F. M. McMillen Diary

1865
Manuscript Collection #290
Portions of this collection are digitized (1 item)
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Creator(s)
McMillen, F.M.
Physical description
0.044 Cubic Feet, 1 volume , diary, typewritten, transcription.
Preferred Citation
F. M. McMillen Diary (#290), East Carolina Manuscript Collection, J. Y. Joyner Library, East Carolina University, Greenville, North Carolina, USA.
Repository
ECU Manuscript Collection
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No restrictions

Diary (1 January - 25 March 1865) of a sergeant in Company C, 110th Ohio Volunteer Infantry, 2nd Brigade, 3rd Division, 6th Corps during the Petersburg - Appomattox, VA campaign.

Biographical/historical information

Francis M. McMillen was born on March 25, 1832 in Bracken County, KY. He served as a clerk with the rank of Sergeant in Company C, 110th Ohio Volunteer Infantry, 2nd Brigade, 3rd Division, 6th Corps from January 1 to March 25, 1865 in the American Civil War. This Ohio Infantry was organized at Camp Piqua in Piqua, Ohio and was under the command of Colonel Joseph Warren Keifer. McMillen received a citation for the capture of a flag and was awarded for this action with the Congressional Medal of Honor on May 10, 1865. He died on March 8, 1913 in Dayton, Ohio and was buried in Washington Cemetery at Washington Courthouse, Ohio.

Sources:

https://en.wikipedia.org/110th_Ohio_Volunteer_Infantry

https://www.cmohs.org/recipients/francis-m-mcmillen

Scope and arrangement

The F.M. McMillen Diary was written by Sergeant McMillen while serving in Company C, 110th Ohio Volunteer Infantry, 2nd Brigade, 3rd Division, 6th Corps from January 1 - March 25, 1865. The diary records the activities of McMillen, who was mainly a clerk, as he participated in the Petersburg final assault during the Appomattox Campaign.

Entries of interest include descriptions of camp life, the growing number of Confederate desertions, the execution of a Union deserter and turncoat of the 1st Division (January 6, 1865), a Confederate raid after haversacks and overcoats (January 9, 1865), the execution of James Kelly of the 67th Pennsylvania Volunteers (March 11, 1865), a description of a chapel built near the Division Headquarters by the Engineer Corps (March 13, 1865) and the final days before the assault on Petersburg. Also included is a photocopy of the entry and exit holes in the diary made by a ball which could have taken McMillen's life.

Administrative information
Custodial History

September 24, 1975, diary (1865) Gift of Mr. Carl A. Robin, Greenville, North Carolina.

Source of acquisition

Gift of Mr. Carl A. Robin

Processing information

Processed by D. Speas, March 1976; Updated by N. Hardison, August 2024

Encoded by Apex Data Services

Copyright notice

Literary rights to specific documents are retained by the authors or their descendants in accordance with U.S. copyright law.

Metadata Rights Declaration
Key terms
Personal Names
McMillen, F. M.
Corporate Names
United States. Army--Military life
United States. Army. Ohio Infantry Regiment, 110th (1862-1865)
Topical
Petersburg Crater, Battle of, Va., 1864
Places
United States--History--Civil War, 1861-1865--Casualties
United States--History--Civil War, 1861-1865--Desertions
United States--History--Civil War, 1861-1865--Destruction and pillage
United States--History--Civil War, 1861-1865--Personal narratives