Apr 13, 2023 - Sale 2633

Sale 2633 - Lot 66

Price Realized: $ 750
?Final Price Realized includes Buyer’s Premium added to Hammer Price
Estimate: $ 800 - $ 1,200
(CIVIL WAR--NEW YORK.) Albert M. Barney. Diary of the commander of the 142nd New York Infantry at Fort Fisher. [95] manuscript diary pages plus [22] pages of memoranda. 16mo, original limp calf; minor wear. Various places, January to December 1865

Additional Details

Albert Milton Barney (1837-1886) hailed from Gouverneur in St. Lawrence County, up by New York's Canadian border. He enlisted as a lieutenant, by the start of this diary was lieutenant colonel in command of the 142nd New York Infantry, and by March was a brevet brigadier general. The diary begins with his regiment headed by sea for an assault on coastal Fort Fisher in North Carolina. On 13 January, he wrote "Begun to land about 9 a.m., 8 p.m. all off. Moved to within 2 miles of Ft. Fisher & entrenched across the Fear River. Worked all night." The battle was two days later: "Assaulted the fort 3 a.m. Gained the works but had a hard fight. Captured about 2,000 pris., 72 guns, & lots of plunder & Maj Gen'l [William] Whiting." The next day was the horrific powder magazine accident at the fort: "Terrible explosion in Fort Fisher, much of the 3rd Brigade destroyed." The fort had protected a Confederate supply hub: "A blockade runner captured. Very much surprised to find Yankees in possession" (17 January). On 15 February: "Made a reconnaissance to White Springs, had a skirmish with the NC Cavalry . . . nobody hurt." On 6 April: "Rec'd news of the capture of Richmond & 35,000 prisoners & 500 guns. Everybody is wild with enthusiasm." News from Ford's Theatre took a day to reach North Carolina: "President Lincoln and Sec'y & Ass't Sec'y Seward reported assassinated. Horrible" (17 April). "Jeff Davis is reported caught" (15 May). The regiment was paid off and mustered out on 29 June, and General Barney completed the diary with intermittent entries as a civilian in Gouverneur.