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Collection

Albert Starke Drischell collection, 1943-1945

1 linear foot

This collection consists of over 300 letters that Private Albert Starke Drischell wrote to his family in Baldwin, New York, while serving in the United States Army during World War II. The collection also contains letters and postcards that Drischell received during his military service. Drischell wrote about his experiences while training in various camps, participating in an educational program, working with army theatrical groups in the United States and England, and serving in Germany during the last months of the war and the first months of the occupation.

The bulk of this collection (1 linear foot) consists of over 300 letters that Private Albert Starke Drischell wrote to his family in Baldwin, New York, about his experiences in the United States Army from January 21, 1943-December 6, 1945. The collection also contains letters and postcards that Drischell received during his military service and a few ephemera items.

Drischell addressed the majority of his letters to his parents, and occasionally wrote to his younger siblings, Ralph and Ruth. He composed his first letters while at Camp Upton in Long Island, New York, soon after entering the service, and provided his impressions of the camp, his companions, military life, and training exercises. At Camp Swift, Texas, he wrote about his experiences at Texas A&M University, where he was among a group tested for entrance into a selective educational program. After being accepted, he moved to New Mexico and began taking college-level engineering courses at New Mexico College of Agricultural and Mechanical Arts. He and many others found the coursework difficult, and by November he had failed a course and was removed from the program. While in New Mexico, he shared his determination to succeed and gave his opinions of other men in the army, particularly his negative opinions of those who drank to excess (July 8, 1943). He also mentioned his moral objection to the war.

Drischell left New Mexico for Fort Custer, Michigan, where he attended courses in military government and occasionally guarded German prisoners. In one letter, he expressed his fear that soldiers would have difficulty readjusting to civilian life after being schooled in "mass murder" (January 23, 1944). In early 1945, Drischell moved to Camp Reynolds, Pennsylvania, where his unit awaited overseas deployment. He continued to describe his experiences, offered his opinions on the army, and mentioned trips taken to the surrounding towns while on temporary leave. In mid-May 1944, Drischell arrived in Scotland, though he was transferred to England soon after. As part of a replacement battalion, he occupied much of his free time by accompanying women to dances and befriending local families. He also acted in a play put on by the army, and briefly toured with an army theatrical group in the fall of 1944, an experience he enjoyed and hoped to continue in his post-army life. Many of his letters from this time focused on the economic and physical hardships of the war, and other letters mention a visit to London (February 15, 1945), his support for Thomas E. Dewey in the 1944 presidential election (August 6, 1944), George Bernard Shaw's views on capitalism, communism, and democracy (August 8, 1944), and his efforts to obtain conscientious objector status.

After being deployed on the Continent in March 1945, Drischell shared his impressions of the devastated French and German countryside, through which he advanced as part of the 318th Infantry Regiment. After the war, he described the small Austrian town where he was stationed, in which German children born out of wedlock were being "raised for use in foreign lands" (May 16, 1945). Drischell also accounted for the gap in his letters between April and May, when he advanced deep into Germany and Austria and participated in active combat (May 31, 1945, et al.). Freed from the constraints of censorship after V-E day, he reported on some of his combat experiences, and he believed that he never directly killed an enemy soldier. Throughout his European service, Drischell continually voiced his appreciation for the United States and compared it to Europe, occasionally calling his native country a relative "utopia."

Drischell sometimes enclosed souvenirs from his European travels in his letters, including a French 50-franc note (March 25, 1945), German stamps (June 20, 1945), and clippings from the Stars and Stripes and other papers. By late August 1945, he was in Paris as a member of a traveling dramatic troupe, and he wrote less frequently. His final letter, dated December 6, 1945, reveals that he went on tour in Germany.

Additional items include 2 printed church programs from 1944, a newspaper clipping featuring an English unit's canine mascot, and a list of men from St. Peter's Church who served in the war, including Albert S. Drischell. One undated letter fragment from "Iggie" discusses his experiences as a soldier in India, and another by an anonymous writer concerns Drischell's acting and a mutual acquaintance named "Fip."

Collection

Arthur Bruhus papers, 1941-1945 (majority within 1943-1945)

1 linear foot

The Arthur Bruhus papers primarily contain incoming and outgoing letters and greeting cards that Sergeant Bruhus wrote and received while serving in the United States Army during World War II. Bruhus described his everyday life at military camps in Maryland and Texas between January 1943 and April 1945 and his service in France between April 1945 and September 1945.

