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Collection Number: 05166-z

Collection Title: John W. Finch Diary, 1865

This is a finding aid. It is a description of archival material held in the Wilson Library at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Unless otherwise noted, the materials described below are physically available in our reading room, and not digitally available through the World Wide Web. See the Duplication Policy section for more information.


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Size 1 items
Abstract John W. Finch served with the Union Army during the Civil War. He was enlisted at age 35 in Company C, 22nd Michigan Infantry on 14 March 1865, in his hometown of Burchville, Mich. On 7 April 1865, he joined his regiment in Chattanooga, Tenn. He was transferred to Company C, 29th Michigan Infantry, 26 June 1865. He was honorably discharged 25 August 1865. The collection is a diary, with entries 22 March-30 August 1865, of soldier John W. Finch of Burchville, Mich., serving in the Union Army with the 22nd Michigan Infantry Regiment and the 29th Michigan Infantry Regiment during the Civil War. The diary begins with the day of mustering, 22 March 1865, and ends 30 August 1865, a few days after he was honorably discharged from the army and returned to Michigan. The diary was updated daily with entries varying in length from a few lines to a page. Finch never saw battle, so the entries consist of descriptions of military life in camps. He included many descriptions of meals, medical treatments for various ailments, and prices. The diary is reversed for the last ten pages and includes financial information.
Creator Finch, John W., b. ca. 1829.
Curatorial Unit Southern Historical Collection
Language English
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Restrictions to Access
No restrictions. Open for research.
Copyright Notice
Copyright is retained by the authors of items in these papers, or their descendants, as stipulated by United States copyright law.
Preferred Citation
[Identification of item], in the John W. Finch Diary #5166-z, Southern Historical Collection, Wilson Library, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Acquisitions Information
Purchased from Carmen Valentino of Philadelphia, Pa., in June 2004 (Acc. 99828).
Sensitive Materials Statement
Manuscript collections and archival records may contain materials with sensitive or confidential information that is protected under federal or state right to privacy laws and regulations, the North Carolina Public Records Act (N.C.G.S. § 132 1 et seq.), and Article 7 of the North Carolina State Personnel Act (Privacy of State Employee Personnel Records, N.C.G.S. § 126-22 et seq.). Researchers are advised that the disclosure of certain information pertaining to identifiable living individuals represented in this collection without the consent of those individuals may have legal ramifications (e.g., a cause of action under common law for invasion of privacy may arise if facts concerning an individual's private life are published that would be deemed highly offensive to a reasonable person) for which the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill assumes no responsibility.
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Processed by: Nathalie Wheaton, September 2004

Encoded by: Nathalie Wheaton, September 2004

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The following terms from Library of Congress Subject Headings suggest topics, persons, geography, etc. interspersed through the entire collection; the terms do not usually represent discrete and easily identifiable portions of the collection--such as folders or items.

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John W. Finch served with the Union Army during the Civil War. He was enlisted at age 35 in Company C, 22nd Michigan Infantry on 14 March 1865, in his hometown of Burchville, Mich. On 7 April 1865, he joined his regiment in Chattanooga, Tenn. He was transferred to Company C, 29th Michigan Infantry, 26 June 1865. He was honorably discharged 25 August 1865.

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The collection is a diary, with entries 22 March-30 August 1865, of soldier John W. Finch of Burchville, Mich., serving in the Union Army with the 22nd Michigan Infantry Regiment and the 29th Michigan Infantry Regiment during the Civil War. The diary begins with the day of mustering, 22 March 1865, and ends 30 August 1865, a few days after he was honorably discharged from the army and returned to Michigan. The diary was updated daily with entries varying in length from a few lines to a page. Finch never saw battle, so the entries consist of descriptions of military life in camps. He included many descriptions of meals, medical treatments for various ailments, and prices. The diary is reversed for the last ten pages and includes financial information.

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Contents list

expand/collapse Expand/collapse Diary, 22 March-30 August 1865.

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