Special Collections and University Archives, Virginia Tech
Special Collections and University Archives, University Libraries (0434)560 Drillfield Drive
Newman Library, Virginia Tech
Blacksburg, Virginia 24061
Business Number: 540-231-6308
specref@vt.edu
URL: http://spec.lib.vt.edu
Tyler Williams, Student Assistant
Administrative Information
Conditions Governing Reproduction and Use
The copyright status of this collection is unknown. Copyright restrictions may apply. Contact Special Collections and University Archives for assistance in determining the use of these materials.
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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], [folder], David Dobie Diary, 1863, Ms2023-021, Special Collections and University Archives, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, Va.
Source of Acquisition
The David Dobie Diary was purchased by Special Collections and University Archives in April 2017.
Processing Information
The processing, arrangement, and description of the David Dobie Diary was completed in May 2023.
Biographical Note
David F. Dobie was born to David and Eliza Dobie on January 12, 1840, in Huntington, Quebec, in Canada. In 1844, the Dobie family immigrated to the United States, and they settled in Plattsburgh, New York, by 1850. According to the 1860 census, he was studying law.
During the American Civil War, Dobie mustered into the Union Army on August 21, 1862, as a First Lieutenant, and was promoted to the rank of Captain on May 18, 1864. Dobie served with Company H of the 118th New York Infantry. During the war, Dobie served primarily as a court martial judge advocate. Dobie's pension application also notes that he was wounded on September 28, 1864, at Fort Harrison, Virginia.
In 1866, Dobie married Harriet J. "Hattie", and he was working as a lawyer by the 1870 census. He served as Clinton County Treasurer from 1869 to 1881 and Surrogate from 1881 to 1893. He also served as president of the Vilas National Bank of Plattsburg, president of the Clinton County Agricultural Society, and as an alternate delegate to Republican National Convention from New York in 1896. He served as warden of Clinton Prison in Clinton, New York, at the time of his death on October 24, 1900.
Sources:
U.S. Federal Census, 1850-1900
David Fowler Dobie in the New York, U.S., Civil War Muster Roll Abstracts, 1861-1900
"Judge David F. Dobie", Findagrave.com, https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/147471733/david-f.-dobie
"David F. Dobie Dead. Warden of Clinton Prison Succumbs Suddenly to Heart Disease." The New York Times , October 25, 1900, p. 8. https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1900/10/25/102619996.html?pageNumber=8
Lawrence Kestenbaum, "Dobie, David F.", The Political Graveyard, https://politicalgraveyard.com/bio/dixson-doctrine.html#126.87.09
Scope and Content
This collection contains a diary written by Captain David Dobie, an officer in the Union Army during the American Civil War. Dobie's diary primarily discusses life in camp, marches, skirmishes with the Confederate Army, and other aspects of military life during the war. He also discusses his involvement with court-martials, plays that he had seen in the theater, and one instance of an effigy being burned for a Lieutenant who had sold his presentation sword. The end of the diary was also used to track transactions that Dobie had made.
Related Material
See also the Letters of Captain David F. Dobie, Accession #989, at Special Collections, University of Virginia Library, Charlottesville, Va.
Subjects and Indexing Terms
- Civil War
- Diaries
- United States -- History -- Civil War, 1861-1865
- United States -- History -- Civil War, 1861-1865 -- Diaries
Rights Statement for Archival Description
The guide to the David Dobie Diary by Special Collections and University Archives, Virginia Tech, is licensed under a CC0 ( https://creativecommons.org/share-your-work/public-domain/cc0/ ).