This Arthur Bruhus papers contain over 200 incoming and outgoing letters and greeting cards that Sergeant Arthur Bruhus wrote and received while serving in the United States Army during World War II. Bruhus described his everyday life at military camps in Maryland and Texas between January 1943 and April 1945 and his service in France between April 1945 and September 1945. The collection also includes negatives for 24 photographs and 13 printed and ephemeral items.

The Correspondence series is comprised of letters, greeting cards, V-mail, and postcards. Arthur Bruhus wrote approximately 175 letters to his mother, Anna Bruhus of Palatine, Illinois, during his time in the military. Bruhus served at several domestic military bases throughout the war, and frequently described his travel between camps and during furloughs, his first impressions upon arrival, the surrounding scenery, and nearby cities (particularly in Texas). While stationed at Fort Bliss, Texas, he occasionally visited Ciudad Juárez, Mexico. Bruhus also discussed camp life and, to a lesser extent, his military assignments. After undergoing radio training at Fort Knox, Kentucky, in June 1943, he worked with radio-controlled planes used for target practice. In November 1943, he noted Camp Barkeley's use of German prisoners of war for manual labor (November 12, 1943). Bruhus was deployed to France in April 1945 and served at Épernay until his return to the United States in 1945. While in France, he commented on the scenery and everyday activities. In one letter he recounted his experiences on V-E Day (May 25, 1945). He enclosed church programs in two letters. His final letter to his mother is dated September 4, 1915.

Bruhus also corresponded with his sisters, nieces and nephews, and acquaintances (about 25 incoming and outgoing letters). Anna Bruhus received several letters from her grandchildren.

The Photographic negatives series is made up film negatives for 24 photographs of unidentified military barracks, soldiers, camouflaged tents, and group exercises.

The 13 items in the Printed items and ephemera series include advertisements, programs, and an issue of the Camp Barkeley News (May 12, 1944).

Collection

Benjamin C. Lincoln papers, 1861-1865

437 items (1.25 linear feet)

A fervent patriot and devout Christian, Benjamin Lincoln's strong abolitionist beliefs led him to take a commission with the 2nd U.S. Infantry (Colored). His papers contain 437 letters written by and to him through the course of the Civil War, revealing the effects of war on the relationships of friends, relatives, and lovers.

A fervent patriot and devout Christian, Benjamin C. Lincoln was also a remarkably regular correspondent. The Lincoln papers contain 437 letters written by and to Benjamin Lincoln between 1861 and 1865, including letters to and from his fiancée, later wife, Dora, letters from his brothers, Sam, Alfred, Irving, Ernest and Eugene, and from friends, Fred Gage, H.O. Walker, Charles H. Mann, Sam Hall, Amy Halliday, and Rev. Samuel Winkley, among others. The high literary quality of much of Lincoln's writing is matched by the quality of his friends' writing. Ideologically, temperamentally, and literarily they are a well matched set. There is a gap in letters written by Lincoln between November, 1863 and October, 1864, caused in part by his visits home. This period, however, is represented by letters to Lincoln, through which some of his activities can be reconstructed. The correspondence ends shortly after Ben's death at the Battle of Natural Bridge in March, 1865.

The collection is a valuable resource for examining the effect that the war had in shaping the relationships of friends, relatives and lovers. Throughout the separations imposed by military service, Lincoln remained in close contact with his fellow members of the Pine Street Chapel Association (many of whom served with him in the 39th Massachusetts Infantry), and his relationship with his brothers remained intimate. The early letters between Lincoln and his then-fiancée Dora provide a depiction of the pain of separation and the psychological hardships placed on these devout and devoted people, and the entire correspondence provides a fascinating portrait of the vicissitudes in their relationship up to and following their marriage in November, 1864. Lincoln and Dora discussed their relationship almost obsessively, whether it was going well or poorly, and the frequency of their letters makes for an unusually dense coverage of the course of one war-time love match. Dora's tendency toward depression was a problem throughout their relationship, and culminated in what appears to have been a mental breakdown early in 1865, probably over the stress of renewed separation from her husband. The collection also includes a wrenching letter from Julia M. (1864 November 21), mourning the loss her fiancé, Sam Lincoln, and several letters from Amy E. Halliday (see especially 1864 November 25) coping with the loss of her fiancé, James Schneider, an officer in the 2nd U.S.C.T.

