Indiana Historical Society - Manuscripts & Archives
User Information
Historical and Biographical Sketch
Scope and Content Note
Cataloguing Information
Processed by
Chris Harter
21 February 1997
VOLUME OF COLLECTION: 1 item
COLLECTION DATES: 1861-1862
PROVENANCE: C. Wesley Cowan, Terrace Park, OH
RESTRICTIONS: None
COPYRIGHT: Permission to reproduce or publish material in this collection must be obtained in writing from the Indiana Historical Society.
ALTERNATE FORMATS: None
RELATED HOLDINGS: The Civil War Diary of Asberry C. Stephen (pam.q E612.A5 S85 1973); The Civil War Diary of Thomas White Stephens (E601.S85 1985); The Civil War Journal of Billy Davis (E506.5 7th .D29 1989)
ACCESSION NUMBER: 1996.0453
NOTES:
James M. Little (fl. 1842-1893) was a soldier in the 39th Indiana Infantry Regiment, Company B, during the Civil War. He served from August 1861 until he was mustered out in September 1864 as a corporal. According to the Portrait and Biographical Record of Madison and Hamilton Counties, he and his wife, Martha H. (Neal), resided on a farm near Greenwood, Indiana. The History of Hamilton County, Indiana lists him as working at an insurance company and living in Cicero, Indiana. In 1880, he was the president of the Free and Accepted Masons, Cicero Lodge, No. 199.
The 39th Indiana Infantry Regiment (Eighth Cavalry) was organized as an infantry regiment at Indianapolis in August 1861. In early September, it left for Kentucky, camping at Mudraugh's Hill, Camp Devin, and Camp Wood. The regiment moved into Tennessee, and was engaged in the battle of Shiloh on April 6-7, 1862. After Shiloh, it marched toward Corinth, Mississippi, and participated in the siege there. The 39th Indiana fought many skirmishes throughout Kentucky and Tennessee. In October 1863, the regiment was re-organized as the Eighth Cavalry. Afterwards, it took part in campaigns in Georgia and the Carolinas until being mustered out in July of 1865.
Sources: History of Hamilton County, Indiana. p. 67, 124, 128, 148.
Portrait and Biographical Record of Madison and Hamilton Counties. p. 817.
Terrell, W. H. H. Report of the Adjutant General of the State of Indiana. vol. 2. p. 390-391; vol. 5. p. 226.
This collection consists of the Civil War diary of James M. Little, a soldier in the 39th Indiana Infantry Regiment. The diary covers the period of August 27, 1861 to April 28, 1862. It records the activities of Little and the 39th Indiana from the mustering of the regiment to just before its march to Corinth, Mississippi. Included are Little's account of the Battle of Shiloh (April 6 and 7, 1862) and drawings of the Union defenses at Bowling Green, Kentucky.
A typescript of the diary is included. The first page of the transcript incorrectly states that the Battle of Shiloh occured on August 6 and 7, 1862.
MAIN ENTRY: Little, James M., fl. 1842-1862
SUBJECT ENTRIES: Little, James M., fl. 1842-1862--Diaries
United States. Army. Indiana Infantry Regiment, 39th (1861-1863)
Soldiers--Indiana--Hamilton County--Diaries
Shiloh, Battle of, 1862
Indiana--History--Civil War, 1861-1865
END