Papers (1862-1885) consisting of diary, with description of camp, confederate and activities of knights of Golden Circle.
Francis W. Knowles (birth date unknown) was a member of the 36th Regiment Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry fighting for the Union Army during the American Civil War. Knowles served in Company B, primarily as a clerk, and participated with several military campaigns. Knowles, and the rest of the infantry, was mustered out of service on June 8, 1865. Knowles was discharged on June 21, 1865.
The Francis W. Knowles Papers consist of a diary scrapbook (1862-1865) written by Private Knowles while serving in Company B of the 36th Massachusetts Volunteers. The diary records the activities of Knowles, who was mainly a clerk, as he participated with the IX Corps at Fredericksburg (December, 1862), in the District of Indiana and Michigan (June-September, 1863), the Knoxville Campaign (November-December, 1863), the Wilderness campaign (May, 1864), the Spotsylvania Courthouse campaign (May, 1864), at Cold Harbor (June 3-4, 1864), and in the Petersburg campaign (June, 1864-April, 1865).
Entries of interest include a description of camp life at Camp Wool in Massachusetts (August, 1862); the activities of the Confederate raider John Morgan in Ohio, Kentucky, and Indiana (June-July, 1863); and the activities of the Knights of the Golden Circle in Kentucky (September-November, 1863). Also included are a report by General Edwin V. Sumner of the Battle of Fredericksburg in which he commanded the Right Grand Division; newspaper clipping entitled "The Last Night of Fredericksburg" by Joshua L. Chamberlain; autographs of Ambrose B. Burnside, Lewis Richmond, and John G. Parke; maps of the various campaigns in which Knowles participated; battlefield sketches; and field orders. Knowles was mustered out of the army in June of 1865.
Purchased by J. Y. Joyner Library
Processed by R. Weaver, March 1972
Encoded by Apex Data Services
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