Whittemore, Harrison Papers

Company K, 1st Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry Regiment, 1861-1864

The papers of Harrison Whittemore consist of journals, letters, memoranda, newspaper clippings, photographs, and other items mostly pertaining to Whittemore's Civil War experiences as a soldier in the Union Army.

Size: 5 linear inches (about 800 pages).
Access: Open.
Copyright: None.
Processed by: Deborah Keating (2011).

Harrison Whittemore was born in Danvers, Essex County, Massachusetts on May 2, 1837. His father was Joseph Whittemore and his mother was Eliza Estey Whittemore, who was originally from New Hampshire. He had one sister, Mary Eliza, and a brother, Joseph Warren.

Whittemore attended the Scientific School of Harvard College prior to joining the army.

Harrison Whittemore joined Company K, 1st Regiment, Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry, on May 24, 1861, and was first stationed at Cambridge, Massachusetts, at Camp Ellsworth. He fought in the following battles during his service:

• July 21, 1861 - fought in the 1st Battle of Bull Run
• May 5, 1862 - wounded in the Battle of Williamsburg
• August 28-30, 1862 - fought in the 2nd Battle of Bull Run
• December 11-15, 1862 - fought in the Battle of Fredericksburg
• April 30-May 6, 1863 - fought in the Battle of Chancellorsville
• July 1-3, 1863 - fought in the Battle of Gettysburg
• May 5-7, 1864 - fought in the Battle of the Wilderness

Whittemore was discharged from the army on May 25, 1864 with the rank of Sergeant. In 1865, Whittemore married Eunice Cobb. They had two sons, Arthur H. Whittemore and Charles H. Whittemore.

Harrison Whittemore died on July 20, 1928.

The Papers of Harrison Whittemore consist mostly of documents relating to his experiences as a soldier in the Union Army during the American Civil War.

During his military service, Whittemore kept a careful record of his activities, including descriptions of battles, observations about the daily life and trials of an infantryman, and discussion of events occurring in other theatres of the war. In his journals, Whittemore mentions seeing famous generals such as Joseph Hooker and George McClellan. Of special interest is his description and opinion of a visit to the troops by General Ulysses S. Grant.

Sometime after the war, Whittemore began transcribing his wartime journals, a process that was not completed until 1883. He added photographs of other members of his company and cross referenced them to the pages of the journal on which they were mentioned. He wrote short biographical sketches describing many of the men with whom he had served. Whittemore also added newspaper clippings, dried plants collected on the battlefield, and photographs of buildings in towns in which he had fought or in which he had lived after the war. The original journals, from which the transcriptions were made, apparently have not survived. It is not known who transcribed the journals, but evidence of multiple handwriting styles suggests that Whittemore had assistance in completing the project.

The collection also includes letters Whittemore wrote to his father and his Aunt Hannah from the battlefield. In these letters, which augment his journals, he tells of his experiences and his health problems, and with increasing regularity asks his family to send him food, medicines, and clothing that he could not obtain through army stores.

A survey map of New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, and Maryland, representing some of the areas where Whittemore fought, is included in the papers. Other maps were cut into sections and attached to the front and back covers of the journals.

Other items in the collection include memoranda relating to Whittemore's military service, a Confederate currency certificate, mathematical problems apparently worked out by Whittemore during the war, an account by Whittemore of his visit to the Gettysburg battlefield in 1912, and a certificate paying tribute to Whittemore after his death in 1928.

The collection was given to Harry S. Truman by Speaker of the House Sam Rayburn on the occasion of Mr. Truman's Diamond Birthday Jubilee on May 8, 1959. In presenting the gift, Speaker Rayburn cited Truman's interest in history, especially the Civil War era.

The Whittemore Papers were originally opened for research at the Truman Library as part of the General Historical Documents Collection (GHDC 203).

Other documents relating to the Civil War at the Truman Library can be found in the Papers of the Colgan and Bruner Families and in the Papers of the Truman and Holmes Families.