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Size | 1.5 feet of linear shelf space (3 items) |
Abstract | Herbert Eugene Valentine (1841-1917) was a private in Company F of the 23rd Massachusetts Volunteers, who served in the United States Army between 1861 and 1864 in eastern Virginia, North Carolina, and South Carolina. The collection includes a diary, pencil and watercolor sketches, correspondence, newspaper clippings, and maps, all contained in two manuscript volumes of Herbert E. Valentine. Valentine's diary discusses the subjects of many of his sketches. It also comments on church services, blacks he encountered, daily life among officers and enlisted men, Confederate deserters, life in Norfolk, Va., the career of General Charles Adam Heckman, and other matters. There are 184 sketches picturing towns, buildings, ships, bridges, fortifications, and everyday life at military bases. Locations with numerous sketches include Beaufort, Morehead City, and New Bern, N.C., and Hilton Head and Saint Helena Island, S.C. Seven color maps pertain to the operations of the 23rd Massachusetts Regiment in eastern North Carolina and Virginia. Correspondence consists of four letters relating to Valentine's military activities in 1861. The Addition of July 2011 consists of a scrapbook of drawings, photographs, and lists of the activities and members of the 18th Army Corps, Department of North Carolina, compiled for General Charles Adam Heckman on his 70th birthday in 1892 by Herbert E. Valentine. |
Creator | Valentine, Herbert E. (Herbert Eugene), b. 1841. |
Curatorial Unit | University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Library. Southern Historical Collection. |
Language | English |
Processed by: William Thomas Auman and Roslyn Holdzkom, 1995.
Encoded by: Eben Lehman, April 2006.
Updated by: Kathryn Michaelis, February 2010.
Updated by: Matt Dailey, January 2012.
Updated by: Laura Hart, December 2017.
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.
Herbert Eugene Valentine, born in South Danvers (now Peabody) Massachusetts, on 18 January 1841, was the son of Elmer and Mary C. (Walker) Valentine. His father was a schoolmaster. The family moved to Salem where Valentine graduated from the Browne School and the old English High School. He worked for D.W. Bowdoin, a photographer, after graduating from high school.
Valentine enlisted in the United States Army on 5 October 1861, at Salem. On 18 October 1861, he was mustered into Company F, 23rd Regiment, Massachusetts Volunteers at Lynfield. Valentine served as a clerk and occasionally drew military maps. His artwork presumably was not produced for official purposes.
Valentine first was sent to Annapolis, Md., and from there he was shipped to the coast of North Carolina, where he took part in the expedition against Roanoke Island. Valentine then was involved in the New Bern campaign and experienced combat in small battles at Whitehall, Kinston, and Southwest Creek, N.C.
By August 1863, Valentine was stationed in New Bern, N.C., where he served as a clerk in General Heckman's First Division Headquarters. Valentine also served briefly at nearby Morehead City, Carolina City, and Beaufort. At some point before 1864, his regiment was at Hilton Head and Saint Helena Island, S.C., and then returned to New Bern.
In September 1863, Valentine went home to Salem on furlough, visiting Jersey City, New York City, and Boston on the way. On his return to duty, he was sent to Newport News, Va., where the 23d Massachusetts had been transferred in his absence. In January 1864, Valentine was serving at Getty's Station near Portsmouth. In May 1864, Valentine's regiment sailed up the James River to City Point and took part in the siege of Petersburg.
Valentine did not re enlist at the expiration of his service and was discharged from the army on 16 October 1864.
Available details of the remainder of Valentine's life are sketchy. He married, had one son and one daughter, and spent the remainder of his life in West Somerville, Mass., occupation unknown, where he died on 17 June 1917. Valentine was active in veterans organizations, and in 1896 he published Story of Company F, 23d Massachusetts Volunteers in the War For The Union 1861-1865.
Back to TopThe collection includes a diary, pencil, and watercolor sketches, correspondence, newspaper clippings, and maps, all contained in two manuscript volumes of Herbert E. Valentine, a soldier in the United States Army serving from 1861 to 1864 in eastern Virginia, North Carolina, and South Carolina. Herbert E. Valentine's diary discusses the subjects of many of his sketches. It also comments on church services, blacks he encountered, daily life among officers and enlisted men, Confederate deserters, life in Norfolk, Va., the career of General Charles Adam Heckman, and other matters. There are 184 sketches picturing towns, buildings, ships, bridges, fortifications, and everyday life at military bases. Locations with numerous sketches include Beaufort, N.C., Morehead City, N.C., and New Bern, N.C., and Hilton Head, S.C., and Saint Helena Island, S.C. Seven color maps pertain to the operations of the 23rd Massachusetts Regiment in eastern North Carolina and Virginia. Correspondence consists of four letters relating to Herbert E. Valentine's military activities in 1861.
