When it comes to learning about the Civil War there's nothing quite like reading the diary that a veteran of that war wrote either during or soon after the war. Sure, we can easily learn about the history of a battle and the men who commanded the troops. It's something else to read what was going on in the mind of one of the enlisted men who was fighting in those battles.

Many of you know Jerry Easley and his wife Barbara. Jerry grew up in Decatur County and they lived here until probably the late 1970s. Jerry was the executive secretary of the Chamber of Commerce here and continued in that occupation. When he retired he was CEO of the Chamber of Commerce in Sante Fe, N.M., Barbara has become quite a well known watercolor artist (view some of her work at www.barbaraeasley.com).

Jerry's nephew, Tom Daily, has a copy of the diary written by Decatur County Civil War Veteran James M. Hart and allowed me to read the diary written during the year 1863. Years ago Jerry edited and compiled the diary of their ancestor. He also wrote a brief history of the 7th Indiana. He's always had an interest in history, especially Civil War history, and has a buckle that has a shield and GAR (Grand Army Republic) on it and other historic items that belonged to Hart. Information for this column and future ones came from Jerry's research.

Hart was in the three year service of the 7th Indiana Volunteer Infantry (as opposed to the three month service). Colonels of the 7th included Decatur County's James Gavin, Ira Grover. Hart and his brother Asa enlisted and Asa was wounded badly enough to have been discharged with a disability on June 25, 1862.

James Hart was wounded twice but continued fighting after a brief reprieve for recovery. He was wounded at Port Republic (June 8-9, 1862) severely enough to cause him to apply for and receive a pension later in his life. In that battle one officer and eight men were killed, four officers and 103 men (including Hart) were wounded and one officer and 28 men were missing. This was part of Major General Stonewall Jackson's campaign through the Shenandoah Valley. It was a fierce battle between the Union and Confederacy and the most costly battle Jackson encountered during his campaign.

After Port Republic, Hart fought in the battles of Second Battle of Bull Run, Antietam, Fredericksburg, Chancellorsville, Gettysburg, Wilderness and many others. He was in all of the major battles and many less major battles. He was wounded for the second time, exactly two years after the first, in a “minor skirmish” near Bethesda Church, Va. (June 1-2, 1864). Hart's diary that I read was only for the year 1863.

The last two battles that Hart and the 7th Indiana fought in was the siege of Petersburg, Va. and at Yellow House in August 1864. The men were mustered out in Sept. 1864. Jerry said that of the total 1299 men connected with the 7th Indiana during the three years they were in service, 597 of them either died or were wounded. Eight officers were killed and 108 enlisted men were killed in action. Two officers and 111 enlisted men died of disease. Nineteen officers and 349 enlisted men were wounded in action.

Note: Of course, that doesn't include those who developed health problems years after the service. My own great-grandfather told how during the war, after sleeping on the ground, he'd find that his hair had frozen to the ground come morning. He had problems with his lungs not many years after the war and he thought it was because of those experiences. He later received a pension due to losing his sight that had been caused from an explosion of ammunition during the war. My great-grandfather lived in North Carolina but fought on the side of the Union which caused a rift in the family. His brother fought for the Confederacy, was captured and kept at a camp near Chicago.

When Tom Daily left the diary for me to read he said there was something unusual in it and asked if I could determine what it was. I didn't catch it but thought it might be because Hart was in such fierce battles but wrote of them with such calm. Jerry Easley told me what was so unusual; It seems that throughout the war men would desert to visit their families, plant crops or whatever needed doing. Then, when they had finished whatever they needed to do, they returned to their units and continued fighting. I'll share what Hart wrote about that in the next column and I'll also share what he wrote during the Battle of Gettysburg.