1864 Limestone, Alabama Civil War Diary Extract Detailing Captures at Gaines Mill & Gettysburg, Homefront Fear and Destruction, Confederate Gossip, and More Written by the Sister of Two Men in the 9th Alabama Infantry, Company F (Limestone Troopers)

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On offer is an exceptionally rich Confederate Civil War diary extract, filled with first-hand soldier testimony recorded by that soldier’s a detail-oriented, invested sister, while he was home on furlough in Limestone, Alabama. The diary extract comprises six densely written pages on three long sheets, each measuring approximately 15 x 7 inches. The pages are filled front and back in careful, neat, and highly legible ink. They appear to have been intentionally removed from a larger diary or journal, as the extract preserves three substantial and self-contained entries by the writer: one undated, one dated February 14, 1864 and one dated April 15, 1864. Contextual clues indicate that our author is Musidora “Musie” Ophelia (Cartwright) Pettus (1846-1924). Musie is unmarried at the time of writing, still living at home, and she specifically names all of her siblings (aside from her eldest sister, who was already married and moved away by this time), ruling them out as the authors. Other Civil War manuscript content by Musie is held at the University of Michigan. Save for the first page of the extract, which features an original poem by the author focused on her wishes for a better tomorrow, the extract contains two lengthy entries and focus on two of the author's brothers, “Tommie” (Matthew Thomas Cartwright,1846-1901), and “Brother H.J.” (Lt. Hezekiah John “Bud” Cartwright, b. Feb 1, 1841, d. May 8, 1871). Tommie and H.J. were both serving with the 9th Alabama Infantry, Company F (Limestone Troopers). They enlisted and served under Thomas Hubbard Hobbs (1826-1862), and alongside their friend William Cowan McClellan (April 23, 1839-Dec 9, 1869), whose wartime letters have been published by the University of Alabama Press(Carter, 2007). Biographical data on the Cartwrights and every name referenced in the diary extract follow the listing. The extract begins, “Last Thursday was much depressed in spirits, under influence of which, I composed the following lines.” Context and the placement of this page right before her February entry implies that this poem may have been written in response to the January 26, 1864 Battle of Athens. Her wishful poem is followed by a short entry updating her diary on her fear for the ongoing presence of Union soldiers with the coming summer crop season. She wishes that, “the confederates could run them out of here.” She also reports on Confederate wartime gossip: ““The Yankee general Meade has been superceded by French” (likely misconstrued military intelligence circulating through Confederate states about Union Major General William H. French’s command role under Meade after Mine Run). The Sunday, February 14 entry is written retrospectively, when she has the moment to, “...[steal] off and…enjoy a few moments with my silent companion.” She had been too busy to write those past two weeks, as she had been experiencing, “adventure…happiness…sorrow” The lengthy entry recalls, in great depth, all that she had seen and heard since Saturday, January 30, 1864. In the February 14 entry, she shares a trip she made to “The Bluff”, where she visited with peers, the forcible removal of enslaved men from her property and that of her relative, the news of her brother’s furlough and the lengths she and family went to to keep him safely hidden once he managed to get home. She spends pages writing out, in intimate detail, the reports from her visiting brother on his experiences in the war to date, and those of their older brother, who was currently captive and hoping for exchange, following his capture in Gettysburg the previous summer. The entry concludes with the preparations for Tommie’s return to his regiment, and his final moments at home. Upon her return home from her visit with peers, Musie observed enslaved males from her home and that of her relative being removed, apparently to enlist in the 15th Colored Infantry: “...An