Search

The collection consists of 100 albumen prints (23 x 17.7 cm) in two volumes (both 42.5 x 33 cm). Each volume has a brown leather cover with brass clasps. Each volume contains 50 mounted, consecutively-numbered albumen prints depicting the operations of the Army of the Potomac during and in the immediate aftermath of the American Civil War.

The collection consists of 100 (23 x 17.7 cm) albumen prints in two volumes (both 42.5 x 33 cm). Each volume has a brown leather cover with brass clasps. Both volumes contain 50 mounted, consecutively-numbered albumen prints depicting the operations of the Army of the Potomac during and in the immediate aftermath of the American Civil War.

Every image is preceded by a paragraph of text describing the context and background of the photograph that follows. The photographs cover the period between March of 1862 and June of 1865. Readers should be aware that the photographs in the album are not arranged in an exact chronological sequence; many, but not all of the photographs have dates associated with them. The majority of the photographs depict sites in Virginia, but photographs from Maryland, Pennsylvania, and North Carolina are also present.

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.

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.