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