Conditions Governing Reproduction and Use

Copyright is maintained by Randal Huddle. Except for reasons of personal and research use, reproductions cannot be made without the permission of Randal Huddle. Contact Special Collections and University Archives for additional information.

Conditions Governing Access

The collection is open for research.

Preferred Citation

Researchers wishing to cite this collection should include the following information: [identification of item], [box], [folder], Benjamin Huddle Diary, Ms1985-015, Special Collections and University Archives, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, Va.

Source of Acquisition

The photocopy of the Benjamin Huddle Diary was acquired by Special Collection in or prior to 1985. The transcript was donated in 2011.

Processing Information

The processing, arrangement, and description of the Benjamin Huddle Diary was completed in 1985. An addition was integrated in May 2011. Additional description was completed in January 2024.

Biographical Note

Benjamin Huddle was born September 22, 1840, near Rural Retreat, Virginia. With the beginning of the American Civil War, he enlisted on August 24, 1861, in Abingdon, assigned to Company B of the 29th Virginia Infantry, Confederate Army. He was first wounded in action on January 10, 1862, at Middle Creek, Kentucky, where he was shot through the hip. He returned to the 29th Virginia, which was involved in smaller campaigns in southern Virginia and eastern North Carolina, but also took part in the latter part of the Overland Campaign and the Siege of Petersburg. Huddle was wounded again in action again on March 31, 1865, at Five Forks, where he was shot in the arm. He was brought to a hospital in Farmville, Virginia, where his arm was amputated. Paroled, Huddle operated a general store in Wytheville for several years afterward, and taught. He married on March 24, 1872, and they had six children. He died November 29, 1916.

Randal Huddle of Rural Retreat, Virginia, is a descendent of Benjamin Huddle.

James F. Wilson is a descendant of Benjamin Huddle's sister Missouri Huddle Wilson.

Scope and Content

The Benjamin Huddle Diary consists of an undated photocopy of diary entries from 1861-1865 and a transcript of the diary created in 1987. Transcriber Randal Huddle, a descendent of Benjamin Huddle, provides an introduction, including basic facts and a small guide to the transcription. Following that is 17 pages of diary writing. Pages 18-22 are a transcription of Benjamin Huddle's account book, showing pay and goods paid for. Pages 22-29 feature a rough timeline of Benjamin Huddle's travels, as indicated by date and number of Sundays in Confederate service. Several more pages are a transcription of Benjamin Huddle's rough copy of his diary account into a later account book. There is also a 2006 inscription in the transcript by James F. Wilson about his relationship to Huddle.

Related Material

In the Rare Books Collection is a book about Thomas O. Wilson, Benjamin Huddle's brother-in-law:

Wilson, Thomas O.; ed. by James F. Wilson. Letters of a Confederate private : Thomas O. Wilson, Company F, 51st Virginia Infantry, Whorton's [sic] Brigade / edited by James F. Wilson. Blacksburg, Va. : J.F. Wilson, [2004]. (call number Spec Civil War E581.5 51st .W53 2004)

Subjects and Indexing Terms

• Civil War
• Diaries
• Huddle, Benjamin, 1840-1916
• Local/Regional History and Appalachian South
• United States -- History -- Civil War, 1861-1865
• United States -- History -- Civil War, 1861-1865 -- Diaries

Rights Statement for Archival Description

The guide to the Benjamin Huddle Diary by Special Collections and University Archives, Virginia Tech, is licensed under a CC0 ( https://creativecommons.org/share-your-work/public-domain/cc0/ ).