Search

Duncan's journal is a brief account of the earliest operations of the 23rd Ohio Infantry while serving in West Virginia in 1861. The orderly book contains copies of orders issued in 1864 and 1865 from the Headquarters of the Army of West Virginia and the Army of Shenandoah, including some signed by William McKinley.

Duncan's journal is a very well written, unfortunately brief account of the earliest operations of the 23rd Ohio, from its mustering in at Camp Chase through the first two months of its service in West Virginia. Even though the passages are generally short, they provide an excellent idea of the difficulties of operating in the mountainous country, and of the problems of poor training and discipline. There is a good second-hand description of the Battle of Rich Mountain, as well as two descriptions of the battlefield a month after the fact, and a long and detailed account of the Battle of Carnifex Ferry. As good as the battle descriptions, though, are his descriptions of the aftermath of Carnifex Ferry, particularly his powerful, grisly description of the expressions on the faces of corpses littering the battlefield.

The orderly book contains 35 routine carbon copies of orders issued late in the war from Headquarters of the Army of West Virginia and the Army of Shenandoah. The book was apparently originally William McKinley's, and many of the orders from Shenandoah are signed by him. Two orders are of some interest: one (in triplicate) dated April 27th, 1865, noting the capture of John Wilkes Booth, and the other, dated April 29th, reporting the surrender of Johnston's army to Sherman.

Duncan included four pencil sketches in his diary, 1) a rough sketch of a "Virginia secesh," 2) a view of Glenville, West Virginia, and sketches of the battlefields at 3) Rich Mountain and 4) Carnifex Ferry indicating troop placements, etc.

The McCreery and Fenton families were prominent Genesee county, Michigan residents some of whose members distinguished themselves in local and state government, as soldiers during the Civil War, and in the United States diplomatic service. Papers include diaries, correspondence and other material relating to the Civil War, local and state politics and aspects of diplomatic service in Central and South America.

The McCreery-Fenton family collection documents the individual careers of family members who served their community and their nation in a variety of roles. Through correspondence, diaries and other materials, the researcher will find information pertaining to the Civil War, to the history of Flint and Fenton in Genesee County, Michigan, and to facets of America's diplomatic relations with some of the countries of Central and South America. Arranged by name of the three principal family members represented in the collection - William M. Fenton, William B. McCreery, and Fenton R. McCreery, the papers also include series of general family materials, business records, and photographs.