Hiram Ketcham Civil War Diary

The collection consists of an original Civil War pocket diary written by Hiram Ketcham of Buchanan, Ohio, and a typed transcript. The diary begins with Ketcham reporting for service in early November, 1864. Ketcham was assigned to Company G of the 67th Regiment of the Ohio Volunteer Infantry. He often wrote of camp life, including illness, deserters, rations, marching orders, picket duty, drills and inspections, letters from home, weather, and attempts to handle home affairs via letter post. From time to time he also wrote about specific soldiers in the camp. In late March, 1865, Ketcham was camped near Petersburg, Virginia, and on April 2, 1865 he wrote a detailed account of his Regiment's movements and its loss of over 60 men in the charge at Fort Gregg near Petersburg. Writing from Appomattox C.H. in the days following Lee's surrender on April 9, 1865, Ketcham described the environment and activities he witnessed, including the exchange of prisoners. The following entries in the diary describe marching through the countryside and observing the aftermath of the war. The final entry in the diary leaves off with Ketcham waiting for the western train on the Central Ohio Railroad that would take him home.