old gray headed Yank, accompanied by a black man came here and carried off Nick and Jack and Soloman, went by the Gray Place and got Harris - all likely negro boys - they were taken off on the cars, from Huntsville…” The abduction of Black men from her home and that of her relatives in early February, 1864 align with the February 8, 1864 enlistment dates of Harris (d. Nov 14, 1864), Jack (d. July 8, 1864), Nick and Solomon Cartright. All four Cartright boys were enlisted to the 15th Colored infantry in Shelbyville, Tennessee, by Lt. McKay. They are all listed as “18-year-old” farmers, though their heights range from 5’2” to 5’9” suggesting that some of the Cartright boys may have been youth. (Ancestry.com, U.S., Civil War Soldier Records and Profiles, 1861–1865). Musie recalls getting word through a relative from, “Frank Johnson, a [Black] man from Co. F. 9th reg. Ala vol…” on about February 7, 1864, that Pv. William McClellan is home and Tommie has been furloughed. She confirms this with the McClellan family, and expresses concerns about Tommie’s safety on his solo journey home, this being his first furlough in the three years since he’d enlisted. Once reunited with Tommie at her Uncle Sandy Russell’s house, she records his stories of his time in the war with great care, including recording the details of his dangerous journey home, and his retellings of their brother’s captures on the battlefield. Tommie tells his sister of their oldest brother, H.J. whose “gallant conduct and bravery” have made him extremely popular with his peers and superiors. H.J. was captured twice, first in June, 1862 at Battle of Gaines Mill and exchanged “in one month and four days”, and again at Gettysburg in 1863. During Tommie’s visit, H.J. was still imprisoned. Musie’s diligent recording of Tommie’s stories add invaluable humanity and depth to the facts currently available in Civil War documentation. Tommie had had the opportunity to talk to H.J. between his Gaines Mill exchange and Gettysburg capture, and relayed every detail. Musie writes of her brother’s rationale for choices made on the battlefield, describes his reaction to being surrounded by the enemy, and details his time in Union captivity in 1862. She writes of his Gettysburg capture from Tommie’s perspective, including the exact words H.J. was reported to have spoken while rallying his men forward and failing to hear the order to retreat, and Tommie’s own near-capture when he went looking for him that night.. Tommie’s entire visit home is shrouded in secrecy and fear. He cannot be seen by the Cartwright’s “servants or white children” [the white children refer to the younger Cartwrights, born to their father’s second wife]. Musie and her siblings, with help from their Uncle Sandy Russell, and Cousin John Russell, meet up with him when the coast is clear, bring him meals, sneak him into the woods before dawn to avoid the passing cavalry, and prepare him for his return to his company. Even in the midst of the struggle, Musie has a sense of a humour when writing of one of her meet-ups with Tommie: “...Late that evening I walked down to the creek. Tommie was standing on the side of the bluff….told him I was hunting “secesh”...we talked of thing passed on…” Only a few short days after getting home, Tommie begins his journey back to his Company. Musie describes the sadness of the enslaved people at the Cartwright’s when they learned that Tommie had returned and they had not seen him, and the emotional toll of watching her family’s Gin House burn to the ground just after Tommie’s departure,which she told passing “Yanks” was set on fire by “incendiaries”. Musie does not know that Tommie is safely back with his regiment in Virginia until April 14, 1864. It is this news that prompts her to write her next entry on April, 15, 1864 entry. She records what Tommie shared of the Confederates' plans for upcoming battles. Grant was now commanding the Union army and she writes of the impending”attempt to take Richmond…[but[…Robert E. Lee will give him a warm reception…” She also notes that H.J. has sent her two letters and believes he will be exchanged shortly. The final line of Musie’s diary excerpt reports that