Dates

• Majority of material found within 1861 - 1865

Extent

6 boxes Linear Feet (Young men from Pennsylvania who served in the American Civil War from 1861 to 1865 kept diaries and sent correspondence providing a view of military life, love of family, and general concerns for their parents, relatives and friends. The style of writing and formality of letters is well-documented in this collection. The Civil War Soldiers Collection is housed in five archival boxes. These papers include photocopies and originals of various letters, diaries, memoirs, and service records of Union Civil War soldiers from Pennsylvania and Ohio. The bulk of the collection was written during the Civil War (1860s), although some of the correspondence begins before this time and continued after the war was over. Most photocopies were made from the holdings of the National Archives in Washington, D.C. The personal items of Jackson S. Stuchal, Company A, 61st Pennsylvania Regiment from Canoe Township in Indiana County, Pennsylvania, were added to the collection in 2007. Items include a manuscript diary from August 21, 1861 to January 17, 1862, two Daguerreotype photographs of Jackson S. Stuchal, a folding fork and spoon, and one piece of fifty cent paper currency from South Carolina dated 1863. The dairy includes entries from training in Camp Curtin, drilling in Washington, D.C., and in Alexandra, Virginia. The majority of material in this collection was instituted as a project conducted by the students of Professor Wayne Smith of the IUP History Department. Letters and diaries are photocopies of original material located in the National Archives and other repositories including the U. S. Army Heritage Center (USAHEC) in Carlisle, Pennsylvania. The files are arranged in alphabetical order, except for materials in Box 5 and 6. The McLain correspondence and Civil War memorabilia in Box 6 was donated by Patricia Klausing Simmons in 2013 (see Manuscript Group 155). The manuscript diary and personal items of Civil War soldier Jackson Stuchal, Company A, 61st Pennsylvania Regiment, from Canoe Township in Indiana County, Pennsylvania were purchased by the IUP Special Collections & University Archives from Charles Apfelbaum Rare Manuscripts & Archives in Watchung, New Jersey on July 1, 2002. )

Language of Materials

English