The following is the diary of Pvt. Daniel Shaner, Co. E penned between March 7 and August 30, 1864 spanning Grant’s Wilderness Campaign, and describing his battle experience and his wounding at the Battle of Spottsylvania Courthouse. 

The diary is thoughtfully contributed by descendant Kevin Shaner.   Though difficult to read, the diary has been transcribed intact, with grammar and spelling left as is.  Where words are obliterated or illegible, the transcriber/curator has placed an “__________”.

 

(Curator’s note: Below is the front I.D. page)

Dainel Shaner

Butler County

Slipery Rock Twp.

Daniel Shaner

Company E 100

Regiment PA

Pennsylvania

Thomas Shaner

Elias Shaner

George Shaner

Silas Shaner

 

Daniel Shaner my residence is in Slipery Rock township Butler County penna i was sworn into the united states service to serve three years if not sooner discharged on the 25 of February 1864

i left home on the 7 day of march and joined my regiment on the 8 and went to Pittsburgh  i got 73 dollars their and a suit of clothes and went on to Camp Copeland near braddocks field pa

9 we laid in camp

10 i stade in the barax

11 i wrote a leter home

12 i helped to bury a _____ that dide in the camp with the measles he was buryed at bradocks field on the 13 i wrote a leter to h. Vincent

14 i wrote the 2 leter home

15 i run about in Camp

16 (transcriber’s note:  blank entry)

 

we left Camp Copeland the 22 day of march and went by railroad thrue harasburgh and altona and thrue thru the mountains and landed at boltimore md and marched thrue down and took a boat for anaptas md and landed the 24 at anaplas and marched to Camp parole that nite and i wrote the 3 leter on the 25 and i wrote a leter to tom on the 27 and i wrote a leter to Lizy hilliard on the 27

 

Aprile the 7 i wrote home and sent for three dollars

 

Aprile the 9 i got 2 leters from home dated the 3

 

i got a answer to the first leter that I sent to lis Hilliard on the 11 aprile

aprile the 20 i sent lis Hilliard the 2ond leter

 

ap 22 i borowed one dolar from frank fare to be paid when i get money 22 I got a nother leter from hone

 

23 we left anaplas for l washington D.C. and marched 14 miles

 

on the 24 we marched 25 miles and in campe for the nite

 

25 we marched 15 miles and past thrue the city of wahsington and we crossed the potonick river in to Virginia and camped 5 miles from the city in the voly below fort Scot three miles from fair fax cemenary

 

27 we marched past fari fax cemenary  and camped at fair fax chorte house.

 

28 we marched thrue Centerville and manases Junction and over the bull run battlground and we stopped and made cofy at bull run and got the water in  bull run and camped at bristoe station

aprile the 29 we marched from bristoe to warington Junction and camped

30 we started at noon and went 5 miles and camped til we get more orders

 

May the 1 1864 the 100 regt our camp ten rods weare here to gard the railroad our camp is near bealton station 15 miles from culpeper va

 

Dainel Shaner 100 pvv regt C3 (transcriber’s note: backwards “E”) 1 division 2 brigade 9 army core burnsides

may the 4 we left bristoe station and marched a cross the raprihanock river and to the bank of the rapadan river and camped for the nite in site of the rebel campfire

 

may the 5 we marched to the big woods and took a position for batle

 

on the 6 the battl commenced at the wilderness we had three lines of batle and we mode the rebels like grass 19 of our regt got wounded henry wood killed it was longtret  force that we fought longstreet got wounded

 

7 hard fiting all day and a great many rebels taken prisoners the rebels retreated thrue the chanselors batlegrown we took lots of prisoners long the road

 

Sunday the 9 we march a smol distance and formed a line of batle in thicket and laid their all nite on the watch

10 we got on the road and marched til we come up with the rebels and had a fite at marysbranch of the __ river corbens bend near sptsylvan chorte house gony beatty wounded hand

10 we laid in our rifel pits

11 we fought them

12 we marched out and attacked them and met with heavy loss Sunday I got 2 leters

