A Civil War Soldier’s Diary: Valentine C. Randolph, 39th Illinois Regiment
In the preface of A Civil War Soldier’s Diary, editor David D. Roe warns the reader that “the diary starts slowly” and requests him/her to keep reading because “halfway through the second volume” it “will draw you into the world of an infantry soldier.” I have to disagree with Roe because I was drawn in almost immediately. This is one of the most interesting diaries I have had the privilege of reading and I’ve read quite a few. Valentine Randolph was a well-educated and extremely curious soldier, interested in all that happened around him, often taking opportunities for sightseeing excursions. The 39th Illinois Infantry did not see any severe battle action until late in the war, but they were well-traveled and all of those travels were well-described by Randolph. The regiment first served in Northern Virginia, mainly in what is now West Virginia. There, they spent much of their time chasing guerrillas. Their traveling quarters during part of this service were in boxcars where Randolph describes the process of bedding down for the night: “A man lies down across the car . . . on his side. In the rear of him, in the same manner, . . . another man lies; a third man takes a like position. Then a man, skilled in works of art, places his foot on the posterior parts of the individual . . . and crowds them up close together. In like manner three more men are disposed of and so on till the car is filled to its utmost capacity.” The 39th was next stationed in the Shenandoah Valley, where they spent their time chasing and being chased by Stonewall Jackson. The only time they caught up with each other was at the battle of Kernstown, Virginia. The 39th was only lightly engaged, with one man wounded. He happened to be lying by Randolph’s side. Transferred to the Peninsula, they arrived during the battle of Malvern Hill, where, again, they were not engaged. When most of the Army of the Potomac was transferred for the battles of Second Bull Run and Antietam, the 39th Illinois was transferred first to the North Carolina coast and then to South Carolina for operations around Charleston. In South Carolina, they were never heavily engaged but experienced the deadly attrition of trench warfare. Their final tour of duty was with the Army of the James and the Bermuda Hundred Campaign. A Civil War Soldier’s Diary abounds in interesting stories. Among the many that captured my interest was one when Randolph and a friend were invited to dinner with a Virginia family. When the lady of the house requested Randolph’s comrade go outside to kill a chicken for their dinner, he brought along a shotgun and came back with three birds. Another story was about a free black man, a blacksmith, who was married to a slave. When asked if he had any children, his answer was that he would take no part in being a slave trader, a poignant answer. As is probably evident from my review, I like this book a lot and recommend it highly. I have a few, small caveats though. The maps are not detailed enough to follow all of the movements of Randolph and the 39th. Also, there are times that I wish the notes would have been more extensive, especially during the regiment’s movements in the Shenandoah and during the Petersburg campaign at Bermuda Hundred. Notes could have put the regiment’s activities more in context with what was happening in the war around them. These are small caveats though for a very well-written book. Reviewer: Robert L. Durham is a computer specialist. A longtime Civil War buff, he is also interested in Old West history and has written articles and book reviews for Alamo Journal, True West, Journal of the Alamo Battlefield Association, and Alamo de Parras web site at www.flash.net/~alamo3
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Notes, notes on sources, index, 280 pp., 2006. Northern Illinois University Press, 2280 Bethany Rd., DeKalb, IL 60115, $35 plus shipping.