Civil War Diary

Lt. Col. John Withers
Civil War Confederate Officer, In His Own Words

American Civil War Journal of Assistant Adjutant General for Jefferson Davis, Records of Civil War Life, Battles, History

by John Withers and Jennette Green

An eyewitness account of the American Civil War, never before published in its entirety.

Told from the first person perspective of Lt. Col. John Withers, an Assistant Adjutant General in the James Buchanan administration, and later in the Jefferson Davis administration for the Confederacy, this civil war diary encompasses over two years in Withers’ life, from October 1860 - December 1862.

Because of the nature of his job, Lt. Col. Withers was closely acquainted with many of the notable figures of Civil War history. His friend, Ed. A Palfrey, later wrote, “his relations with the President and Secretary of War were of an intimate character, as was necessarily the case from the position he held.”

Lt. Col. Withers’ family was from the south. When Withers received a letter from his aunt, Susanna Withers Clay (wife of Clement Comer Clay, 8th Governor of Alabama), urging him to resign his commission in the U.S. Army and come south to join the Confederate cause, Withers did so. He joined the Confederate Army in March, 1861.

While stationed in the Confederate capitol of Richmond, Virginia, Lt. Col. Withers recorded civil war events as they happened, including the Seven Days Battles, and other battles that took place during the early part of the “War Between the States.” He also wrote of the more personal aspects of his life, such as the agony of his wife’s illness and his young son’s death.

Withers wrote of the profound and the mundane, and even, on occasion, the slightly bizarre human behavior that he witnessed. His diary provides a unique, first person account of life during the American Civil War. His is a rich story, and worthy to be told.

Read the Full Introduction

View Sample Handwritten Diary Images

Handwritten diary images are available in the print edition. (280 total pages in print edition; 135 pages in eBook edition.)

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