Civil War Diary of P. L. Loufman

Recruitment Poster for the Invalid Corps In 1863, the Union was having difficulty recruiting soldiers. To alleviate the situation, Secretary of War Edwin Stanton authorized the formation of the Invalid Corps, later renamed the Veteran Reserve Corps. This new branch of the Army consisted of soldiers who had become “unfit for active field service on account of wounds or disease contracted in the line of duty.” Disability was documented by a physician’s inspection. Soldiers with relatively slight disability were assigned to man the defenses around Washington, D.C. and to guard Confederate prisoners of war held in northern camps. More seriously disabled soldiers served as cooks, orderlies and nurses, usually in hospitals. Though officially billed as a “Corps of Honor,” the Corps faced an “undertone of ridicule” and the light blue uniforms further segregated the Invalid Corps from their comrades in standard dark blue uniforms. By the end of the war, 60,000 soldiers served in this new branch...

Fort Stevens Source: National Park Service In June and July of 1864, Confederate Major General Jubal A. Early led his troops on a campaign through the Shenandoah Valley and into Maryland in an attempt to divert Union troops from their siege at Petersburg, Virginia. Union troops under the command of Major General Lew Wallace encountered Early’s troops at Monocacy Junction, Maryland close to Frederick. Wallace’s main objective at Monacacy was to delay Early’s march long enough to allow Union reinforcements to arrive at Washington where the defending fortifications were largely manned by clerks and convalescent troops. Union troops were outnumbered and Confederate troops ultimately forced them to retreat to Baltimore. Following a Confederate victory at Monocacy Junction, Early moved south toward Washington, D.C. On July 11, Early's troops tested the fortifications that encircled the city. On July 12, Early attacked Fort Stevens, located approximately five miles north of the White Hous...

Union troops firing on approaching Confederate lines during Pickett's Charge. Source:  Warfare History Network On July 3,1864 Philip briefly mentions it being the one-year anniversary of Gettysburg and losing two men in battle. One other man was wounded, Philip’s brother James. Philip’s only reference to his brother was in his very first diary entry and he did not mention him by name. During previous searches, I had come across references to a James Loufman being wounded at Gettysburg. After renewing my Ancestry.com subscription and digging a little deeper into my maternal grandfather’s family, I confirmed that Philip had a brother James. So much has been written about Gettysburg that I knew anything I might write would just be a lame summary of events. As I was searching for information specifically about the involvement of 1st West Virginia Light Artillery, Battery C in the battle, I miraculously stumbled across an amazing first-hand account told by William Janvey. The full story...

96th Pennsylvania Infantry at Camp Northumberland, Virginia Source:  https://wqed.pbslearningmedia.org/ In today’s diary excerpt, Philip again touches on the day to day monotony of a week of camp life. The biggest event of this excerpt is the inspection and review on June 26, 1854 which he describes in more detail than usual. Drills were an important part of the camp’s daily routine and typically focused on mastering marching, weapon handling, and formations. The men spent many hours every day practicing various formations, ways to use their rifles, how to march, and how to work as a unit. They practiced changing quickly from one formation to another which could mean the difference between success and failure during battle. They typically did not practice shooting with live ammunition as supplies of ammo were limited. It was assumed that the men could shoot, although many could not. The men assigned to canons would line them and do everything except fire them. Some men never knew w...