Alexander Hobbs's diary records, from a Union perspective, the excitement of enlistment, impressions of southerners--both black and white--the confusion of combat, and the depression and helplessness of a prisoner of war. Hobbs, serving the Union as an infantryman in Louisiana and Texas, also preserves his experiences at a critical change in Civil War policy concerning parole and exchange. He is one of the last Civil War soldiers to be incarcerated as a parolee under the Dix-Hill Cartel by his own government. Never exchanged, he finally returns to Massachusetts.
Originally from Canada, Hobbs enlisted with the Forty-second Massachusetts Regiment in September 1862, fought in the Battle of Galveston on January 1, 1863, and was captured there. After being imprisoned in Houston, he was marched as a parolee from Texas to Louisiana, where he was held in a Union parole camp until discharged in July 1863.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:RICE/oai:scholarship.rice.edu:1911/14083 |
| Date | January 1996 |
| Creators | Murphy, James Vernon |
| Contributors | Boles, John B. |
| Source Sets | Rice University |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis, Text |
| Format | 248 p., application/pdf |
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