a “rebel” from Company F “slipped the line” and came to the Cartwright’s home seeking refuge. These six pages of one Confederate woman’s Civil War diary touches on major themes of war, incorporating a verified timeline with the very human experience of her beloved brothers, anxious family, and community members who may not be trusted. Musie names over 20 people, all of whom were either involved in the war or the Cartwright’s social/familial circle, providing invaluable insight into the 19th century network of Alabama settlers, soldiers, and enslaved people. Musie was a gifted, poetic historian whose prose are as beautiful as they are insightful and specific. This diary extract is a vital addition to any research library interested in early Alabama, Tennessee, Civil War experiences, the Confederate army and their battlefield tactics, 19th century women, enslavers and the enslaved, and the many families associated with the Limestone Cartwrights, or the Pettus family tree, as Musie would go on to marry Joseph Albert Pettus. A few excerpts give the flavor of Musie’s writing and some of the content: “The Yankee general Meade has been superceded by French, in that division of the army. If the Yankees stay here all the summer we can make no crop this year. I rejoice at the sound of every cannon. I wish the confederates could run them out of here. [In] Dixie the conscript has taken every man from fifteen to sixty. I expect Jimmie will have to go soon as the Yanks leave…” “...Uncle Sandy Russell…told me that Frank Johnson, a [Black] man from Co. F. 9th reg. Ala vol, had come home…[with] Wm McClelland…[and said] Tommie had gotten furlough ad was on hi way home…was he going to run the risk…or even if he could get over safely ‘twould be next to impossible to escape falling into the hands of the enemy…” “Officers perceiving several regiments of Feds marching forward to defend [the] battery ordered the 9th to retreat. Brother being foremost did not hear the orders, but rushed onward without ever looking back…he espied the Feder banner waving o’er him and found himself surrounded by the enemy. ..he stepped up to the cannon and lent upon it to rest while he reloaded his gun. Yanks laid hold of him…” “A young man name Eagin [see biographical notes]...who loved [H.J.Cartwright] with a love that equaleth the love of woman, had vowed that he would stand by him…if he fell in battle, he would fight over his bleeding body…if he fell into the hands of the enemy there he would be also, and sure enough he was captured with him. They were sent together to Fort Delaware, but when brother was found to be a commissioned officer he was sent to Sandusky City…” “...Tommie was not to come until night in order to escape observation, for we did not want any of the servants or white children to know that he was here…knowing how eager he would be to get home…Eddie and I went forth to meet him, we went to the Riley house, an half mile distant…” “He was at cousin John Russell’s over in Morgan and concluded to walk down to the river to…cross. When he got there a boat was just ready to push off. He asked for conveyance, a Confederate col. Commanding…refused…but when Tommie told him his name he said he had heard Capt. [Thomas Hubbard] Hobbs speak of him in a speech made at Cambridge, and he knew he could trust him”. Biographical Research Notes on Individuals Referenced in the Diary/Associated with the Diary Excerpt Individuals Named in Diary Excerpt Papa: Hezekiah Bradley Cartwright (1812-1866). Son of John Baptist Cartwright (1790-1839) and Polly Dillard, Hezekiah B. was born in Wilson County, Tennessee, and came to Limestone County, Ala., with his parents about 1825. He conducted a farm and two stores, and served in the Creek War. Like his father, Hezekiah was a documented enslaver. Hezekiah B. married Martha Holden Gray (1820-1850) in Limestone County, Alabama in 1837. They had seven children [Cleopatra Indiana Abernathy (1839-1919), Hezekiah John (1841-1871), Nancy Parham (1842-1892), Matthew Thomas (1846-1901), Musidora Ophelia Pettus (1846-1924), James Richard (1848-1904), Peter Edward (1849-1928)]. Martha died of typhoid fever. (Rankin, 2008) [Note: information on Polly