War Diaries (May 9) (nonfiction)
War Diary quotations for May 9.
Previous: May 8 - Next: May 10
Diaries
William Pitt Chambers: May 9, 1865
I am a soldier no longer.
William Pitt Chambers, son of John and Mercer Welch Chambers, was born in Covington County, Mississippi, on December 14, 1839. Prior to the Civil War, he was a school teacher. On March 26, 1862, Chambers left his home as a member of the "Covington Rebels," a company of infantry under the command of T.D. Magee. He was part of the 6th Mississippi Infantry (Balfour's Battalion) in April 1862 but after October 1862 became Company "B," 46th Mississippi Infantry.
The diary itself is preceded by a preface written by Ruth Polk, presumably the editor of the diary, and a brief biographical sketch of William Pitt Chambers. Chambers himself wrote an introduction reviewing the military units in which he had served and a preface in which he explained that at the surrender of the Confederate armies in 1865, he had several hundred pages of notes written daily during his military service. In 1891 he revised these original notes to form the existing personal narrative which he entitled "My Journal."
Chambers' narrative, which is referred to here as a diary, is remarkable in its detailed account of Civil War experiences. Its language is clear and precise, its commentary thorough. The author rarely, if ever, neglects to mention names and places involved. Therefore, the diary gives an in-depth look into Mississippi war-time experiences from Shiloh through the siege of Vicksburg to the surrender at Citronelle, Alabama.
- [1] @ lib.usm.edu
In the News
Fiction cross-reference
Nonfiction cross-reference
External links
- Chambers (William Pitt) Diary @ lib.usm.edu