Main content

Isaac Plumb, Jr. Family Papers, 1859-1864 (bulk) 1767-1929 (inclusive)

Extent:

8 boxes and 3.0 linear feet

Abstract:

Captain Isaac Plumb, Jr. (1842-1866) served in Company A of the 61st New York Infantry of the Union Army during the Civil War from his enlistment in the fall of 1861 until his death at the Battle of Cold Harbor in 1864, and saw action at Fair Oaks, the Seven Days Battle, Antietam, Fredericksburg, Chancellorsville, Gettysburg, the Wilderness, and Cold Harbor. During his experience as a Union soldier, Plumb's attitudes towards politics, the War, the North and South, and slavery underwent enormous transformations, from wild patriotism, to bitterness, and finally to a more realistic patriotism. This collection documents the Civil War from the soldier's perspective as well as the home front, detailing the day-to-day life of a Union soldier, with vivid descriptions of camp life, marches, battles, aftermath of battles, upheaval of the ranks, morale issues, and disillusionment; and from the perspective of family and friends not involved in the fighting, but actively offering opinions of...(see more)

Held at: Princeton University Library: Manuscripts Division [Contact Us]