Dillard is difficult to come by, however the Tennessee marriage certificate, dated Mar 16, 1811, and indicating sureties Robert Poole & John Cartwright were found on Ancestry.com and confirmed with the Dillard Family Association’s January, 2000 publication] Ma - Hezekiah B’s second wife, Martha Ann Vaughan (1817-1884) (widow of Elijah Bailey), who mothered his five youngest children (see “sleeping children/white children”). (Rankin, 2008) Tommie - Matthew Thomas Cartwright (b. Feb 26, 1846, d. Feb 9, 1901), son of Hezekiah Bradley and Martha Gray, was born in Limestone County. He joined the Confederate Army, Company F, Ninth Alabama Infantry, on June 6, 1861. In the final year of the war, he served with a battalion of sharpshooters, and served in Lee’s army at the close of the war. He participated in the following battles: Frazer Farm, Seven Days' Fight before Richmond, Sharpesburg, second battle of Manassas, the Wilderness, Seven Pines, Chancellorsville, Antietam, Gettysburg, and nearly all the battles in which Lee's army participated. Following the war, he farmed before moving to Decatur, Morgan County, Alabama in 1871. He became a successful mercantile and landowner. So influential was he, his home with his third wife is a stop on the Old Decatur Historic District Tour: “Stop 14. Cartwright House 601 Line Street This house was the residence of Matthew T. and Anna Lou Cartwright. Matthew arrived in Decatur from Limestone County in the early 1870s and started a dry goods store…Matthew’s store burned down…twice in the late 1800s...” His half-brother, O.B. Cartwright was a notable physician and druggist in Decatur in the late 19th century. Tommie married three times. First in 1867 to Carrie Mitchell (1849-1869), then to Ella Thomison (1849-1881), and finally to Ella’s sister, Anna Thomison (1859-1919). Tommie fathered eight children, six of whom survived to adulthood. Brother H.J. - Hezekiah John (H.J.) “Bud” Cartwright (Feb 1, 1841-May 8, 1871) was the oldest son born to Hezekiah Bradley and Martha Gray. He is indicated in sources both as a 2nd and 3rd Lieutenant in the 9th Alabama Infantry, Co. F, which he joined in the spring of 1862. Historical news articles reinforce what his family stated in this diary. His sister wrote, “...[Tommie] said that brother H. J. was more beloved than any man he ever knew. Every member of the company look upon him as a brother….” (Carter, 2007). An article in The Montgomery Advertiser, published May 13, 1871, confirms, “...From Childhood to death we know him well and loved him for his many virtues. A true soldier…an honest man, he died respected by all who knew him.” These sentiments were echoed in an obituary in the Athens Post. At the time of his death, H.J. was living and selling goods in the Elkmont/Fort Hampton region of Alabama. He was captured twice during the war, with both captures being recalled in detail by Musie through Tommie’s report. His first capture was near Richmond in the Battle of Gaines Mill (Carter, 2007, p. 342) and the second was at Gettysburg on July 2, 1863. Following his release on July 12, 1865, He married Sarah Delia Hanserd (1842-1895). They had one son, Kirby (1866 - 1944). Kirby became a respected member of Limestone County, selling goods first in Elkmonth then in Huntsville. Kirby served as a city counsellor in Huntsville, an elder in the Central Presbyterian Church, and a superintendent of the Sunday School. He travelled widely with his wife and their daughter, Marguerite. Captain Hobbs - Thomas Hubbard Hobbs (b. April 19, 1826, d. July 24, 1862) was born in Athens, Limestone County, Alabama to Ira Edward Hobbs and Rebecca Maclin. He was a lawyer, planter, and legislator from Athens, Limestone County, Alabama. He was educated at LaGrange College in Alabama, Hoffman’s Law Institution in Philadelphia, and the University of Virginia. He represented Limestone County in the Alabama legislature from 1856 to 1861 and served during the Civil War as captain of Company F, 9th Alabama Infantry Regiment. Hobbs was wounded at the Battle of Gaines Mill, Virginia, and died from complications of that wound. Hobbs married Indiana Elizabeth Booth (1828-1854), who died in childbirth, along