Manuscript Database
Creator/Title
McPherson, John H., 1840-1926. Diary, 31 October 1861-7 October 1862. 1 volume.
Call No.
Mss. A M172 vault
Content
A 1920 copy of the Civil War diary of Union soldier John H. McPherson, a private in Company C, 74th Ohio Infantry. A native of Xenia, Ohio, McPherson's diary covers his recruitment and training in Ohio during the winter of 1861, as well as his service in Tennessee during the spring-fall of 1862. McPherson describes joining the army and his subsequent service at Camp Lowe, near Xenia, Ohio. His entries include descriptions of training and camp conditions, disciplinary action taken against unruly recruits, as well as visits by locals who bring food for the soldiers. In late April 1862, McPherson describes travel by steamboat down the Ohio and Cumberland rivers to Nashville. Entries from late April through October concern McPherson's service in Nashville, Lebanon, and Franklin, Tennessee. McPherson writes about guard duty in Nashville; duty in Franklin guarding railroads and bridges; skirmishing with guerrillas; and foraging for food, including ration shortages in the area when the railroad connection to Louisville is lost. McPherson records rumors he hears about the progress of the war in the East, as well as reports of Confederate forces moving through Kentucky to threaten Cincinnati in September 1862. (The diary containing entries from 21 Feb. 1862 to 17 April 1862, which detail McPherson's service at Camp Chase, Ohio was lost.)