MS - 028: The Papers of Daniel Chisholm, Co. K 116th PA, Civil War

Processed by Leia Dunn, July 2001

Provenance: Purchased from Charles Apfelbaum, 2000

Biography:
Daniel Chisholm (n.d.) was a Civil War soldier from Uniontown, Fayette County Pennsylvania when he enlisted with Company K, 116th Pennsylvania Volunteers, on February 29, 1864, along with his brother Alexander. Daniel was promoted to Corporal on March 16, 1864 (there is no record of him being promoted to Lieutenant during the war). He was wounded at Pettersburg and discharged by General Order on June 9, 1865. His brother was promoted to Sargeant on June 1, 1864, and was mustered out with the company on July 14, 1865.

A few letters from Lt. L. Bentley are enclosed with the Chisholm papers and have yet to be identified. He was an officer in the same company as the Chisholm brothers. According to the letter he wrote in June 1863, his wife, Eva Bentley, lived in Concord, New Hampshire, with their daughter, Etta.

For more on the 116th Pennsylvania Voluteers, see St. Clair A. Mulholland, The Story of the 116th Regiment Pennsylvania Volunteers in the War of the Rebellion: The Record of a Gallant Command (Philadelphia: f. Manus Jr. & Co., 1903).

Scope and Content Notes:
The Chisholm papers include letters to friends and family members, mostly to his father, where he recounts interesting anecdotes of his war experiences and his thoughts on the Lincoln election and later assassination. There is a list of friends and soldiers who died in the war created by Daniel and his brother Alex, and a journal of Daniel's that covers the fighting from November 8, 1864 to Lee's surrender in April 1865. He comments on the action at Hatcher's Run, Fort Stedman, White Oak Road, and Lynchburg Road Bridge. He also mentions General Humphrey's taking command of the Second Corps, daily camp life and picketing, and the execution of deserters.