 

the names of the wounded in our Company wounded on the 12 at Sptsylvania John L pouns in the head and thum john hanah thrue arm elick hanah arm wesly bently thrue the arm and bely frank fare killed milton camel killed wes bently died on the 13 of his wounds gony bently slitly joseph Sunkir shot in the side bad (dead) ___mccomans three fingers off

Daniel Shaner thrue the hand Steward hunt killed dead shot  James mc Cune mortally wounded and since died  John barber shot thrue the arm Samuel S. More dead shot thru the breas george maxel shot thrue the knee Henderson broun sinse dead shot thrue the thy walker Rodgers dead mortally wounded and left on the field Camel Stevenson slitly wounded John lock wounded in the foot John graham slitly Steward gill shot dead

Huchison martin thrue the thy dead

 

all on thursday the 12 day of may 1864 batle of Spotsylvania chorte house

13 i seen Milton vance lain wound in the thy and thomas burns of Co. C was wounded in the hand and hundreds of our regiment I did ___

The 12 day of may i was wounded in the hand

13 i went to fredricksburgh hospital the nite after the battle i laid in the mud with hundreds of dead all round me

13 i walked over the batleground of fredricksburgh

15 i laid at fredricksburgh til the rest of the wounded came up then we came to bel plains at the ____landing 12 miles we took a boat their and went up the potomick river to Washington in the morning we got in the ambulance and got in the general hospital at Washington on the 16 Monday may

17 i eat a hasty breakfast and felt well

 

wednsday 17 my hand was very painful and run a great deal of mater and we went into a tent

 

may 20 my hand felt beter

 

monday may 23 i got the ball taken out of my hand

 

and the promice of a 60 days of furlow

24 i gave my disscripive list to fontaeri

John pouns and i was transferred to chester hospital deleware  Co. penna and missed the berlows.

Thirsday morning we landed at the hosptal 15 miles from Philadelphia ward D2

 

May the 30 i felt well this plase is in site of the eleware river Chestertown

 

June 8 1864 wendsday i felt well and my hand is very near healed up and i seen a pease in papers a bout our regt. They took a reb battery on the 2 of June and our 9 core was in the battle before richmon on Monday 5

 

(transcriber’s note:  the diary entries below are penned in a different handwriting, likely written by a nurse or orderly at the hospital where Shaner was recovering)

 

More of Co E 100 Pa wounded at Cold harber J.P. Brfest wounded in (word “dead” inserted below cursive) in the left thigh.  William Corbon. wounded in the left shoulder. Bennona A. McConnel wounded in the left hand W.E. Reed wounded in the rite side Lieut James Offutt in the thigh.

Wounded Abriham hanah

June the 12 1864 my hand is healed up nice and is doing very well

Corpral G A Megle wounded in the foot

 

James McComans wounded

 

(transcriber’s note:  back to Shaner’s writing)

 

i left Chester June the 16 and I left Philadelphia 17 and landed at Pittsburgh Saterday 18

USA hospital pittsburgh pa

i sent a leter home on the 18 and sent for 500 June wednsday 22 June i sent my name in for a ferlow 1864

 

June the 24 I received a leter from home with five dollars in it

 

and i got a six days pass and went home

 

Sunday 26 I got 20 dolars of my township bounty from Vincent to spend. 

Wounded C b ellott

More of Co E wounded

Jonathan Kelly wounded in the leg wounded david book wounded curt mabery  in the right arm bingum F. Junkins david brackenridge wounded in the head david sudsbager was drounded in the games river

July 3 i got in the gard house and was their 18 hours (transcriber’s note:  What happened here?  Insubordination?)

