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 Milner Family Papers, #2420-z, Southern Historical Collection, The Wilson Library, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Alternate Form of Material

Typed transcription of Civil War diary available.

Location of Originals

Originals returned to private owner in 1942

Additional Descriptive Resources

A copy of the original finding aid for this collection is filed in folder 1.

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.

Processed by: SHC Staff

Encoded by: Noah Huffman, December 2007

Updated by: Kathryn Michaelis, February 2011

This collection was processed with support from the sponsorship of a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities, Office of Preservation, Washington, D.C., 1990-1993.

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.

Clicking on a subject heading below will take you into the University Library's online catalog.

• Alabama--Biography.
• Alabama--Social life and customs.
• Autobiographies--Alabama.
• Birmingham (Ala.)--Biography.
• California--Gold discoveries.
• Civil engineers--Southern States--History--19th century.
• Confederate States of America. Army--Military life.
• Confederate States of America. Army--Officers--Correspondence.
• Confederate States of America. Army--Officers--Diaries.
• Confederate States of America. Army. Alabama Infantry Regiment, 33rd.
• Diaries (Blank-books)
• Georgia--Social life and customs.
• Milner family.
• Milner, John Turner, 1826-1898.
• Milner, Willis Julian, 1842-1921.
• Mining engineers--California--History--19th century.
• Railroads--Alabama--History--19th century.
• Railroads--Florida--History--19th century.
• Railroads--Georgia--History--19th century.
• Steel industry and trade--Alabama--History--19th century.
• Surveyors--Southern States--History--19th century.
• United States--History--Civil War, 1861-1865--Personal narratives, Confederate.
• United States--History--Civil War, 1861-1865--Veterans.

The Milner family included Willis Julian Milner (1842-1921), Confederate lieutenant with the 33rd Alabama Regiment and engineer of Birmingham, Ala.

The collection chiefly includes writings and correspondence of Milner, including his autobiography and reminiscences of Confederate battles, life at his homes in Georgia and in Birmingham, Ala., and the building of a railroad, 1854-1860, from Montgomery, Ala., to Pensacola, Fla.; copies of letters to other Confederate veterans discussing the war; postwar speeches; and a short Civil War diary, 1862-1864. Also included is an autobiography of John Turner Milner (1826-1898), surveyor and civil engineer for Florida, Alabama, and Georgia railroads, mining engineer in California during the gold rush, a founder of Birmingham, Ala., and an early steel producer.

• Microfilm (Reels M-2420/1-2)