Skip to main content

Joseph S. Huhn Diary

 Collection
Identifier: MSS-3217

Scope and Contents

The collection contains the 1865 pocket diary of Joseph S. Huhn, a sergeant of Co. "F" of the Ohio 114th Infantry. Beginning on 1 January in Morganza, Louisiana, Huhn documents his daily activities, including drill, picket duty, review and inspection, and laundry. The first fighting Huhn relates is on 2 April in southern Alabama near the Escambia River (it was during this series of skirmishes that the company learns of the fall of Richmond, Lee's surrender, and Lincoln's assassination). After leaving Alabama, the company moved back and forth across the southern Gulf Coast, from Pensacola, Florida, to Houston, Texas.

Huhn's diary entries stop on 21 August 1865, when he reached his home after being discharged, but the volume also contains a variety of miscellaneous information and a series of exam questions.

The collection also contains a transcription of the entire diary as well as an electronic copy of the transcript on a 3.5" floppy disc.

Dates

  • 1865

Conditions Governing Access

None

Biographical / Historical

Joseph S. Huhn was born in 1841 in Ohio, the fourth child and second son of John and Maria Huhn. In 1850, they lived in Spencer, Guernsey County, Ohio. Huhn enlisted at the age of 21 as a sergeant in Company "F" of the 114th Ohio Infantry on 17 August 1862. One source indicates he was wounded at Vicksburg, Mississippi, on 22 May 1863, and was promoted to 1st Sergeant on 1 December 1864. Huhn was mustered out in Houston, Texas, on 31 July 1865, but was not discharged until he reached Columbus, Ohio, on 17 August 1865. The 1870 United States Census shows Huhn living with his parents in Elk, Vinton County, Ohio, where he was a school teacher.

Extent

0.1 Linear Feet (diary, transcript and floppy disc)

Language of Materials

English

Overview

Pocket diary of Civil War Union soldier, Joseph S. Huhn of Company "F" of the Ohio 114th Infantry, documenting daily activities between 1 January and 21 August 1865. The remainder of the diary is miscellaneous information and a series of exam questions.

Provenance

Purchased from Charles Apfelbaum, 2010

Processed by

Martha Bace, 2011
Title
Guide to the Joseph S. Huhn Diary
Status
Completed
Date
January 2011
Description rules
Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Language of description
English
Script of description
Latin
Language of description note
English

Repository Details

Part of the The University of Alabama Libraries Special Collections Repository

Contact:
Box 870266
Tuscaloosa AL 35487-0266
205.348.0513