Edwin R. Osband Diaries (c.00136)

Edwin R. Osband enlisted in Company H, First Michigan Regiment of Engineers and Mechanics and was elected second sergeant in November 1861. He saw duty in Kentucky, Tennessee, Mississippi, and Georgia before his discharge in October 1864.
This collection consists of three diaries (1861-1864) of Edwin R. Osband of Wayne County, Michigan, kept during his service in the Civil War.
The diary entries express alarm at the "profanity and wickedness" among the soldiers (December 23, 1861), describe exorbitant prices in Nashville (February, 1862), and predict that "the war will not be of long duration" (January 9, 1862). Osband also details the widepsread discontent among members of the regiment over pay (1862). Although the causal relationship is not clear, Osband indicates he was demoted for his role in organizing a strike among the soldiers. He also reports on food shortages and the destruction of Atlanta (October-November, 1864).
The last journal contains the names and addresses of the men in Company H who were discharged with Osband. After the war, the last volume was used to record mileage charts, home remedies, and financial records.