1864 Handwritten Union Soldier Civil War Diary Pages & Story Great March Nichols

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1864 Handwritten Union Soldier Civil War Diary Pages & Story Great March Nichols:
$625.00

For sale- book and diary pages;

Book Details: By itself, this first edition of "The Story of the Great March," published in 1865 by Brevet Major George Ward Nichols, is an interesting eye-witness account of Sherman's campaign through Georgia up into Virginia, written by his aide-de-camp. What makes this lot particularly intriguing are the inscriptions written in the book, and the handwritten diary pages that were found tucked inside.

The flyleaf reads, "E.H. Ingham From Mother," and on the decorative half-title page, the same hand wrote "E. Hurlbut Ingham." The entries in the 21-page diary are the unsigned chronicle of a Civil War soldier who participated in a very small part of Sherman's campaign in North Carolina, a personal experience that might dovetail into the larger "Story of the Great March."

At the top of the first page is a little box with a note: "This is my Diary while in the Service of the United States 10 months & 8 days." The unnamed soldier was from Pompey, NY, and his diary begins on September 3rd, 1864, when he went to Syracuse to sign up. His observations of army life are typical of any enlisted man from almost any time: he writes about the regimen of "hurry up and wait" that marks the common soldier's life; describes his first barracks as "...a den of robbers. It look discouraging for a beginning. [Next day] have slept in the den one night and came out alive, I am now about to start for breakfast." And he notices things particular to his time and place, and to his war. Traveling south by train he marvels at passing through the railroad tunnel at York, PA, only the second one ever built. He documents at length months of bad rations, serious hunger, and near-famine conditions, and writes happily of the rare feast on New Year's Day. Upon reaching his post in New Bern, NC, he writes apprehensively about his health and the prevalence of yellow fever; and notes with concern and sorrow the sickness and ultimate death of a close friend from typhoid. The diary describes his picket duties, the movements of his unit between New Bern and Roanoke Island, and a few skirmishes at Plymouth and Williamston; and marks the increasing number of rebel deserters he sees, along with a few from his own side. And he writes of his leisure time: reading a dime novel, writing letters, mending his uniform, "pitching quits" [quoits] and "playing ball." After four months in the service, he remarks, "Quite pleasant today. No duty except drill. Old bob (that is) the Captain thinks I am not much of a soldier. I guess the old d-l is very near right." The diary ends in February, 1865, with the entry, "Nothing for dinner but raw onions and a piece of pork. War news are favorable to day report of an armistice for 30 days."

He also describes Election Day- old Abe- see photo of this entry

It is not known whether E. Hurlbut Ingham served in the Civil War, or whether the diary was his, but the pages were inside the book when found in an estate.

Condition / Notes: This book is in very good condition with light shelf wear and an intact, fold-out map. Very small tear had been taped. The diary pages are also in good condition as pictured.

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