CARLI Digital Collections Featured Image: 1863 October 13

In this diary entry, William Townsend writes: “To Day is my Birthday am 24 Yrs old Rained all night last night all day to day - very unpleasant can not keep Dry in our Dog tents.” The date at the head of the page is Tuesday, October 13, 1863.

Townsend was a soldier in the 42nd Illinois Infantry (though he resided in Niles, Michigan, at the time of his enlistment) during the U.S. Civil War, and was promoted to the rank of Captain during his service. He kept a diary from April 11, 1863 to February 2, 1864. The diary—consisting of pre-printed almanac pages, notes, financial logs, and 322 pages of diary content, written in both ink and pencil—can be viewed in its entirety, along with transcriptions, in this digital collection.

Townsend’s diary describes camp life, battles, furlough and leisure activities, and civilian interaction during the war. Entries contain references to the Confederate general James Longstreet and to Union generals including Philip Henry Sheridan, Gilbert M. Johnson, Ambrose Everett Burnside, William S. Rosecrans, Edward S. Bragg, Joseph Hooker, William T. Sherman, and Ulysses S. Grant.

The diary also includes a postscript written by Townsend in 1885, in which he reflects on the war and his life. Townsend died on February 23, 1906, in Oak Park, Illinois. Dr. Richard L. Millett, Professor Emeritus in the department of Historical Studies at SIUE, donated the use of this diary to Lovejoy Library in 2007. The diary was scanned and transcribed by Cary Harvengt.

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