Administrative Information

Access Restrictions

Collection is open to research.

Use Restrictions

Permission to publish material from the Herbert Deuel Civil War Collection must be obtained from Special Collections, Virginia Tech.

Preferred Citation

Researchers wishing to cite this collection should include the following information: Herbert Deuel Civil War Collection, 1864-1866, n.d., Ms1999-004 - Special Collections, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Blacksburg, Va.

Acquisition Information

The Herbert Deuel Civil War Collection was donated to Special Collections in 1999.

Processing Information

The processing, arrangement, and description of the Herbert Deuel Civil War Collection commenced and was completed in 1999. Additional description was completed in April 2009.

Biographical Information

Herbert Deuel served with the 17 th Regiment ("Stonewall Regiment"), Michigan Infantry. After "a ball plunked [him] on the head and shoulders" in May of 1864 during skirmishes at the Battle of Spottsylvania, he was sent to a hospital in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, for treatment. Following a furlough, he seems to have returned to the hospital and was given clerk's job, on account of his ability to write. Although he cites several instances where he thought he would return to his regiment, he never did. He worked at the Citizen's Hospital in Philadelphia for almost year. The hospital closed to patients in May of 1865, but Deuel's work continued until his discharge on August 9, 1865. He did not return to return to Michigan before January 1866 (when his second diary ceases) and after that time, no further information is available on him.

Scope and Content

The Herbert Deuel Civil War Collections contains two of Deuel's Civil War diaries (1864-1866), artifacts from battlefield sites including Bull Run and Petersburg, and printed ephemera.

The diaries in this collection begin an unknown amount of time after Deuel has been with the 17 th Regiment, Michigan Infantry. On several occasions, he notes a date as the anniversary of an event and it seems he was with the regiment at least as early as 1863. The first diary (March-November 1864) provides some detail of his experiences surrounding the Battles of the Wilderness and Spottsylvania. It was during the latter he was wounded. The remainder of the first diary details Deuel's experiences in the hospital, on furlough in Michigan, and his return to Philadelphia. The last pages contain plant pressings from several battlefield sites. From this point on, there is no further mention of the war, except for occasional news items (the fall of Richmond and Lincoln's assassination, for example). Instead, the second diary (November 1864-January 1866) describes Deuel's day-to-day life as a clerk in the hospital, his religious activities (attending church and bible classes), and who he visited.

Artifacts in this collection include used and unused bullets, one of which is marked "Union bullet Bull Run, Va 1864"; arrowheads; several buttons; and a leather pouch. The collection also contains a small drawing of Stirling Castle in Scotland, and remnants of a flag labeled "Piece of Rebel Genl. Malone's (most likely Mahone) Division Flag Petersburg, Va 1865."

The small group of printed ephemera contains a news-clipping about the removal of Confederate prisoners from Washington, DC; "The Soldiers' Guide to Philadelphia"; a poem, "Hand in Hand with Angels"; and two passes allowing Deuel to be absent from St. Mary's hospital in Detroit (1864).

Arrangement

The collection is arranged by type of material. The contents of the collection are in envelopes or mylar sleeves in an artifact box.

Index Terms

Subjects:

• Civil War
• United States--History--Civil War, 1861-1865