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(CIVIL WAR DIARY OF PVT. LEWIS DEEMS)

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(CIVIL WAR DIARY OF PVT. LEWIS DEEMS)
Civil War diary of Pvt. Lewis Deems of the 42nd Indiana Vols. covering the period from Nov. 14, 1864 to March 19, 1865. On Nov. 22, 1864 Deems paid for a substitute, one John R. Butt, to serve in his place. It appears, however, that both Deems and Butt were out of luck: Butt was mortally wounded within days, and Deems was called to serve out the balance of his one year service. The diary is written in pencil, with about ten percent of the pages quite smudged, yet 90% legible. Deems starts his diary in Indiana, and is then shipped south to Nashville. He managed to pass his entire term of service guarding a tunnel and railroad lines, yet never seeing significant combat. His entries typically read: "…[at Tunnel Hill, 30 mi. west of Chattanooga] 150 cavalry came up to assist us in hunting up and driving away guerillas…communications are cut off between us and Nashville…Thomas has flogged Hood completely…guerillas captured 3 of our scouts today…railroads torn up, houses and barns burned up, Rebs have deserted…[civilians] are wandering around in dens and caves to escape the guerillas, and from 12 to 14 families are huddled in one house...", and so on, including mention of train derailments, further depradations by guerillas, fraternizing with civilians, etc.; a typical soldier's diary. Covers detached, a few pages disbound, overall good to very good. With typed transcript.