Civil War Diary of Marcus H McCoy / 2nd Regiment, Michigan Cavalry

  

Civil War Diary of Marcus H. Title: Civil War Diary of Marcus H. McCoy Publication: Various Places: 1860s.

Description: Notebook binding measuring 7.5 x 4.5", containing 141 pages of ink manuscript, preceded by a manuscript title page that reads "Diary of M. McCoy Covering dates of two enlistments in the military service of the U. An account of two tours of service in the Civil War by Marcus H. McCoy, born in Richfield, Ohio in 1838, and living in Georgetown, Michigan between 1856 and 1861, when he enlisted in the 2nd Regiment, Michigan Cavalry. The title page suggests that the diary was assembled after the war, though it is also possible McCoy began this project in the period between his two tours and completed it after the war's end, or that he simply added this title after the war; meanwhile, internal evidence-a couple of instances in which McCoy is clearly looking back at prior experiences, together with references to'today', uses of the present tense, details such as times of day, and in one entry mentioning'copying last months diary'-suggests that McCoy at some point assembled this diary by copying other diaries of his and adding in his own recollections to fill in the gaps, resulting in a detailed, well-written narrative account of his Civil War service. Highlights include a detailed first hand account of Lincoln's Second Inauguration, several detailed accounts of close cavalry and infantry combat, a description of an encounter with a Union spy dressed in a Confederate Uniform, an anecdote about staying the night in the slave quarters of a plantation watched over by one of the slaves, and more. First leaf chipped and detached, front cover missing, rear cover detached and worn. Subject: Civil War, Manuscripts & Archives. Antiquarian and collectible books, primitives and antiques. This listing was created by Bibliopolis.