The military content in the Lincoln papers includes far more on camp life than combat, with a few notable exceptions. During Lincoln's time with the 39th Massachusetts, the regiment was stationed in a comparatively calm part of Maryland or in Washington, D.C., and thus lacks first hand descriptions of skirmishes or battles. Lincoln's letters contain speculation on his own religious convictions, as well as on the spiritual and moral condition of his fellow soldiers, and there are comments on the hostile local citizenry, on his duties as a clerk, and occasionally on the war and the military itself. Once Lincoln receives his commission in the 2nd U.S.C.T. in September, 1863, however, the letters contain more of general interest. The collection is a significant resource for studying the attitudes and activities of a white officer in a "colored" regiment, particularly during the six weeks during which the regiment was filling up at Camp Casey, and during the period in which they were stationed at calm Key West. Lincoln was not always immediately forthcoming in his letters with descriptions of his experiences with his African American troops, partly for fear that Dora would think that he was ignoring her if he discussed anything other than their relationship. Lincoln does, however, provide good descriptions of racial tension surrounding the regiment as it was forming, and some spirited accounts of religious attitudes among the troops, along with several good accounts of their Methodist-style worship. In all, Lincoln's correspondence provides an excellent portrait of the motivations of a white soldier for seeking a commission in a colored regiment, his racial attitudes, and his experiences in camp and, to a lesser degree, in the field.

Equally valuable from the military point of view are the numerous letters from friends and relatives in the service, including those from Ben's brother Sam, a private in the 23rd Massachusetts Infantry and later as a civilian employee of the Quartermaster's Department in New Bern, N.C., and from a friend, Samuel Hall, of Co. G, 39th Massachusetts. Sam Lincoln's letters are filled with information about his regiment, and about life in the garrisoned town of New Bern. His position as a former soldier become civilian makes for an unusual perspective on Union-occupied North Carolina. Letters from Lincoln's other brothers create an impression, somewhat less fleshed-out, of the stresses endured by the members of the Lincoln family during the war, the losses they incurred, and their attempts to cope. The 15 letters from Charlie Brown, initially also a member of the 39th Massachusetts Infantry, but later an officer in the 7th U.S.C.T, are particularly noteworthy. Brown was one of Ben's closest personal friends, as was his wife Ellen, and his writing ability combined with his candor make his letters a particularly important resource for the study of one of the most active "colored" regiments in the Union army. Brown provides a description of the rout at the Battle of Olustee, of engagements near Jacksonville, Fla., and the Battle of New Market Heights, and comments throughout on life in the 7th U.S.C.T.

The 22 letters from Lincoln's civilian friend and fellow Bostonian, H.O. Walker, are also uniformly lively and interesting. A fiery abolitionist and an early advocate of arming African Americans, Walker was a man with strong opinions on the war who seldom demurred from expressing himself. Included among his best letters are a long discussion of electoral politics, radical Republicans, Frémont, Lincoln, and Johnson (1864 June 24 and September 8) and a detailed description of a public meeting held at Cambridge on the subject of conscription (1864 July 26). "We must have black troops," he wrote, "and a limitless number of them too -- paid and treated like their white brothers" (1863 September 5). The four letters from Rev. Samuel Winkley provide an interesting insight both into the powerful force that religious convictions held for some soldiers, but also the bonds of friendship and mutual assistance that tied Winkley and his former Chapel Associates, even across the separations of war. Winkley's letter of September 5, 1863, includes a fine discussion of the duties of a Christian chaplain, written with regard to the African American soldier.

Collection

Brewster E. Littlefield collection, 1917-1941 (majority within 1917-1918)

0.25 linear feet

This collection contains correspondence related to Brewster E. Littlefield's service with the United States Army's 101st Engineers during World War I. Littlefield wrote around 110 letters to his family in Braintree, Massachusetts, about his experiences in France, which included service in the front lines. The collection also includes letters about Littlefield's death, poetry about the war, and photographs.

This collection (155 items) contains correspondence related to Brewster E. Littlefield's service with the United States Army's 101st Engineers during World War I. Littlefield wrote around 110 letters to his family in Braintree, Massachusetts, about his experiences in France, which included service in the front lines. The collection also contains letters about Littlefield's death, poetry about the war, and photographs.

