The first page of the journal of Griffin A. Stanton (1835-1889) of Johnson County, Illinois, which he kept from 1861 to 1864. Stanton was born in Barlow, Washington County, Ohio, on January 31, 1835, to William Griffin (1805-1889) and Eliza Olney Stanton (born 1814), both of whom were from New York state. The family later moved to a farm in southern Illinois. On August 7, 1861, Griffin enlisted in the Union Army at Cairo, Illinois, as a wagoner and was mustered into Cavalry Company B (later E. Carmichael’s) with the 29th Infantry of the Illinois Volunteers on August 25. He remained in Company B throughout his service even as his unit changed names until it became the 15th Illinois Cavalry. Stanton saw service in Tennessee, Mississippi, Alab...