Civil War Research - Soldier Diaries

I've started researching the sequel to "Daniel's Garden," called "Daniel's Return." I found the following two diary entries online, which helped enormously in writing DG.

Hutchinson's diary gives a general overview of the 11th Massachusett's movements throughout 1862 and 1863, ending with the Spotsylvania campaign. His diary is useful for a broad spectrum as to where the regiment was stationed and under whom.

Blake's diary is much more colorful and details abound, such as what he thought of officers, comments on the weather, and fun facts like calling heatstroke 'sunstruck,' the 19th century term for it. And many did suffer from sunstruck, especially marching into Gettysburg in the summer of 1863.

"Daniel's Return" picks up in May 1863, just after Chancellorsville. Daniel has been wounded at the end of "Daniel's Garden," so the first scenes take place in the field hospital outside of Chancellorsville. Luckily, his bullet was completely removed and his abdomen is healing. But, troops are on the move again and Colonel Blaisdell, the leader of the 11th regiment, says he'll go with them.

At the end of DG, Daniel made a promise to his friend Andrew that he would find him and bring him back to the 11th. He was captured by Confederates during Chancellorsville. I'm not sure which Confederate regiment they were fighting, so I've dug out my excellent book on the battle: "Chancellorsville 1863: The Souls of the Brave," by Ernest Furgurson. This is one of the best books on the war, let alone the battle.

On the early morning of May 3, 1863, the night after Jackson's famous push against the 11th corps, Daniel's regiment, the 11th Massachusetts, was stationed next to the Chancellor Mansion. They watched its destruction as it was shelled by artillery.

The 11th Massachusetts was part of Sickles' corps and faced a part of the Stonewall Brigade, mainly the 30th North Carolina and the 12th Georgia as part of Paxton's brigade.

I'll need to read it, but I found another diary account of a Union lieutenant who was captured at Chancellorsville and then taken to Libby Prison. We'll see how it goes!

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Researching the Civil War is time-consuming not just because of the vast amounts of reading, but also the logistics. It's hard to figure out when and where troops were at a particular time or even in a single battle. The same regiment could move from one end of a battlefield to another in a single day. So, tracking troop movements has been an extraordinarily huge part of my research.

Luckily, diary entries REALLY help with logistics. I may not be able to locate their exact position without cross-referencing, but at least the best diary writers give noticeable and unique landmarks. Thanks to both Blake and Hutchinson, I knew the 11the Massachusetts's exact whereabouts for 2nd Manassas, Antietam, Fredericksburg, the mud march, and, of course, Chancellorsville.

Their help is invaluable!