, Albany, New York. - Letter: September 14, 1862
- Letter: September 21, 1862
Candles. - Letter: September 21, 1862
Chancellorsville, Battle of, 1863. - Diary: May 5, 1863
- Letter: May 8, 1863
- Letter: May 10, 1863
Christmas. - Letter: December 25, 1862
Civilians, Virginia,. - Letter: June 7, 1863
Clothing. - Letter: August 30, 1863
Coffee. - Diary: 1862
- Letter: October 27, 1862
- Letter: December 1, 1862
- Diary: February 12, 1863
- Diary: July 1, 1863
- Diary: July 29, 1863
Dickens, Charles. - Diary: April 28, 1863
Dixie (song) - Letter: June 1, 1863
Dogs. - Letter: November 13, 1863
Food. - Letter: October 27, 1862
- Letter: December 17, 1862
- Letter: November 30, 1862
- Letter: April 14, 1863
- Diary: January 4, 1864
- Diary: January 13, 1864
Fredericksburg, Battle of, 1862. - Letter: December 12, 1862
- Letter: December 15, 1862
- Diary: December 16, 1862
- Letter: December 17, 1862
Gambling. - Letter: January 28, 1863
Gettysburg, Battle of, 1863. - Diary: July 2, 1863
- Diary: July 3, 1863
- Letter: July 4, 1863
Grant, Ulysses S., 1822-1885. - Letter: March 13, 1864
Hardtack. - Letter: January 31, 1863
- Letter: February 26, 1863
Hooker, Joseph 1814-1879. - Letter: December 12, 1862
- Letter: April 5, 1863
Hospitals, military. - Letter: May 10, 1863
- Letter: October 16, 1863
- Letter: October 18, 1863
- Letter: November 17, 1863
- Letter: November 19, 1863
- Letter: November 28, 1863
- Letter: December 6, 1863
- Letter: December 10, 1863
Jokes. - Diary: October 29, 1862
- Letter: March 27, 1864
Kimball, Rodney G., d. 1900. - Letter: January 18, 1863
Lice. - Letter: January 31, 1863
- Letter: February 26, 1863
Liquor. - Letter: February 16, 1863
Marye's Hill. - Letter: December 12, 1862
Maryland--Description and travel. - Diary: October 17, 1862
McClellan, George Brinton, 1826-1885. - Letter: November 7, 1862
- Diary: November 10, 1862
Mead, George Gordon, 1815-1872. - Diary: May 1, 1863
- Diary: May 19, 1863
Mount Vernon (Va.: estate) - Letter: November 28, 1863
Nurses. - Letter: October 1863
Photographs and ambrotypes . - Letter: September 21, 1862
- Letter: March 13, 1864
- Letter: March 27, 1764
Pillaging, Virginia. - Letter: December 17, 1862
- Letter: September 22, 1863
Prisoners of War--Confederate States of America. - Diary: October 19, 1862
Prostitutes. - Letter: January 29, 1864
Rappahannock River (Va.) - Diary: April 29, 1863
Slaves, runaway. - Diary: 1862
Smallpox. - Diary: February 8, 1864
Songs, singing, and music. - Letter: September 28, 1862
- Letter: October 12, 1862
- Letter: June 1, 1863
- Letter: June 7, 1863
Stuart, Jeb, 1833-1864 . - Letter: March 20, 1864
Sugar rations. - Letter: February 16, 1863
Thanksgiving. - Letter: November 26, 1863
Theater. - Diary: February 17, 1864
Train (rail road) guard. - Diary: January 17, 1864
- Diary: January 31, 1864
Union/Confederate Friendly encounter. - Letter: May 30, 1863
- Letter: June 1, 1863
United States. Army--pay. - Letter: January 26, 1863
- Letter: April 24, 1863
Washington (D.C.)--Description and travel. - Diary: 1862
Subjects
Click on terms below to find any related finding aids on this site.
- Subjects:
-
Chancellorsville Battle of, Chancellorsville, Va., 1863.
Dysentery.
Fredericksburg, Battle of, Fredericksburg, Va., 1862.
Gettysburg, Battle of, Gettysburg, Pa., 1863.
Kilpatrick-Dahlgren Raid, Va., 1864.
Smallpox.
Soldiers--Religious life.
Thanksgiving Day.
Typhus fever. - Formats:
-
Diaries.
Letters (correspondence)
Poems. - Names:
-
Confederate States of America. Army of Northern Virginia.
Knights of the Golden Circle.
United States. Army. New York Infantry Regiment, 44th (1861-1864)
United States. Army of the Potomac.
United States. Army--Pay, allowances, etc.
United States. Army--Recruiting, enlistment, etc.
Brady, Mathew B., ca. 1823-1896.
Burnside, Ambrose Everett, 1824-1881.
Everett, Edward, 1794-1865.
Geary, John White, 1819-1873.
Grant, Ulysses S. (Ulysses Simpson), 1822-1885.
Hooker, Joseph, 1814-1879.
Kimball, R. G. (Rodney Glentworth), 1835-1900.
Lincoln, Abraham, 1809-1865.
Longstreet, James, 1821-1904.
McClellan, George Brinton, 1826-1885.
Stuart, Jeb, 1833-1864.
Vincent, Strong, 1837-1863.
Bourne, Wm. Oland (William Oland), 1819-1901.
Sanderson, James, Jr.
Willers, D., Jr.
Woodworth, Frank.
Woodworth, James R., 1838-1864.
Woodworth, Phebe Burroughs. - Places:
-
Albany (N.Y.)--History--Civil War, 1861-1865.
Alexandria (Va.)--Description and travel.
Maryland--Description and travel.
Mount Vernon (Va. : Estate)
Rappahannock River (Va.)
Snickers Gap (Va.)
United States--History--Civil War, 1861-1865.
United States--History--Civil War, 1861-1865--Hospitals.
United States--History--Civil War, 1861-1865--Songs and music.
Vicksburg (Miss.)--History--Siege, 1863.
Virginia--Description and travel.
Washington (D.C.)--Description and travel.
Contents
Using These Materials
- RESTRICTIONS:
-
The collection is open for research.
- USE & PERMISSIONS:
-
Copyright status is unknown
- PREFERRED CITATION:
-
James R. Woodworth Papers, William L. Clements Library, The University of Michigan