Manuscript Database
Creator/Title
Stow family. Added papers, 1853-1893. .33 cu. ft.
Call No.
Mss. A S891a / 8-9
Content
This collection contains diaries, autograph albums, and a commencement oration belonging to members of the Stow family, Methodists and farmers in Switzerland County, Indiana in the 19th century. The 1862 diaries of Viola and Baron Stow document the information the family received by newspapers in the mail about Civil War battles. Viola Stow writes about Fort Donelson in February (when she notes, "Almost daily we hear of Union victories. It certainly can not last much longer"), the Battle of Pittsburgh Landing/Shiloh in April (when she notes, "The bogus Confederacy will soon be ended"), and the Seven Days Battle near Richmond in June and July (8). Baron Stow writes about battles in Missouri in January, Fort Donelson in February, the capture of New Orleans in April, and the Confederate surrender of Natchez and Union takeover of the port at Norfolk and the Confederate destruction of the Merrimack in May. In September, he writes of hearing about the "Garrillas [guerillas] comin over the river." He and 30 others headed to the river with their guns to find out it was a false report, and so Baron "took a good swim" in the river instead (9).