with their infant daughter. In 1858, he married Anne Benagh in Lynchburg, Virginia. Their children were Thomas Maclin Hobbs (1858-1921) and James Benagh Hobbs (1861-1883). Although he has a memorial marker in Athens City Cemetery, Alabama, he is buried in Spring Hill Cemetery, Lynchburg, Virginia (University of Alabama Libraries Special Collections, n.d.). Note: William McClellan wrote in letters home that Hobbs’ wife stayed close to Company F during the war and he would go off to spend time with her (Carter, 2007). Jimmie - James Richard Cartwright (1848-1904) was the second youngest child of Hezekiah B. Cartwright and Martha Holden Gray (1820-1850). He married Jeannie C Fulghum in 1874. He was a merchant of wholesale liquor in Alabama, and died age 65 at his only son’s home in Tennessee. Eddie - Peter Edward Cartwright (1849-1928) was the youngest child of Hezekiah B. Cartwright and Martha Holden Gray (1820-1850). Following the war, he moved to Decatur, Morgan County, Alabama and it seems he worked in the dry goods business with his brother, Tommie. News reports indicate that he was well regarded and handsome, eventually becoming a real estate agent. He married Cora Prewit (1859-1939). They moved to Dayton, Tennessee to be near their only child, Pearl Frasa, in the final years of his life. Sis Nannie - Nancy Jane "Nannie" Cartwright Parham (1842–1892) was the second oldest daughter of child of Hezekiah B. Cartwright and Martha Holden Gray (1820-1850). In 1866, months before her father’s death, Nancy married Robert William Parham. They remained in Alabama and had four children. After Nancy’s death, Parham married her half sister, Josephine. Cousin Nannie - Possibly Nancy Pope Dillard (1842-1928) of Madison, Alabama, who would marry John Edward Crutcher (1836-1890), but unconfirmed due to challenges with Dillard family genealogy. Dr. Benton - Possibly Dr. Joseph W. Benton (1825-1901), born in Maryland and living in Alabama in the 1860s. His wife, Nancy Rains, died in 1862. [Ed. note: This might explain his behaviour toward the Cartwright girls when he was in the home vaccinating the younger children]. Uncle Sandy Russell - Likely Alexander Russell (1809-1874). Born in Virginia, he married Rebecca Cartwright (1815-1882), and they settled in Limestone, Alabama. Rebecca was the younger, sister of Hezekiah Bradley Cartwright. Cousin John Russell - Likely Alexander Russell (1831-1890). Born in Limestone to Alexander Rusell and Rebecca Cartwright, he was living in Morgan County by the 1860 census. in Morgan, son of Alexander and Rebecca. “the sleeping children”/”the white children” - The younger children of Hezekiah B. Cartwright, born to his second wife, Martha Ann Vaughan (1817-1884). These Cartwright children include (married names provided): Oregon “Orra” Lipscomb (1852-1896), Martha Lewis (1855-1910), Dr. Oscar Bradley Cartwright (1857-1929), Josephine B. Parham (1859-1910), Ida Westmoreland (1861-1883). “Nick and Jack and Soloman…Harris”: The date stated by the author in early February, 1864 aligned with the February 8, 1864 enlistment dates of Harris (d. Nov 14, 1864), Jack (d. July 8, 1864), Nick and Solomon Cartright. All four Cartright boys were enlisted in Shelbyville by Lt. McKay to the 15th Colored Infantry. They are all listed as 18-year-old farmers (b. approx 1846), though their heights range from 5’2” to 5’9” suggesting that some of the Cartright boys may have been youth. “A young man named Eagin…” - Bertrand Eagin (1840-1863) of Tennessee, enlisted on March 8, 1862. He was injured at Salem Church and captured at Gettysburg, along with H.J. Cartwright. Both were sent to Fort Delaware prison. Eagin was later transferred to Point Lookout in Maryland. He died at Hammond Hospital, Point Lookout, Maryland on December 28, 1863 (Carter, 2007). [Note: Eagin is the gentleman who was extremely loyal to H.J., per this diary extract. The 1860 census shows that Bertrand’s father was not present, either dead or gone, and this information adds texture to the close relationship between Eagin & H. Cartwright] W.C. (William Cowan) McClellan (April 23, 1839-Dec 9, 1869) was a close connection of the Cartwright boys and they are mentioned