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Collection Number: 04667-z

Collection Title: Henry A. Birdsall Diary, 1865

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.

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Size (circa 90 p.). feet of linear shelf space (approximately 1 volume items)
Abstract Diary, photocopy, circa 90 p., of Henry A. Birdsall with the 11th Michigan Cavalry Regiment chiefly in Virginia and western North Carolina. Birdsall wrote almost daily entries from 1 January 1865, when he was stationed near Lexington, Va., until 29 July 1865, when he was on his way home, having been discharged on 19 July. Entries average a few sentences in length and discuss Birdsall's work with muster rolls and payrolls, troop movements, and general military life. Entries beginning in March 1865 describe the 11th Michigan Cavalry's journey through western North Carolina and include detials of several skirmishes with remnants of Confederate troops. On 24 April 1865, Birdsall noted the assassination of Abraham Lincoln, which "..caused considerable excitement among the soldiers. They feel more like fighting than ever." Also included are a few pages listing expenditures and letters written and some pages of miscellaneous scribblings, including a "Love Letter" and a poem entitled "Woman."
Creator Birdsall, Henry A.
Curatorial Unit University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Library. Southern Historical Collection.
Language English
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Restrictions to Access
No restrictions. Open for research.
Copyright Notice
Copyright is retained by the authors of items in these papers, or their descendants, as stipulated by United States copyright law.
Preferred Citation
[Identification of item], in the Henry A. Birdsall Diary #4667-z, Southern Historical Collection, Wilson Special Collections Library, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Acquisitions Information
Lent by Stephen Birdsall of Chapel Hill, N.C., in June 1993 (Acc. 93093).
Sensitive Materials Statement
Manuscript collections and archival records may contain materials with sensitive or confidential information that is protected under federal or state right to privacy laws and regulations, the North Carolina Public Records Act (N.C.G.S. § 132 1 et seq.), and Article 7 of the North Carolina State Personnel Act (Privacy of State Employee Personnel Records, N.C.G.S. § 126-22 et seq.). Researchers are advised that the disclosure of certain information pertaining to identifiable living individuals represented in this collection without the consent of those individuals may have legal ramifications (e.g., a cause of action under common law for invasion of privacy may arise if facts concerning an individual's private life are published that would be deemed highly offensive to a reasonable person) for which the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill assumes no responsibility.
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Processed by: Roslyn Holdzkom, August 1993

Encoded by: ByteManagers Inc., 2008

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The 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.

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Diary, photocopy, circa 90 p., of Henry A. Birdsall with the 11th Michigan Cavalry Regiment chiefly in Virginia and western North Carolina. Birdsall wrote almost daily entries from 1 January 1865, when he was stationed near Lexington, Va., until 29 July 1865, when he was on his way home, having been discharged on 19 July. Entries average a few sentences in length and discuss Birdsall's work with muster rolls and payrolls, troop movements, and general military life. Entries beginning in March 1865 describe the 11th Michigan Cavalry's journey through western North Carolina and include details of several skirmishes with remnants of Confederate troops. On 24 April 1865, Birdsall noted the assassination of Abraham Lincoln, which "..caused considerable excitement among the soldiers. They feel more like fighting than ever." Also included are a few pages listing expenditures and letters written and some pages of miscellaneous scribblings, including a "Love Letter" and a poem entitled "Woman."

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Contents list

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Folder 1

Diary

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