Happy Spring! We're glad you returned to Fondly, Pennsylvania for more transcriptions from the George F. Parry Civil War diaries (George F. Parry family volumes, Collection 3694). If you're just joining us, in 2012 HSP acquired the diaries of Bucks County resident and Civil War veterinary surgeon George F. Parry. In that collection are three diaries he kept during the Civil War dating from 1863 to 1865, when he served with the 7^th Pennsylvania Cavalry. In celebration of Parry's work and the 150th anniversary of the Civil War, I'm providing monthly posts on Fondly, PA of transcripts of entries from his diaries.

To see other posts in the series, check out the links over on the right-hand side of this page.  Clicking on the diary images will take you to our Digital Librarywhere you can examine the volumes page by page, along with other digitized items from the Parry collection.

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Parry was back in action after a furlough as April 1864 began. He was in camp at Nashville the rest of his regiment, and, according to his entries, he spent a good portion of the month dealing with horses – collecting them, disseminating them among the offices (and picking ones for himself), and condemning those that were no longer fit for service. As April drew to a close, Parry was on the move to Columbia. His stay there didn’t last long as his regiment continued its march east on the last day of the month.

Notes about the transcriptions: I've kept the pattern of Parry's writings as close as formatting here will allow, including his line breaks and spacing. My own additional or clarifying notes will be in brackets [ ]. Any grammatical hiccups that aren’t noted as such are Parry's own.

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Wednesday, April 6
Order to Pick out Horses for
Col. Sibert[,] Major Davis[,] Adjt.
Stalen[,] Capt. Thompson + Geo. [J. ?]
Frazier.  Picked out Seven Hor[ses]
for officers and sixty nine for
Regt. [midling?] good Horses
received two Papers from Home

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Thursday, April 14
Drew a one hundred + twenty
five Horses[.] fourth Regulars + fourth
Michigan left. Dull day no news
feeling very badly—Rosecrans and
I took a walk[,] got some Horse radish
ordered a mule killed—[Glanders?]
Cold and disagreeable[.] orders to
Pick out all Unsound Horses to be
sent to Nashville for good ones by
Genl. Sipes.

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Monday, April 18
Ordered a Mule killed. Issued
24 Horses to Co. D by order from
Sibert.  Rode my new Horse
About ten miles. Received our
new arms[,] the spencer Carbine
shoot seven times[,] also our Horse
Equipments[,] very nice also[.]
orders to move in a few days
cold and rainy moist any day

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Monday, April 25
Received  a call from Adam –
Tainnger + Wm. Fetter—
Had five men Detaled to care
For the Sick Horses – by order from
Head Qrts. Rode over to Brigade
Head Qrts to find our about the
Horses – Issued them. Received Order
to inspect the Horses with other officer
on the 26^th and make out Report
Received Letters from Lizzie Linton +
[John?] V. Taylor
 

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Saturday April 23
Moved out at Seven O Clock for
Comlumbia[.] passed through Spring
Hill and arrived at Columbia
at 4 P. M. went into camp in
woods non Shelbyville pike near
Columbia[.] Saw Fetter and others
of the old seventh—very rainy
and windy night[.] slept very
Good under a tree.

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Saturday, April 30
Bid good by to our nice Camp at
Columbia and marched East twenty
four miles the whole division[,] a
warm + showery day[.] Encamped
for the night in a wood along
side of large stream[.] head ack[sic] all
Day.  no cinner and light Break-
fast. Supper on Coffee + Bread
very rainy dull night[.] Received a
Letter from home.

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