frequently in his Civil War-era letters to his family, published in the 2007 book by the University of Alabama Press, Welcome the Hour of Conflict: William Cowan McClellan and the 9th Alabama. McClellan was born in Lincoln County, Tennessee to Thomas Joyce and Martha F. Beattie McClellan. He was living in Limestone County, Alabama at the start of the war, and enlisted in the "Limestone [County] Greys", Company H, on June 10, 1861. In July, 1861, he was soon transferred to Company F, the “Limestone Troopers.” There he worked alongside H.J. and Tommie Cartwright. in 1866, he married the Alabama-born Sue Elizabeth Strong, daughter of Charles Strong. McClellan died in 1869 and is buried in Athens, Limestone County, Alabama. McClellan wrote frequently of the Cartwrights and also wrote frequently of William David Petus (April 12, 1843-August 13, 1905), also of the 9th Alabama Infantry Company F until he was injured and discharged. “Cousin Hezbert Moxly…he lives in Tennessee”: Unable to find information about this person “Donnell Webb, cousin Cass' only surviving child” - Unable to find information about this person, likely connected to Anne Webb, one of the friends Musie meets up with at the Bluff, with other school chums (Bettie R, Maggie and Cousin Nannie Dillard.) “Ann [Webb], Bettie R. Maggie G”- Friends she met up with at the Bluff in late January, 1864, unresearched Frank Johnson - identified in the diary as a [Black] man who was in the 9th Alabama regiment, Co. F, who travelled home with William McClellan. Unable to locate this person. Individuals Associated with the Diary Musidora “Musie” Ophelia Cartwright Pettus (b. 26 Dec 1845, d. 19 Mar 1924): Contextual cues and substantial historical research indicates that Musie is the author of this diary excerpt. Two of her diaries are held in the William L. Clements Library at the University of Michigan (University of Michigan Library, n.d.). Musie was born to Hezekiah Bradley Cartwright (1812-1866) and Martha Holden Gray (1820-1850). She became a teacher and married Dr. Joseph A Musie attended school, became a teacher, and continued to live on her family farm until 1870, when she married physician Dr. Joseph Albert Pettus (1845-1926). Musie was 18 when the diary was written and demonstrated impressive intelligence and insight. Her children with Dr. Pettus were equally impressive. One of her daughters, Maia Pettus (1873-1956), authored at least two published books. Their other children included: Claude Pettus (1871-1931), a physician; Pierre Pettus (1874-1881), Floy Pettus (1879-1962), and Erle Pettus (1887-1960), an extremely accomplished lawyer, State Senator, the youngest member of Alabama’s 1901 constitutional convention, and 1948 Birmingham Man of the Year nominee. Pettus Connections: This manuscript was acquired based on an assumption by the previous collector that it had been written by a family member of Edmund Winston Pettus. Research completed by Katz Fine Manuscripts Inc. has determined that this is incorrect, but has found connection within the Cartwright-Pettus families and has determined the Pettus connection. Dr. Joseph Albert Pettus, brother-in-law of H.J. and Tommie Cartwright through his marriage to the presumed author, Musidora “Musie” Cartwright, belonged to the broader Pettus family network of northern Alabama. He was a distant cousin of Edmund Winston Pettus, the Confederate general and later U.S. Senator from Alabama. There was also a familial connection between Dr. William David Pettus (1843–1905), who served alongside H.J. and Tommie Cartwright and was mentioned frequently in William McClellan’s civil war letters and book. Joseph Albert Pettus descended through Thomas Coleman Pettus and the David Walker Pettus / Limestone County line. Edmund Winston Pettus came from the John Pettus and Alice Taylor Winston line. William David Pettus descended through William Rowlett Pettus and Rebecca Love of the Madison County / Monrovia branch. Condition: Overall Fair. Three pages, 15 x 7 inches. Pages torn from a larger document with significant fraying at edges, all pages with ++ horizontal fold lines and one almost detached at the middle, legible, dark ink, age toning. Show more