Scope and Contents:
This collection contains the diary of James E. Withrow of Macomb, Illinois.
James E. Withrow served in Co. I, 78th Ill. Vol. Inf. during the Civil War. He kept this diary from September 24, 1863, to January 5, 1864. He noted on the inside front cover that he had previously served in John B. Miller's Battery, Co. M, 1st Ill. Art.
In the diary, Withrow describes the aftermath of the battle of Chattanooga, conversations with Southern troops, and difficulties in obtaining rations. He also comments on Southern towns and people.
Charles B. Jackson gave the diary to the Illinois Historical Survey, predecessor of the Illinois History and Lincoln Collections, in 1960. In return, the Survey prepared a 34-page typescript of the diary, a carbon copy of which is included in the collection.