The Addition of July 2011 consists of a scrapbook of drawings, photographs, and lists of the activities and members of the 18th Army Corps, Department of North Carolina, compiled for General Charles Adam Heckman on his 70th birthday in 1892 by Herbert E. Valentine. The scrapbook spans the years 1862-1864 and includes an itinerary of battles and events; sketches of headquarters and encampments; lists of clerks, orderlies and soldiers; a small photograph of Valentine; a photograph of soldiers in Morehead City, N.C., 1863; and a photograph of the clerks of headquarters, Red Star Brigade, New Bern, N.C., 1863.
Back to TopMilitary Orders, Reports, Etc. : There are about 60 items in this category, 1862 1864, with one item from 1892. Valentine collected these items when he served as a clerk in the headquarters of Heckman's Division of the 18th Army Corps in coastal North Carolina, South Carolina, and Virginia, from 1862 to 1864. These include copies of general orders (printed and written), rosters, circulars, statistics, accounts, casualty lists, passes, and reports by southern Unionists and refugees about living conditions within Confederate lines and about the design and strength of Confederate fortifications around Wilmington, North Carolina. The military correspondence is located on the following pages: 4 8, 10 18, 20 25, 28, 33 34, 45, 61, and 72.
Newspaper Clippings: There are about 18 newspaper clippings, mostly dating from the war years, but a few from the 1890s. The clippings include obituaries, poems, copies of military orders, accounts of battles (mostly in North Carolina and Virginia), accounts of reunions of veterans (mainly in the 1890s), articles detailing the military operations of the 23d Massachusetts regiment, and pictures of Union generals. The newspaper clippings are located on the following pages: 4 6, 10, 14 17, 21, 23 28, and 30 32.
Maps: There are seven maps, all in color. Six of these were drawn by Valentine, and all pertain to the operations of the 23d Massachusetts Regiment in eastern North Carolina and Virginia. They are as follows:
Page 3 | Map of the Seat of War in Virginia, published by C. Bohn, Washington, D.C., 1862 |
Page 9 | Map of the area in eastern North Carolina from Morehead City in the north to Swansboro in the south and including Bogue Sound, White Oak River, Cedar Point Landing, Carolina City, and Havelock Railroad, showing the positions of Union cavalry and infantry pickets, circa 1862-1863. |
Page 13 | Siege of Suffolk, showing Union and Confederate positions, 31 May 1864. |
Page 17 | Wilmington [North Carolina] Approaches 1863. This map locates Fort Fisher, Fort Caswell, Wilmington, Masonboro, Confederate gun emplacements and ship obstructions along the Cape Fear River, and railroads. |
Page 21 | Near Petersburg, Va., 11 July 1864. Locates Union and Confederate troop positions on opposite sides of the Appomattox River near Petersburg. |
Page 22 | Line of Works Occupied by 1st Division 18 Corps Before Petersburg, Va., 5 August 1864. Shows Appomattox River and Confederate and Union lines. |
Page 81 | Plan of Headquarters Heckman's Division at Getty's Station, Va., circa 1864. |
Sketches: There are about 184 sketches by Valentine of buildings, ships, bridges, fortifications, and everyday life at military bases. Valentine made birds eye view sketches of the towns in which he was stationed, as well as sketches of their principal buildings such as hospitals, churches, warehouses, and private residences that served as military command headquarters and as officers' quarters. Sketches appear on the following pages.
