Irish, Calvin A., b. ca.1830

Journal, 1865 January 1-December 31
170 pp.

Irish, Calvin A., b. ca.1830
Rank:	Private
Regiment:	1st Vermont Cavalry Regiment. Co. M (1861-1865)
Service:	1862 August 16-1865 August 9

Background note:

Calvin Irish, a 32 year old resident of Burlington, Vermont, joined Co. M of the 1st Vermont Cavalry in 1862, serving as a private in that regiment until the end of the war. The 1st Vermont formed part of the Cavalry Corps of the Army of the Potomac under the command of Sheridan (and Custer) in 1865. Irish records remarkably little of his experiences, although he did participate in Sheridan's operations in the Shenandoah Valley in March, 1865, and at the Battle of Waynesborough, which he summed up as: "Started 6 o clock, marched Staunton to Wainsboro has a little fight capt 15 hun prisoners 15 cannon 13 wagons." Irish apparently did not active in the Appomattox Campaign, recording that he was in City Point during the Battle of Five Forks, and in the rear guard during the capture of the Petersburg lines. He remained in Petersburg when Lee surrendered the Army of Northern Virginia, and joined in some fairly minor mopping up operations in the Shenandoah late in April. On May 3rd or 4th, Irish received an emergency furlough to return home to attend to his ailing wife, and he seems never to have returned to the service. Irish received his discharge when the regiment mustered out on August 9th.

Scope and Contents:

Calvin Irish's diary is one of the slimmest of Civil War diaries in the Clements' collections. Covering the last calendar year of the war, Irish writes only the briefest lines for each day, too brief, in fact, to be of general use. While he often records having received news of some major events, such as Lee's surrender, he does so with no additional commentary, and he frequently omits other, equally significant events, such as the assassination of the President. His diary suggests greater concern for the health of his wife than for the progress of the war.

The diary also includes some personal accounts, and, on pages 101-104, Irish wrote out somewhat longer (though still slight) versions of his trip home and of the events of 24th and 25th of April, including Custer's "passing through the entire length of the column amid loud cheering by the third Division." The accession includes an 1885 diary of Albert H. Irish, apparently a relative of Calvin's.

M-2808.1
Cat. 4/92 rsc

Link to subject index to the Calvin A. Irish Journal

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