The Correspondence series (135 items), which comprises the bulk of the collection, contains letters that Brewster E. Littlefield wrote to his parents from September 25, 1917-October 31, 1918. Early letters pertain to his journey to France via Halifax, Nova Scotia, and Southampton, England. After arriving in France in October 1917, Littlefield wrote about his daily experiences with the 101st Engineer Regiment. He discussed his living quarters, his religious life, and his work as a gas mask specialist, which involved frequent travel by motorcycle and on horseback. Littlefield also commented on his training exercises, which included a simulated gas attack, and mentioned his pride in the American "doughboys." He spent time in the trenches and near the front lines, traveled around France, and attended training in Paris; his letters include descriptions of artillery attacks, aerial warfare, and gas attacks. He reflected on the impact that the war had on him, such as his gradual adjustment to shelling. On several occasions, including in his final letter, he remarked on close encounters with German bombs. Littlefield also wrote about his relationship and correspondence with a girl named Almira, an encounter with German prisoners of war, and the impact of the influenza epidemic.

Additional correspondence items largely postdate Littlefield's death. In November 1918, the Littlefield family received a telegram and official letter notifying them of Brewster E. Littlefield's death, and they later received 2 letters from his army acquaintances about the precise circumstances of the incident. Later correspondence relates to Littlefield's personal effects and final paycheck. Two sets of military orders concern other American soldiers.

The Poems, Photographs, and Currency series (20 items) contains additional materials related to Brewster E. Littlefield and the First World War. Two typed poems concern soldiers' experiences during the war. Seventeen snapshots and card photographs (one of which is dated December 1, 1941) show families, a dog in the snow, and World War I-era United States soldiers in uniform, including Brewster E. Littlefield. The final item is a one-franc note.

Collection

Calvin Mixter papers, 1897-1903

106 items (0.25 linear feet)

The Calvin Mixter papers are primarily comprised of seventy-five letters written from stateside military camps during the Spanish-American War. Mr. Mixter served as a drummer in the Fifth Massachusetts Infantry Regiment.

The Calvin Mixter papers are primarily comprised of seventy-five letters written from stateside military camps during the Spanish-American War. Most were addressed to members of the family of William H. Campbell at his home in Massachusetts. These letters provide interesting accounts of routine military activities, such as dress parades, monthly inspections, and band rehearsals and marches. The collection also contains newspaper clippings, photographs, and miscellaneous items (including 2 military passes).

The collection documents not only the various rumors circulating at the military camps, but also how the regiment dealt with death and sickness. The high mortality from disease, much of it preventable, was a hot topic with Mixter and his fellow soldiers, and runs throughout the collection. Having remained healthy himself, Mixter was able to take several small trips in the vicinity of the camps, and in one letter, gives a fine description of Gettysburg and the battle that took place there during the Civil War.

The collection also contains numerous references to African-Americans, with whose culture Mixter seems to have had little direct experience. Mixter considered their church services "amusing," though he felt at least that they were "earnest." He and his friends easily fell into disparaging comments, such as Will Mann's comments of September, 1898, Frank B. Harmon's of November, 1898, or Mixter's own notice of a cook at Camp Meade who had been dismissed for stealing (October, 1898).

Collection

Christopher Howser Keller letters, 1861-1865 (majority within 1862-1865)

192 items

This collection is made up of letters that Christopher H. Keller of the 124th Illinois Infantry Regiment and Albert C. Cleavland of the 42nd Illinois Infantry Regiment wrote to the Keller family and to Caroline M. Hall during the Civil War. The soldiers described their experiences in the South, including engagements with Confederate troops and guerillas, interactions with local civilians, travel between posts, and life in military camps. They occasionally discussed their feelings about the war and about political issues such as the presidential election of 1864.

This collection is made up of letters written that Christopher H. Keller of the 124th Illinois Infantry Regiment and Albert C. Cleavland of the 42nd Illinois Infantry Regiment wrote to the Keller family and to Caroline M. Hall during the Civil War. The soldiers discussed their experiences in the South throughout the war.

The bulk of the collection is letters that Christopher H. Keller wrote to his parents, George H. and Esther Keller of Batavia, Illinois, and to his future wife, Caroline Matilda Hall of St. Charles, Illinois, between September 2, 1862, and August 14, 1865. He described his travels between camps and other posts in Illinois, Tennessee, Mississippi, and Louisiana, commenting on the weather, the scenery, and destruction caused by the war. His letters provide detailed descriptions of everyday aspects of military life, such as camp conditions, rations and supplies, religious services, and medical care; in February 1863, he described his stay at Overton Hospital in Memphis, Tennessee. Keller occasionally expressed his opinions on military doctors, conscripted soldiers, and the war, and reflected on soldiers' deaths. He sometimes shared stories about his interactions with Confederate civilians.

