Benjamin Titus Civil War Diary, MSS.4131

Abstract: Diary of Benjamin Titus, a member of the 8th Regiment, Alabama Volunteer Independent Scouts. Titus died on June 7, 1864, at Richmond, Virginia, at age 31. The diary (dated 1866) was probably copied after Titus' death by an unidentified person (probably his brother) from a written account Titus kept and describes the life of an infantry soldier - miles and miles of forced marches, rain and snow and impassible roads, and days of inaction interrupted by intense periods of pitched battles, skirmishes, advancing and falling back.Scope and Content Note: The collection contains the diary of Benjamin Titus, a member of the 8th Regiment, Alabama Volunteer Independent Scouts. Titus died on June 7, 1864, at Richmond, Virginia, at age 31. The diary (dated 1866) was probably copied after Titus' death by an unidentified person (probably his brother) from a written account Titus kept. It describes the life of an infantry soldier - miles and miles of forced marches, rain and snow and impassible roads, and days of inaction interrupted by intense periods of pitched battles, skirmishes, advancing and falling back. Most of the battles are not named as we know them today, but comparing the dates and places mentioned in the diary with Civil War battle timelines, he was probably involved in the Battles of Williamsburg (May 5, 1862), Fredericksburg (December 11-15, 1862), and Gettysburg (July 1-3, 1863).The diary itself ends with a brief listing of the battles, a list of expenditures, and a list of letters written. After these lists there are about thirty blank pages followed by six pages of miscellaneous information about the Titus family. In the very front of the diary is a receipt (recipe) for "Nice Caster Oil". Beneath the recipe it says, "A receipt found in Brother Benjamin's diary."One of the most interesting items in the diary is a list of the children of Samuel and Lucy Titus. A search of Ancestry.com shows a Samuel and Lucy Titus, with the names of the children listed in the diary, living in Henrietta, New York, in the 1865 New York, State Census. The Find A Grave website shows a Benjamin Titus, born in 1833 and died on June 7, 1964, buried in Cottage Grove Cemetery, in Cottage Grove, Wisconsin.Biographical/Historical Note: Benjamin Titus was born in New York in 1833. The 1860 United States Census shows him living in Mobile, Alabama, working as a carpenter. During the Civil War he enlisted in the Eighth Regiment, Alabama Volunteer Independent Scouts. He died on June 7, 1864, at Richmond, Virginia, at age 31