Auction: 3 Civil War Diaries From 21st Wisconsin Infantry

[dgridley]

From the site:

"Atlanta was once a beautiful city . . . but now . . . It is nearly ruined, everything wears a desolate appearance."

Union Captain James M. Randall Archive. Consists of three Civil War-dated diaries kept by Randall (21st Wisconsin Infantry), one war-dated diary kept by his wife, a leather-bound manuscript memoir written by Randall later in life, a large photograph of Randall in Union uniform, Civil War-dated letters, and various other documents. This archive has been well-preserved and contains marvelous accounts of the numerous battles participated in by Randall, as well as a daily record of his march with General Sherman during the Atlanta campaign, the march to the sea, and, finally, the Carolinas campaign.

Captain James Randall (1841-?) was twenty years old and living in Weyauwega, Wisconsin, when he volunteered in the U.S. Army on October 5, 1861. He was commissioned into Co. G of the 21st Wisconsin Infantry in August 1862 and was later promoted to captain. Along with his regiment, Randall fought at the battles of Nashville, Stones River, Chickamauga, Kennesaw Mountain, and Jonesborough, as well as many smaller skirmishes, including those while marching to Savannah and through the Carolinas. The captain resigned from the army on April 2, 1865, seven days before Lee's surrender at Appomattox Courthouse.

Randall's diaries, letters, and leather-bound manuscript give important details about the battles in which he participated, as well as giving a daily account of his life as a Northern soldier experiencing the war-torn South. The three diaries, written mostly in the present tense, are dated 1863, 1864, and 1865 with entries for most days. Randall, accounting for much more than just the daily weather, records new recruit arrivals, the names of soldiers killed, marching objectives and distances, camp particulars, battle details, and more.

more:
Union Captain James M. Randall Archive. Consists of three Civil War-dated diaries kept by Randall (21st Wisconsin Infantry), one war-dated diary kept by his wife, a leather-bound manuscript memoir written by Randall later in life, a large photograph

[dgridley]

Sold for $7300, by the way.