Keller participated in skirmishes throughout his service. Two groups of letters concern his experiences during the Siege of Vicksburg in mid-1863 and the Union campaign for Mobile in the spring of 1865. In March 1865, he visited New Orleans. In 1864, he briefly commented on Abraham Lincoln's presidential nomination and noted his regiment's overwhelming support for Lincoln as they voted; in 1865, he reacted to news of Lincoln's assassination and the death of John Wilkes Booth. Keller's final letters, written from Mobile just after the end of the war, include mentions of freed Confederate prisoners and freedmen. Keller's enclosed a dogwood blossom in his letter of April 10, 1865.

A small number of items in the collection are incoming letters to Christopher H. Keller and, to a lesser extent, Caroline M. Hall. Keller received one letter from Albert N. Hall about Hall's experiences at Pittsburg, Tennessee (March 25, 1862). Albert C. Cleavland wrote letters about his service with the 42nd Illinois Infantry Regiment from 1861-1865. He served in Tennessee, Alabama, and Georgia, and his letters include descriptions of skirmishes near Chattanooga, Tennessee, in October 1863, the Battle of Kennesaw Mountain, and a visit to Atlanta after its destruction by Union troops. His later letters sometimes include comments about Confederate civilians, the fall of Richmond, and the assassination of Abraham Lincoln. Cleavland wrote his final letters from Port Lavaca, Texas, in late 1865. The final item in the collection is a letter that Mary Chind of St. Charles, Illinois, wrote to Caroline Hall Keller on December 31, 1865, congratulating Keller on her marriage and enclosing a pamphlet by Theodore L. Cuyler, "A Flaw in the Wedding Link."

The collection includes undated newspaper clippings from the Montgomery Daily Mail and an unknown paper, pertaining to troop movements and the restoration of telegraph services, respectively, and a tintype portrait of an unidentified Union soldier in uniform, posing beside a United States flag.

Collection

Corydon E. Fuller journals, 1856-1859

416 pages (2 volumes)

Corydon Fuller's journals document the travels of a young bookseller (from the Northern Midwest) in Arkansas, bordering areas in Louisiana, and in Mississippi in the years preceding the Civil War.

Corydon Fuller's intriguing journals (marked "Vol. 6th" and "Vol. 7") follow the path of the young itinerant bookseller in a fascinating series of situations and places. A college graduate, Fuller wrote both well and copiously, recording the events and his impressions with impressive clarity and depth.

As a man prone to some reflection on the political and social issues of his day, Fuller's journals are a valuable resource for study of the hardening sectional lines in the Trans-Mississippi South. By 1857, Fuller believed that an impasse had been reached, reflected both in his reporting of adamant Southern views on slavery and states' rights, and in his own hot-tempered opinions on moral right versus wrong.

Collection

David Ballenger typescripts, 1858-1888 (majority within 1861-1865)

1 volume

This collection is comprised of typescripts of letters that David Ballenger sent to his wife Nancy and other family members while serving in the 26th Alabama Infantry Regiment, Company D, and the Hampton Legion during the Civil War. Ballenger discussed his participation in several major battles and Confederate soldiers' increasing discouragement as the war progressed.

This collection is comprised of typescripts of around 70 letters related to David Ballenger, who served in the 26th Alabama Infantry Regiment and Hampton's Legion during the Civil War. His first letter, written to a sister from Kingston, Georgia, on December 5, 1858, mentions the possibility of attending a 20-day grammar course.

The bulk of the typescripts are letters that Ballenger wrote to his wife Nancy and, less frequently, other family members while serving with the Confederate Army between December 1861 and January 1865. He spent most of the war in Virginia, though he also traveled to Maryland, Pennsylvania, and the Carolinas, and described his participation in skirmishes and in major engagements such as the Battles of South Mountain, Fredericksburg, Chancellorsville, and Gettysburg. He sometimes commented on the general progress of the war, including the increasing likelihood of a Union victory. Ballenger discussed his and other Confederate soldiers' deteriorating enthusiasm throughout the course of the war; in September 1864, he noted that he and others would quit fighting should George McClellan win the presidency and make concessions to the seceded states. In his letter of December 12, 1864, he worried that the war had become more about power than idealism and expressed his disdain for its deleterious effects on Southern morality, as evidenced by a preponderance of brothels.

Ballenger's letters often refer to his religious faith, and he often thanked God for seeing him safely through battles. He commented on the hardships soldiers suffered during the war, believing that they far outweighed any difficulties experienced by those at home (May 13, 1863), and reflected on the magnitude of the death and destruction that the war had caused. In his letter of June 12, 1864, he mentioned a visit to the site of the Battle of Malvern Hill, still strewn with bodies.

