#reconstructionera

Soldiers’ diaries constitute a significant portion of the Newberry’s Civil War collections. Featured here are pages from one of forty-four pocket diaries in the papers of Iowan Hiram Scofield (1830–1906). In addition to these, which cover the years 1857 to 1906, the Scofield holdings include some letters and miscellaneous items.

Born in New York, Scofield moved west in the early 1850s as a young lawyer and by 1857 had opened an office in Washington, Iowa. After the first shots of the war were exchanged at the battle of Fort Sumter, South Carolina, in April 1861, Scofield enlisted in the Union Army as a private and was assigned to Company H of the 2nd Iowa Infantry. His 1862 diary documents his rise through the ranks, the daily life of an officer, the weather, his health, and his reading and relaxation activities.

The Newberry was especially interested in acquiring Scofield’s diaries because, from 1863 to 1866, he commanded the 8th Louisiana Regiment Infantry (African Descent) of Colored Troops (later renamed the 47th U.S. Colored Regiment Infantry). The diaries from this time provide a fascinating account of an African American regiment from the perspective of a white commander. While stationed at Vicksburg, Mississippi, in 1863, Scofield wrote of his first days with the Colored Troops:

May 3: “a meeting with my Regiment—I made a little talk to them which was well received.”

May 4: “boats unloaded and the families sent down to Plantation. Dr. Thornton has been examining the men preparatory to being mustered in. The muster rolls are being made and I fear I shall lack a few men.”

May 24: “2 boys buried today, a good deal of sickness.”

May 25: “Had our first Battalion drill today—the Regiment did remarkably well.”

June 25: “Today the rebels appeared in still larger numbers burning plantations and running off the Negroes.”

Dec. 2: “received some bad—very bad—mush today which we made a fuss about.”

Scofield’s diaries depict the daily activities of his regiment in 1864 and 1865, when it played a major role in the capture of Fort Blakely, Alabama, and the fall of Mobile. On April 9, 1865, the day Robert E. Lee surrendered to Ulysses S. Grant at Appomattox, Scofield and his troops overwhelmed the defenses of Fort Blakely. He noted in his diary, “Quiet until afternoon when the skirmishes advanced without any direct orders + and engagement was begun which resulted by mistake in the capture of Blakely—Soldiers never did better than the Colored Soldiers today.” It is clear that Scofield had a great deal of respect and empathy for the often-maligned Colored Troops.

Since the Scofield diaries entered the Newberry, staff have learned that after the war Scofield assembled one of the largest private libraries in Iowa, with more than 20,000 volumes. One title from this library had entered the Newberry in 1957, forty-five years before the diaries: J. A. Besson’s presentation copy of History of Eufaula, Alabama: The Bluff City of the Chattahoochee (1875), an interesting local history that includes an “H. Scofield, Private Library” bookplate. Thus, not only do Scofield’s diaries offer an extraordinary perspective on the Civil War, but they also provide a unique glimpse into the life of a voracious nineteenth-century American reader and book collector.

– John Brady; originally published in The Newberry 125: Stories of Our Collection (Newberry Library: 2012).

Abraham H. Galloway (c. 1837–1870) was a remarkable African American abolitionist, spy for the Union Army, and political leader during the American Civil War and Reconstruction era.

Born into slavery in southeastern North Carolina, Galloway was owned by a wealthy Wilmington planter. In 1862, he and another enslaved man, Richard Eden, made a daring escape, rowing a boat from Wilmington up the Cape Fear River to find their way to Union forces stationed at Fort Monroe in Virginia.

After his escape, Galloway became a spy for the Union Army and a powerful advocate for immediate emancipation and the enlistment of Black soldiers. He worked with prominent abolitionists like Frederick Douglass and was a key figure in recruiting formerly enslaved men to fight for the Union. His work was highly dangerous, as he would often travel behind Confederate lines to gather intelligence and organize other enslaved people to escape.

Following the Civil War, Galloway became a leading voice for Black rights and political power in North Carolina. He was a delegate to the 1868 North Carolina constitutional convention, where he fought for the right to vote for all men, regardless of race. He also served in the North Carolina Senate, becoming one of the first African Americans to hold a seat in the state's legislature. As a senator, he championed public education, civil rights, and land reform for formerly enslaved people.

Galloway's legacy is defined by his courage, unwavering commitment to freedom, and his pivotal role in both the Civil War and the early stages of Reconstruction. He was known for his defiant and direct approach, often challenging the more conservative tactics of other leaders, both Black and white. He died in 1870 at the age of 33, but his impact on the fight for racial equality in North Carolina was profound.

Need to start planning everything out and calling peeps and organizations for next semester.