Original Listing Description

Civil War Diary POW 2nd LT. James E Catlin Battle of the Crater Camp Asylum Company I 45th Regiment Pennsylvania Infantry DESCRIPTION: This is the diary / journal of 2nd Lieutenant James Edwin Catlin while and after he was a prisoner of war at Camp Asylum, Columbia, South Carolina. Lieutenant Catlin was captured at the Battle of the Crater on July 30, 1864. James Edwin Catlin was from Welsboro in Tioga County, Pennsylvania. He enlisted on September 21, 1861 as a Corporal. He was promoted to Sergeant on February 14, 1862, First Sergeant November 1863, Second Lieutenant June 21, 1864, First Lieutenant on May 17, 1965. He was a 2nd Lieutenant when he started this journal The following is a brief condensed description of some of the entries in the journal. January 1, 1865 he states his name, rank, and Regiment, as well as his home post office, and "In prison at Asylum Camp, Columbia S.C." The January 2 entry states: "A prisoner of War confined at Camp Asylum, Columbia S.C. Nothing to eat but corn meal and sorghum and very little of that." January 3: "At Columbia S.C. A Prisoner. January 4 - 20: "Ditto". On Janaury 21 he went in to the hospital with "fever". Sporatic entries interspresed between "Ditto"s. from January 22 thru February 12. On February 12, 13, 14 he writes about hearing Sherman is coming and the "Rebels are scared". February 15 he is put on a hospital car (train) headed for Charlotte North Carolina. He is just able to walk and the train hits 3 cows and runs off the tracks. Several entries about the journey to Charlotte then Thomasville then Danville. February 28: Arrives at Richmond and "put into the Officers Hospital at Libby Prison. Generals Cook and Kelly confined here." March 1 and 2 writes that Mr. Dent, General Grants brotherinlaw, is there and left on the 2nd. March 3 - 12 still at Libby Prison waiting for exchange and writing about the rain and the river is too high to go down in a boat. March 14: "on board the steamer N. York running off the Chesapeak, arrives at Annapolis. The remainder of the entries include his wait in Annapolis for his leave, his leave, his return to duty at Washington and Alexandria (with many details), his discharge on Sunday July 16, and life at home. There are entries for January 1 - 8, 1866 at the rear. There are also ledger notes for money he spent and lent or borrowed. The book "History of the Forty-fifth Regiment Pennsylvania Veteran Volunteer Infantry, 1861-1865" discusses the Battle of the Crater in some detail. Catlin is mentioned 9 times in the book on pages 91, 155, 157, 158, 180 (with photo on opposite page), 240, 261, 360, and 506. The reference on page 360 is interesting in that it is an account from Captain R. G. Richards who was also captured at the Battle of the Crater. He notes that he and Catlin were confined at Asylum with no shelter and had to sleep on the ground. The account from Richards is also interesting in the respect that an acount by a different soldier (page 261) who believes that Richards was killed at the Battle of the Crater. The book also details many of the other major battles the 45th Pennsylvania, thus Catlin, were involved in including South Mountain, Antietam, Fredericksburg, Vicksburg, Wilderness, and Spottsylvania. Condition: The red cover is in rough condition with wear, tears, and tape holding the back cover in place. The interior pages are intact, tight and remarkably clean. There is little to no foxing. There is a dark stain on the inside of the front cover that goes through several pages but ends several pages before the handwritten entries begin. Our photographs are an integral part of our description, particularly relating to condition. Please reveiw them carefully as you will be receiving exactly what you see. If you need further photographs or have any questions please contact us. Due to the value of this item signature verification will be required upon delivery - no exceptions. Please ensure the address you have with eBay is one where you can sign for this item. Please Note * Though we do our best to provide you with the best photographs possible, all monitors display photos differently, so if you are unsure of what you are seeing please do not hesitate to contact us directly. Our listings are best viewed with your monitor set at 1024 x 768 and 32 bit high resolution. Fine Print: We reserve the right to retract any bids from bidders we deem unsuitable. This includes but is not limited to bidders of sport, bidders with negative feedback and or bidders that have not followed through with winning bids in the past. Buyer is responsible for all costs associated with shipping. All forms of payment must clear before item is shipped. (Condition: Pre-Owned)

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