Samuel J. Gibson, Georgia (1864)

Edited by Liam Michael Crowley (2021)

Although its duration was merely four years (April 12, 1861 – May 9, 1865), the effects of the American Civil War on those involved lasted much longer. This war was the most notable internal conflict in the Nation's history, and it questioned as well as raised awareness about the unethical nature of slavery. Northern states supporting the Federal Union clashed with their Southern adversary known as the Confederacy over the interconnected issues of slavery and westward expansion. After three years of indecisive military conflict, the Union armies were placed in the hands of General Ulysses S. Grant early in 1864. By the time this diary was written, Grant's policy of “total war” was fully underway. From this new approach, the Confederacy would be struck on multiple levels in order to weaken its infrastructure and overall economic base.

Union possession of Plymouth, North Carolina was part of Grant's effort to undermine Confederate forces. It gave the Union a presence in an area with varying loyalties, offered protection for those supporting the Union, and served as refuge for runaway slaves from the Confederacy. The manpower that these slaves provided was essential to the Confederate war effort. As long as Union forces maintained this outpost in Plymouth, they were able to deprive their opposition of a vital labor force. Ultimately, however, Plymouth was captured by the Confederacy after a brutal four-day siege. Among the Union soldiers captured at Plymouth was Corporal Samuel J. Gibson, a member of the 103rd Pennsylvania Volunteer Regiment who went on to survive the notorious Confederate Andersonville prison camp in Georgia. Although around fifty percent of Gibson's regiment did not survive Andersonville due to poor conditions, he was paroled on December 16th, 1864, and eventually returned to active duty.

The following entries from Gibson's diary provide a first-hand account of his perspective before and throughout the four-day siege of Plymouth. Ironically, his entries begin by mentioning the lack of activity at the outpost and quickly they turn to how dire his regiment's situation had become. In the last entry, he is forced to accept the reality that he and his fellow soldiers had been captured. By keeping record of his experiences, Gibson was able to record the experiences of one soldier during a pivotal moment in one of the most influential American wars in history