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***RESTRICTED***:Due to the fragile condition of the diary, the typed transcript is the first-use copy.
Terms Governing Use:
Due to the fragile condition of the diary, the typed transcript is the first-use copy.
Biographical/Historical:
William McLeod was born in Richmond County, South Carolina, on June 11, 1836. He moved to South Florida with his family in 1841. McLeod served in the Third Seminole War, enlisting in Captain Edward T. Hendricks' company in 1857. During his Seminole War service, he contracted a severe case of measles, which affected him later in life.
In March 1862, McLeod enlisted as a private from Manatee County in Company B of the Seventh Florida Infantry Regiment (known as the South Florida Infantry). The Seventh served in Florida until mid-1862, when it was sent to Chattanooga, Tennessee. It served in east Tennessee and north Georgia for several years, with its first major engagement being at Chickamauga, Georgia in September 1863.
McLeod's regiment also participated in battles around Chattanooga in late 1863, the Atlanta Campaign of May-September 1864, the Tennessee Campaign of late 1864, and the Carolinas Campaign in the early spring of 1865. In April 1865 the decimated regiment combined with several other units into the First Florida Infantry Regiment Consolidated. Its remnants surrendered later that month.
McLeod served from 1862 through mid-1864. He was present on the surviving company muster rolls, which show him in January 1864 as detailed company cook. Later that year during the Atlanta Campaign, he was elected second lieutenant. He was paroled in April 1865 as a private. Following the war, McLeod returned to Florida. He had married Susan Arnold at Alafia (Hillsborough County) in 1864, probably while on leave from the army. From 1867 until 1885 the couple had ten children. McLeod later received pensions for both his Seminole and Civil War service. He died at Ona, DeSoto County, on March 7, 1925.
Summary:
The collection consists of William McLeod's Civil War diary in which he describes his experiences as a Confederate soldier from June 1864 through January 1865. The entries are alternately in pencil and ink, some so faded as to be illegible. The diary begins during the Atlanta Campaign and describes day-to-day siege warfare and the various engagements in which he was involved, including the Battles of Peachtree Creek in Atlanta and Jonesboro. The diary also mentions the Battle of Dalton, Georgia, in October 1864 and the subsequent advance northward into Alabama and Tennessee. It provides details on the actions of the Seventh Florida Regiment at Franklin, Murfreesboro (Second Battle of), and Nashville.
The diary concludes in the aftermath of the Confederate defeat at Nashville, documenting the withdrawal into Mississippi, McLeod's furlough on January 23, 1865, and his subsequent railroad trip into Alabama and Georgia. The diary ends on January 29, 1865 while McLeod was in Columbus, Georgia.
Among the historical figures mentioned in the diary are General Joseph E. Johnston, Lieutenant General William Hardee, Major General William B. Bate, and Colonel Robert Bullock. McLeod also mentions several of his follow soldiers, including F. J. Seward, W. H. Shepherd, W. P. Rodgers, W. Smith, Sam Handcock, John Underhill, U. R. Durrence, W. Carlton, W. Whidden, and H. C. Surrency.
Finding Aids:
Additional Physical Form:
This collection has been digitized and is available on the Florida Memory web site; https://www.floridamemory.com/discover/historical_records/mcleod/
McLeod, William Johnston, Joseph E. 1807-1891. (Joseph Eggleston), Hardee, William Joseph, 1815-1873. Bate, William B. 1826-1905. (William Brimage), Bullock, Robert
Civil War (U.S.)
Diaries. aat
United States History Civil War, 1861-1865
for detailed listing.