Page 38 | Annapolis: View from Naval Building |
Page 53 | Amory, Col.: Headquarters |
Page 53 | Appomattox River: View |
Page 76 | Appomattox River: Sharpshooter |
Page 76 | Appomattox River: Pontoon |
Page 50 | Allison: Steamer |
Page 75,76 | Bivouac |
Page 71 | Broken Bridge: Over Broad Creek |
Page 65 | Brant Island Light Ship |
Page 65 | Borden Banks |
Page 40 | Bloody Run |
Page 43 | Battery: 4 guns |
Page 44 | Bridge: Railroad to Goldsboro |
Page 46,50 | Bridge: Over Trent River |
Page 53,80 | Bridge between Newburne and C. City |
Page 54 | Bloody Corner: Post 5 |
Page 53 | Blockhouses: Bogue Sound |
Page 61 | Blockhouses: Near Newberne |
Page 61 | Blockhouses: Havelock Station |
Page 71 | Beaufort: View from |
Page 68 | Beaufort: Channel to |
Page 72 | Beaufort: Harbor |
Page 74 | Beaufort: Fleet Sailing from |
Page 64 | Beaufort: Storm |
Page 62 | Beaufort: Office |
Page 62 | Beaufort: Stable |
Page 68 | Beaufort: Hotel |
Page 19 | Camps: 23rd Massachusetts Lynfield |
Page 58 | Camps: Saint Helena (23d) |
Page 33 | Camps: Newberne: Barracks, 23rd |
Page 54 | Camps: Stockaded Camp Company F |
Page 52 | Camps: Fort Yorktown |
Page 64 | Camps: Of Section Men |
Page 37 | Camps: 21st Massachusetts Roanoke |
Page 38 | Camps: Tent Company F at Annapolis |
Page 44 | Camps: Quarters Company F Newberne |
Page 81 | Corn Mill |
Page 67 | Convoy S.S. |
Page 75 | Champion S.S. |
Page 53 | Chapel Fort Monroe |
Page 51 | Commissary Stores (unloading) |
Page 35 | Candle stick |
Page 35 | Catawba S.S. (Beaufort) |
Page 41 | Capsize in Neuse River |
Page 57 | Commissary quarters (Saint Helena) |
Page 65 | Cotton storage |
Page 63 | Carolina City |
Page 60 | Carolina City: Barn |
Page 60 | Carolina City: View Fort Macon |
Page 79 | Distribution Camp: Waiting |
Page 81 | Distribution Camp: Cookhouse |
Page 65 | Davis, L.: Sketch |
Page 43 | Floating battery |
Page 48 | Foster, General J.G.: Headquarters |
Page 43 | Guns at Fort Macon |
Page 42 | Goodrich, Captain: Quarters |
Page 51 | Goldsboro March: Road and Curious Tree |
Page 62 | Hilton Head: Creek |
Page 73 | Hilton Head: Pier |
Page 74 | Hilton Head: Fort: Interior and Exterior |
Page 36 | Hilton Head: Hotel |
Page 54,73 | Hilton Head: United States General Hospital |
Page 36 | Hilton Head: Post Office |
Page 62 | Hilton Head: Signal Station |
Page 54 | Hilton Head: Fort walls |
Page 65 | Hatteras from Vidette |
Page 79 | Hampton: Bridge at |
Page 33 | Heckman: John |
Page 35 | Hatteras Church |
Page 39 | Highlander |
Page 48 | Hospitals: Academy Green: Newberne |
Page 73,54 | Hospitals: United States General: Hilton Head |
Page 79 | Hospitals: Hampton General |
Page 46 | Hospitals: 24th Regiment: Newberne |
Page 47 | Hospitals: 23rd Regiment: Newberne |
Page 64 | Hospitals: General: Beaufort |
Page 32 | Heckman General Headquarters: Newport News |
Page 34 | Heckman General Headquarters: Gettys Station |
Page 52 | Heckman General Headquarters: Carolina City Yorktown |
Page 56,73 | Heckman General Headquarters: Saint Helena Island |
Page 57 | Heckman General Headquarters: Saint Helena Island: Bird's eye view |
Page 58 | Heckman General Headquarters: Beaufort, N.C.: Rear view |
Page 59 | Heckman General Headquarters: Newburn |
Page 64 | Heckman General Headquarters: Hilton Head |
Page 66 | Heckman General Headquarters: Morehead |
Page 80 | Heckman General Headquarters: Gettys Station: Plan |
Page 79 | Hopkins, H. W.: Sketch |
Page 74 | Ironsides: New |
Page 63 | Kinsley, Frank: Poking crabs in Calico Creek |
Page 44 | Lancer S.S. |
Page 51 | Light on the Subject |
Page 29 | Louisiana and tug alert |
Page 80 | Monitor |
Page 52 | Macon: Largest gun at |
Page 75 | Macon Fort |
Page 79,80 | Muir, Jno.: Sketches |
Page 64 | Morehead: Ruins of Bath Houses |
Page 61 | Morehead: Commissary Dept. |
Page 61 | Morehead: Clerks Dwelling House |
Page 64 | Morehead: Graves of Soldiers |
Page 61,63 | Morehead: Hotel |
Page 69 | Morehead: Headquarters Guard Tent |
Page 52 | Morehead: A.A.G. Office |
Page 53,62 | Morehead: Depot |
Page 55 | Morehead: Bird's Eye View |
Page 60 | Morehead: Stoop and Little Red House |
Page 63,67 | Morehead: View from Office Window |
Page 68 | Morehead: Little House on Railroad |
