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Marietta Cincinnati Hillsboro Railroad Civil War

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This log book was discovered hidden in a wall of an old train depot,in Hamden, Ohio, just before it was torn down. The entries begin in the late 1850s marking merchandise owner's names and the description of the freight received by the rail road. The last such entry was made on April 2, 1857.

A page is skipped, and then the entries begin again, however, they are not entries of freight, instead they begin on May 2, 1861, and are recorded messages from Civil War personnel most likely sent by telegraph.

The first entry reads: Hamden May 2nd, 1861 Alex. Pearce Columbus: Gazette says company not accepted. Boys impatient want commissions Answer fully immediately J. W. Caldwell 12 D. U. 34 & 36. The entries continue through November 1861.

The entries include names such as: R. Stanly, J. J. Hoffman, A. Pearce, W. Dennison, Orlando.M. Poe, John Sauer, W.M. Bowles, John Sane, W. A. Johnson, D.L. Wood, C.P. Buckingham, H. B. Carrington, A. H. Van Vorhies, Leonard Skinner, John Lani,Asher Cook,Morgan's Raiders and many more.

Many locations are noted in the messages including: Camp Dennison, Gallipolis, Columbus, Zanesville, