Box 1058

Scope and Contents note From the Collection: The thirty-five page diary covers the period October 1863 to November 1865. It contains entries describing battles in Louisiana and Alabama. Smith was involved in attacks on Ft. Blakely and Spanish Fort, Alabama. In addition, his entries chronicle the surrender of Mobile and a magazine explosion in that city on 25 May 1865, which caused significant loss of life and damage to buildings and ships docked in Mobile Bay. His diary also describes his duties in Galveston, Texas, where he guarded a...

Scope and Contents note From the Collection: This collection consists of a handwritten original paper and typescript copy containing the names of family members and stories about the family's experience during Rousseau's Raid, July 10-22, 1864, in which a Union Army force raided from Decatur, Alabama, to the southward. These include accounts of hiding mules to avoid their seizure, a "Yankee trick" for stealing honey, and saving the house from being burned by using a Masonic distress sign.