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Hometown History: A Civil War Scrapbook’s View Into The Past

A page from the scrapbook compiled by William H. Proudfit of Jamestown. The subject of the clippings was news of the 112th Regiment, N. Y. V. as reported in the local newspapers. The scrapbook is in excellent condition and is a part of the collection of the Fenton History Center.

A recent donation to the collection of the Fenton History Center included a scrapbook. Readers of this column may be aware of my “love/hate” relationship with scrapbooks. This scrapbook, fortunately, has many of the attributes that contribute to the “love” part of this attitude and very few, or even none, of the “hate” parts. The scrapbook itself is a bound book, roughly the size of a ledger. It has good paper, meaning that it is not acidic like those from the mid-20th century onward. The newspaper clippings that are pasted on to the pages are also made of good paper, coming from newspapers in the 1860s when the paper still had rag content instead of wood pulp. Whatever glue was used has lasted, so all clippings are firmly attached to the pages. As a result, the entire scrapbook is in remarkably good condition.

The scrapbook gains further value from its historical content. The subject of most of the clippings is the 112th Regiment, New York Volunteers during the Civil War. The regiment was raised from Chautauqua and Cattaraugus Counties so the clippings contain information that was reported in the local newspapers. The clippings are in chronological order so one can follow the news of the regiment as it happened, or at least as it was reported. The beginning articles are about the rallies held around the counties to raise the regiment, with reports of how much each town was giving as a bounty to those who joined included. The scrapbook belonged to William H. Proudfit, who was a corporal in Co. F, 112th Regiment. He either compiled this from saved newspapers after the war, or acquired it from someone who had done it while he was in the Army.

The scrapbook begins in July 1862, when President Lincoln called for an additional 300,000 men. The regiment was raised and the companies, beginning in early August, reported to Camp Brown, which was located off Prospect Street in Jamestown. The regiment departed Jamestown on Sept. 12, 1862, bound for Elmira via the Atlantic and Great Western Railroad. After a few days in camp there, and after receiving their arms, they then left for Washington, D.C. They eventually landed at Fort Monroe in Virginia. These moves can be traced through a number of articles and letters from a variety of correspondents, as well as members of the regiment. Reporting was lengthy at first, but as time went on the articles got shorter. Also found in the opening pages are lists of names as the muster rolls are reported. Later, more lists of names are included, some for the ones in the hospital, some of the wounded, some of the deaths, and even a few of the deserted.

It is not known if all articles pertaining to the 112th that appeared in the local newspapers are included in the scrapbook, but it is enough to tell a compelling story. Part of the “love” part of this scrapbook is the usefulness of finding a single topic contained in one place. It saves a researcher from having to spend hours poring over the original papers or winding through seemingly endless rolls of microfilm to find the news of the regiment.

Though I have not had time to read all of the scrapbook, a few items immediately stood out. There was a comment on the complaints that had been heard about the quality and quantity of the food that was offered at Camp Brown. One interesting note stated: “The soldiers from Camp Brown march down in companies and squads to the Boat-Landing every morning to bathe.” Snippets like this offer a glimpse into the past that we do not often find in the history books.

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