This is a finding aid. It is a description of archival material held in the Wilson Library at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Unless otherwise noted, the materials described below are physically available in our reading room, and not digitally available through the World Wide Web. See the Duplication Policy section for more information.
Funding from the Watson-Brown Foundation, Inc., supported the encoding of this finding aid and microfilming of this collection.
Size | 1.0 feet of linear shelf space (approximately 200 items) |
Abstract | William B. Baker of Goodales Corner, Me., was a federal soldier in Company D, 1st Maine Cavalry Regiment, Army of the Potomac during the Civil War. The collection consists chiefly of letters written home by Baker while he was in Maine, Maryland; Washington, D.C.; Virginia; and Pennsylvania. The letters describe living conditions at various camps; certain battles; and everyday concerns like clothing needs, food, health, weather, salary, and the difficulty of sending and receiving mail. Baker commented on the morality of men, the relationship between officers and privates, religious services he attended, the peddlers who frequented camp, friends he saw, the treatment of Confederate dead, the attitude of the officers toward ending the war, and a burial he witnessed. Also included are a few letters from his brother, Abisha Baker, and others, and Baker's diary, written while he was on active duty in Virginia, January-mid-May 1864, and while he was in a Confederate hospital in Richmond, Va., slowly dying of a leg wound, mid-May-July 1864. The diary notes troop movements, enemy engagements, Baker's experience with his wound, treatment he received, and other matters. |
Creator | Baker, William B., 1839-1864. |
Curatorial Unit | University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Library. Southern Historical Collection. |
Language | English |
Processed by: E. Ragan and S. Danovitch, 1960-1963
Encoded by: Nancy Kaiser, March 2005
Funding from the Watson-Brown Foundation, Inc., supported the encoding of this finding aid and microfilming of this collection.
Back to TopThe following terms from Library of Congress Subject Headings suggest topics, persons, geography, etc. interspersed through the entire collection; the terms do not usually represent discrete and easily identifiable portions of the collection--such as folders or items.
Clicking on a subject heading below will take you into the University Library's online catalog.
William B. Baker of Goodales Corner, Me., was a federal soldier in Company D, 1st Maine Cavalry Regiment, Army of the Potomac during the Civil War.
Back to TopThe collection consists of the Civil War letters and diary of William B. Baker of Goodales, Me. Baker served in Company D of the 1st Maine Cavalry Regiment under Captain Spurling. His letters are addressed to his parents and his sisters Mercie and Fannie. Baker's letters describe living conditions at various camps; certain battles; and everyday concerns like clothing needs, food, health, weather, salary, and the difficulty of sending and receiving mail. Baker commented on the morality of men; the relationship between officers and privates; religious services he attended; the peddlers who frequented camp; friends he saw; the treatment of Confederate dead; and the attitude of the officers toward ending the war, which he felt would have been more enthusiastic had their salaries been less. He even described a burial he witnessed. As the war progressed, Baker frequently expressed his weariness with it; however, even in his last letter, written in August 1864 while he was dying of a leg injury he had received in May, he was still convinced that he had been correct in joining and only regretted that he would not see his family again.
Also included are a few letters from his brother, Abisha Baker, and others, and Baker's diary, written while he was on active duty in Virginia, from January to mid-May 1864, and while he was in a Confederate hospital in Richmond, Va., slowly dying of a leg wound, from mid-May to July 1864. The diary notes troop movements, enemy engagements, Baker's experience with his wound, treatment he received, and other matters.
Back to TopArrangement: chronological.
Folder 1 |
November 1859-October 1861 |
Folder 2 |
1861: November-December |
Folder 3-9
Folder 3Folder 4Folder 5Folder 6Folder 7Folder 8Folder 9 |
1862 |
Folder 10-17
Folder 10Folder 11Folder 12Folder 13Folder 14Folder 15Folder 16Folder 17 |
1863 |
Folder 18 |
1864: January |
Folder 19 |
1864: February |
Folder 20 |
1864: March-April |
Folder 21 |
May 1864-September 1866 |
Folder 22 |
Undated |
Folder 23 |
Fragments |
Folder 24 |
Diary, January-July 1864 |