- Collection:
- America's Turning Point: Documenting the Civil War Experience in Georgia
- Title:
- James McCulloch diary, 1862 August - 1863 April
- Creator:
- McCulloch, James, 1835-1902
- Publisher:
- James McCulloch diary, MS 3056. Hargrett Rare Book and Manuscript Library, The University of Georgia Libraries.
- Date of Original:
- 1862-08/1863-04
- Subject:
- Soldiers--Confederate States of America--Diaries
- Location:
- United States, Georgia, 32.75042, -83.50018
- Medium:
- diaries
- Type:
- Text
- Format:
- application/pdf
image/x-djvu - Description:
- The collection consists of a Civil War diary written by James McCulloch. The original is in fragile condition and contains pencil writing which is faded. A typed transcript is included, which covers the days from August 1862 to April 1863. Like many Civil War soldiers, James McCulloch discusses troop movements, the weather, the food and water rations, and his health and feelings in his diary. He also comments on fighting and scavanging. Several different moments are of remarkable interest: his many encounters with secessionists; his finding a dying man and moving him to a road to be buried; his scavenging of the diary and other materials; his frequent sickness and experience of the Army's medical services; his encounter with a battlefield near Richmond, KY, and wounded, dead, and recently buried men; accidental shootings amongst the Confederates; and his return to the 34th and participation in the Vicksburg Campaign.
James McCulloch was from Columbia, South Carolina and a member of the 34th Infantry Regiment. Prior to the war he attended the Georgia Military Institute during the years of approximately 1855 through 1858. He was married when he went into the war, though he did not write much about his wife in his diary. Much of McCulloch's diary describes his movements with the 34th Infantry Regiment, of which the following is known: In August 1862, at the start of his diary, he and the 34th were located in Jacksboro, Tennessee. He saw a battle which had taken place by London, TN, in early September. Much of his September 1862 descriptions take place around Lexington, TN, including Frankfort, Versailles, and Georgetown. By October 1862, he was in Lawrenceburg, Kentucky, which is slightly west of these towns. However, by the end of October, McCulloch had gotten a furlough and had left to Knoxville with the intention of going to Dalton, Georgia. In March 1863, McCulloch rejoined his unit, though it took him an entire week to get from Dalton, Georgia, to Vicksburg, Mississippi. He participated in the Vicksburg campaign and explicitly fought The Battle of Champion Hill in May 1863.
America's Turning Point: Documenting the Civil War Experience in Georgia received support from a Digitizing Historical Records grant awarded to the Atlanta History Center, Georgia Historical Society, Hargrett Rare Book and Manuscript Library, and the Digital Library of Georgia by the National Historical Publications and Records Commission. - External Identifiers:
- Metadata URL:
- https://dlg.galileo.usg.edu/id:dlg_turningpoint_harg3056-001-001
- Digital Object URL:
- https://dlg.galileo.usg.edu/harg/turningpoint/do:harg3056-001-001
- Language:
- eng
- Additional Rights Information:
- Please contact holding institution for information regarding use and copyright status.
- Bibliographic Citation (Cite As):
- Cite as: James McCulloch diary, MS 3056. Hargrett Rare Book and Manuscript Library, The University of Georgia Libraries., as presented in the Digital Library of Georgia.
- Holding Institution:
- Hargrett Library