Page 81 | Morehead: Captain Abel's Office |
Page 69 | Morehead: Pro. Marshall's Office |
Page 54 | Morehead: Windmill |
Page 69 | Morehead: Wharf |
Page 40 | Newberne: Batteries and Blockade |
Page 47 | Newberne: Neuse River View |
Page 66 | Newberne: View of City |
Page 53 | Newberne: Burnt District |
Page 49 | Newberne: Engine House |
Page 47 | Newberne: Guard House 3rd District |
Page 46 | Newberne: House opposite Bridge Guard Tent |
Page 46 | Newberne: House near which Sentry was fired on |
Page 71 | Newberne: Jail for Secesh |
Page 33 | Newberne: Ordinance Store |
Page 35 | Newberne: View from Observatory |
Page 51 | Newberne: Observatory: 3rd District |
Page 70 | Newberne: House on Pollock Street |
Page 34,51 | Newberne: Pro. Marshall's Office |
Page 50 | Newberne: Picket Post |
Page 53 | Newberne: Pump: 1st District |
Page 46 | Newberne: Quartermaster's Office |
Page 44 | Newberne: Railroad Depot |
Page 45 | Newberne: Room of H.E.V's Squad: Pollock Street |
Page 45 | Newberne: Sergeant's Room |
Page 60 | Newberne: Railroad view from Wood Wharf |
Page 43,47 | Newberne: Shipyard |
Page 49 | Newberne: Fort Totten |
Page 50 | Newberne: View of 3rd District |
Page 43 | Newberne: Vessels in River |
Page 34 | Newberne: Wharf |
Page 60 | Newberne: Wood Wharf |
Page 49 | Newberne: View from Windmill |
Page 46 | Newberne: Stable Gaston House |
Page 48 | Newberne: Sketch from 3rd District Guard House |
Page 56 | Newberne: Saw Mill |
Page 80 | Newberne: Governor Stanley's Residence |
Page 50 | Newberne: View from Post 21 |
Page 29 | Newberne: Cedar Gove Cemetary |
Page 57 | North Edisto River Rockville, S.C. |
Page 61 | North Edisto River Sunset |
Page 72 | North Edisto River and fleet |
Page 79 | Newsdealer |
Page 68 | Oak Trees: With moss |
Page 66 | Pickett: Widow's house |
Page 34 | Pillow fight |
Page 36 | Princess Royal S.S. |
Page 38 | Pickett S.S. |
Page 50 | Picket Post |
Page 42 | Pioneer S.S. |
Page 48 | Pendleton: Near Camp |
Page 28,56 | Port Royal Harbor |
Page 76 | Petersburg: Sharpshooter |
Page 76 | Petersburg: Pontoon over Appomattox |
Page 77,78 | Petersburg: Headquarters 1st Division 18th A.C. |
Page 77 | Petersburg: Headquarters 1st Brigade 1st Division |
Page 76 | Petersburg: Replying to the Rebel Batteries |
Page 77 | Petersburg: Freshet |
Page 77 | Petersburg: Bridge over railroad |
Page 80 | Petersburg: Office A.A.G and Post Office |
Page 67,76 | Petersburg: Field Office 18th A.C. |
Page 37 | Petersburg: Interior of Tent: 1st Division Headquarters |
Page 78 | Petersburg: Wagon Park: 1st Brigade: 2nd Division |
Page 37 | Roanoke Island: Bombardment) |
Page 42 | Ranger S.S. |
Page 43 | Raft Breaking Up |
Page 51 | Reno Fort |
Page 57 | Rockville, S.C. |
Page 75 | Russian Fleet: Last of the |
Page 35,63 | Saint Helena Island: General Ledlie's Headquarters |
Page 55,56,74 | Saint Helena Island: Landing at |
Page 56 | Saint Helena Island: Provost Guard Quarters |
Page 57 | Saint Helena Island: Signal Corps Quarters |
Page 44 | Stevenson Fort |
Page 40 | Soldiers Grave: Bank of Trent River, N.C. |
Page 58 | Spinola Fort |
Page 62 | South Carolina S.S. |
Page 68 | Seabrook Landing |
Page 81 | Seabrook Landing: Corn mill |
Page 36 | Seabrook Landing: Plantation |
Page 70 | Saunders Plantation |
Page 38 | Spring at Annapolis |
Page 70 | Swansboro, N.C. |
Page 66,68 | Turpentine Distillery |
Page 69 | Target Shooting: Borden Banks |
Page 79 | Tossing in a Blanket |
Page 39 | Tree: Curious: Cars to Philadelphia |
Page 33,37,38,39,41,42 | Vidette S.S. |
Page 39,40 | Vidette S.S.: Passing bridges |
Page 73 | Virginia S.S. |
Page 75 | Virginia Mud: Stuck |
Page 38 | Washing in Road Puddle |
Page 63 | What is it |
Page 65 | Window: L. Davis |
Page 69 | Washerwoman (Our) |
Page 69 | Willis, Elijah |
Page 59,70 | White Oak River: Aground |
Page 59,70 | White Oak River: Waiting for orders |
Page 59,70 | White Oak River: Bell's Plantation |
Page 72 | Winton: Landing |
Page 72 | Winton: River |
Page 73 | Winton: Captured Cotton |
Page 73 | Winton: Guard House for Prisoners |
Folder 1 |
Original volumeAccess Restriction: Original volume is closed. |
Digital Folder DF-4397/1 |