The collection includes a small number of typescripts of letters that David Ballenger received from other military personnel during the war. Postwar correspondence includes a letter from H. B. Rector to David Ballenger about Reconstruction in Georgia (February 24, 1868); letters of congratulation after Ballenger's election to an unspecified public office (September 1886); and letters from Ballenger to his daughter and two nieces about their education (1888). The final typescript consists of the text of an undated article in The North Greenville Courier about Reverend O. J. Peterson, the principal of North Greenville High School.

Collection

Edward Barker journals, 1855, 1865

296 pages (2 volumes)

Edward Barker's journals include documentation of Mr. Barker's 1855 emigration from England to America and his later Civil War service as chaplain in the 40th Massachusetts Infantry Regiment.

Barker's Civil War diary contains a unique record of the events leading up to the fall of Richmond. It is written, interestingly enough, in a ledger book taken from the Confederate Provost Marshal's office in Fredericksburg when the 40th Massachusetts occupied that town. The first six pages of the ledger contain brief medical records (little more than notes) on Confederate soldiers, apparently kept by a Confederate surgeon at Fredericksburg in February, 1865.

As a Chaplain, drawing comparatively high pay and being freed from many of the routine duties of other soldiers, Barker had far more opportunities to observe the area around Richmond and to visit different parts of Richmond than the average soldier. Barker's curiosity led him to visit several of the better-known sights, including Chimborazo Hospital, Hollywood Cemetery, the prison, and the area of town where the "F.F.V.'s" lived. Most interestingly, he often took the opportunity to speak with local inhabitants, both Union sympathizers and die-hard Confederates, other clergymen, and physicians. Barker writes clearly, intelligently, and with insight about the end of the war, and he provides vivid accounts of the first days of Union occupation in Richmond. The diary also includes a particularly valuable account of Fredericksburg when occupied by Union forces in February, 1865.

The diary that Barker kept during his passage from England to America in 1855 contains daily accounts of his activities from the first of the year through the time of his sea voyage and arrival in Monson. A few entries, most notably those at the beginning of the diary, during the days surrounding his departure, and those written immediately preceding and upon his arrival in Boston are very full, and contain unusually detailed accounts of the emotions and experiences of a young man emigrating to America for economic betterment, who is forced, albeit temporarily, to leave most of his family behind. Like his Civil War diary, it is marked with intelligent, though occasionally overly moralistic observations. Included at the end of the diary are 18 poems written by Barker during the voyage on various topics, including freedom in a slave-holding society, the ocean, his family, and emigration.

Collection

Francis E. Butler journal, 1862-1863

196 pages

Francis Butler, a chaplain of the 25th New Jersey Infantry, kept a journal including an extensive account of the bombardment and occupation of Fredericksburg during the Civil War.

Butler's diary opens -- after some brief notations of the terms by which he hired "John H. Boggs (col'd)" as his servant and of his expenditures at Camp Cadwallader -- on December 11th, 1862, with a lengthy description of the bombardment and occupation of Fredericksburg. Butler was stirred by the "sublime sight" of the city under fire, the crossing of the troops on pontoon bridges lit up by pitch fires, and the officers' occupation of the best houses in the city. From his headquarters in a "small, neat, comfortable house," he watched with disapproval as soldiers plunder the city prior to the battle, and he prays with sympathy for "the poor family whose peaceful house is thus invaded," and on the following morning was greeted with the curious sight of soldiers lounging on mattresses lining the sidewalks and reading London quarterlies, awaited what he assumed (correctly) would be a bloody day.

Butler provides an hour by hour account of events in Fredericksburg on December 12th and 13th. His perspective is an interesting one in that he is not involved in the fighting himself, but is able to move freely about the city during the thick of battle in order to minister to the troops, to bring them coffee or to escort the wounded to the rear. Entries for the days following the battle provide an excellent picture of a chaplain's duties, visiting the wounded -- "what strange and dreadful wounds" -- officiating at the burials of men from his regiment, and making detailed notes on the location of the graves in order that families might later recover the bodies, though later in the week, mass burials became necessary. Detailed entries end on December 23rd, and thereafter there is a brief description and pencil sketch of Fortress Monroe, Va., and some pencil sketches of Newport News and of soldiers in camp. In the back of the notebook containing the diary is a register of wounded soldiers of the 25th New Jersey and a regimental return for the morning of December 15th, 1862.