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Preferred Citation

Memories of a Confederate Surgeon in the Army of Northern Virginia, Accession #1720, Special Collections Dept., University of Virginia Library, Charlottesville, Va.

Scope and Content Information

This collection contains the written memories of a Confederate surgeon during the Confederate Army's retreat and surrender at Appomattox Court House. The journal begins around March 21, 1865 and concludes near the end of April that same year. It is a very through narrative on the retreat as well as an entertaining piece of writing. The surgeon provides excellent detail of his activities during the last days of the Civil War. He apparently leaves out nothing. His writing discusses both the military campaigns and the civilian life surrounding them. Unfortunately, the identification of the surgeon remains a mystery. He does not identify himself or his regiment, although he does mention some of his fellow surgeons by name (who do not appear in the Appomattox Rosters taken after the surrender.) The journal does provide a very good sense of who this man was, and how the war affected him.

The surgeon begins his narrative describing conditions at the time. He discusses life on the field of battle, using a humorous tone even with such terribly depressing topics. He tells stories with humor in almost every incident. One example of this humor is his story of a battle: He was sitting on the ground, eating a rare meal, when a fellow soldier crashes into him, causing him to drop his food. His reaction of anger for losing his meal is pushed aside when he finds himself in the middle of a skirmish; bullets and cannon balls whiz by, forcing him to take cover.

His narrative does get serious and provides a clear sense of the gravity with which he lives everyday. During the retreat, he discusses the dire circumstances of the army. The battles become more intense as the war nears its close. He mentions the lack of food, the drudgery of the retreat, people sleeping with insufficient cover, and the wounded and ill not receiving medical treatment because the hospitals were destroyed or captured.

He discusses the battle of Five Forks and Gettysburg as well as the seizures of Petersburg and Richmond, Virginia. He writes about the terrible fate of a train-load of wounded men who, due to a cut in the tracks, cannot make it to Petersburg and are left on the tracks for some time. He gives a vivid account of the Union Army's pursuit of the Confederates. Yet, after the surrender, he tries to put their actions in perspective even after they had destroyed most of the things he held dear. Most of his belongings were burned during the seige of the hospital and the burning of the train depot.

The narrative moves easily from military matters to civilian ones. The surgeon gives comical descriptions of his horse, Satan, citing stories in which he constantly loses his horse. The surgeon's personal views come out very well in his writing and his style is clear and easily understood. The civilian aspect of his narrative focus mostly on his life and those he meets. The "diary" also gives a brief description of life after surrender, giving an impression of what life was like for the Confederate soldier after the war. The surgeon describes the trip home for himself and a band of fellow soldiers; and, he talks about Satan, his horse, being put out to pasture.