PDF of entire digitized volume; Tifs of each digitized page in the volume |
Reel M-4397/1 |
Microfilm |
The diary is in three parts. The earliest part of the volume is not strictly a diary; it consists of copies of four letters from Valentine to his parents written between 11 and 17 November 1861. In these letters, Valentine described his trip by ship and rail from Lynfield, Massachusetts, to Annapolis, Maryland, where his regiment encamped and joined the Union naval expedition then preparing for an invasion of eastern North Carolina. The remaining two parts of the diary cover Valentine's tour of duty in eastern North Carolina, South Carolina, and Virginia.
During most of his military career, Valentine served as a clerk in division headquarters, with living conditions much better and daily work routine more interesting than the average soldier's. His clerical duties were episodic: when monthly, quarterly, or special reports came due he was very busy for a few days, but, between these periods, Valentine had a great deal of free time to roam about the base and surrounding area and make sketches of anything or anyone that drew his interest. His diary has almost daily entries about the subjects of his sketches. Thus, virtually every sketch in his sketchbook can be dated by diary entries.
Valentine attended the services of various Protestant denominations on which he often commented in his diary. He was an avid singer and apparently had a trained voice. His diary is sprinkled with opinions on the quality of church choirs and of public and private vocal entertainers that he encountered.
There are observations about blacks their music, dancing, singing, looks, behavior, for example; about entertainment, camaraderie, rowdiness, and other aspects of daily life among the officers and enlisted men; about Confederate deserters and Unionist refugees who told of sufferings at the hands of the "rebels" and of living conditions and military defenses behind Confederate lines, especially around Wilmington, North Carolina; and about life in Norfolk, Virginia.
In November 1863, Valentine mentioned seeing Generals Benjamin F. Butler and Ambrose E. Burnside at a Thanksgiving Day celebration. On 16 December 1863, Valentine wrote a description of his role in the battle of White Hall, North Carolina, where he witnessed the almost instant death of two of his friends.
On 11 February 1864, Valentine wrote a six page history of General C.A. Heckman's military career from the day he volunteered in Pennsylvania in 1861 through campaigns in eastern North Carolina, South Carolina, and Virginia. Valentine noted in March 1864 that General Heckman praised a black cavalry regiment as more valuable to him than two white ones and that white soldiers resented it when the black regiment was merged into a formerly all white brigade.
There are no entries between those of 28 May and 4 September. The last entry was made at Hatches Farm near Bermuda Hundred on 9 September 1864 while Valentine's brigade was still engaged in the Petersburg campaign.
The last section of Valentine's diary is devoted to autographs (approximately 60 leaves), mostly by junior officers and enlisted men. The hometown of many autographers was noted, and in four instances, a small photograph of the subject was pasted above the name. One of the autographs was by Henry Clay; it was "taken from a house near Drury's Bluff Va, May 15, 1864."
Folder 2 |
Original volumeAccess Restriction: Original volume is closed. |
Digital Folder DF-4397/2 |
PDF of entire digitized volume; Tifs of each digitized page in the volume |
Reel M-4397/1 |
Microfilm |
Scrapbook of drawings, photographs, and lists of the activities and members of the 18th Army Corps, Department of North Carolina, compiled for General Charles Adam Heckman on his 70th birthday in 1892 by Herbert E. Valentine. The scrapbook spans the years 1862-1864 and includes an itinerary of battles and events; sketches of headquarters and encampments; lists of clerks, orderlies and soldiers; a small photograph of Valentine; a photograph of soldiers in Morehead City, N.C., 1863; and a photograph of the clerks of headquarters, Red Star Brigade, New Bern, N.C., 1863.
Folder 3 |
Original volume |