 

names of prisoners

stewart wood

hewston walker

t d nelson

Josiah m hainen

j.c. mcnease

____killed petersburgh

john a. lowden and william Montgomery wounded (transcribers note:  wounded crossed out later replaced with “killed”)

 

Capt. Leander condin morow of the 100 pvv regt in the 21 year of his age he was killed at petersburgh June 17

July the 12 i commenced to do duty for the invalid core and have been on one week

 

July 19 i got a six day pass and went home

July 21 i took ten more dollars out of my money and left 50 dolars at home

 

July 19 i got five dollars more from Vincent and gave him a receite

 

July 30 i lent john l pounds 25 cents and he went home on a thirteen firlow

 

Thomas ofit wounded in the fase at the last battle at petersburg va

 

John Lowden killed and george Montgomery Capt. Maxwell in the shoulder

 

Co. E Thomas ofitt wounded in the fase

Aron glen arm Corp E mills

 

Prisoner B.R. gemison

 

Aug 12 1864 i got a 17 days furlow and come back sick on the 29

Aug 30  I was examined for the invalid core and was marked for the  7 batalion

 

Daniel Shaner Co. __ 58 pa

Co. E 100 pennsylvania

Co. A 9th regt. vrc

 

(transcriber’s note:  the next several pages of diary that are omitted here included names of soldiers with numbers in column that appears to be money that Shaner either borrowed  or lent).

 

March the 8 1864 Daniel Shaner sent home 70 dolars green bachs in care of Cap Maxwell

 

and i sent 50 cents to lias that I owed him

 

Daniel Shaner kep 13 dolars to spend and spent

 

Daniel shaner got ten dollars from Vincent and spent it

 

Thomas took sent me one dolar and took to for to pay for my close that i sent home______.

 

Daniel Shaner march 9 received one months pay 13 dolars

and 60 dolars of the government bounty

 

and one woolen blanket

1 blouse

1 cap

1 socks

1 overcoat

2 shirts

1 pants

1 pants

 

Clark Wilson edidor and proprietor of a damd Sesesh paper Butler pa

 

(transcriber’s note: this must have been an entry was made to voice disgust at this apparent “Copperhead” northern sympathizer of the southern cause—it was penned on a diary page without other writing).

 

Elizabeth morrow or mises white she works at miss fishers aleghenia tailor

 

July the 12 1864

 

J. bryan promiced mea pass for 5 day and I lent john pounds 60 cts (transcriber’s note: john pounds entry crossed out with word “paid” over top)

 

Daniel Shaner sent seventy dollars 70 home in green backs with Captain maxwel

 

I sent 50 cents to lias that I owed him and 5 centws to mother

 

Daniel Shaner kep 13 dolars for to spend

 

Daniel Shaner got ten more dollars from Vincent to spend I got ten more 20 more on the 16 august

Daniel Shaner received one months pay from the united states 13 dolars and 60 dolars of the 60 government bounty

March 8 and one blanket wool

and one blouse

and one cap

and one pair of socks

and one coat

and one canteen

and one knapsack

and one haversack

one shirt flanen

one more shirt woold

one pair of shoes

one pair of pants

one Springfield rifle

 

Friday may the 20 1864 I drawed the second pair of government pants at the hairwood hospital dc and I throad my old ones away

 

July the 5 1864 I drawed the third pair of pants and I drawed a coat

July 28 I received $1.00 for James Macan to be given to heasley a cook

 

Macan

July the 28 1864 received of Daniel Shaner one dollar of John S. Barber for the youse of James Macan

Elias Heasley

 

 

(Transcriber’s Note:  the next several pages of the diary consist of artwork where Shaner sketched the various officer insignia…scanned image forthcoming.)

 

The whole a mount that vincent has of mine is two hundred dollars in mercer county bons

and he gave me the Seventy dollars that he got from miles andhe has ninty of my township money he had one hundred dollars of my township bounty and he gave me ten dollars that time i was home from Camp Copeland

 

the wole sum       $200 bons

                                90 bounty

he gave it to mother 70 govertment money

                              360 i have at home

 

DR Mercer County two hundred dollars to be paid when called on 200

 

Liberty township DR to 90 dollars 90

 

Daniel Shaner received 10 of the township bounty from Capt. Maxwell

 

Daniel Shaner received 10 dolars from h h Vincent of the of the township bounty

Daniel Shaner

 

Ninth core in camped in Virginia the 26 of aprile 1864

Ninth core left anaplas the 22 of march

 

May 16 1864 i got one white shirt at the hairwood hospital and one pair of drawers and one nit coat and one nit cap and one pair of socks and I throde away my old blouse and drawers                               

 


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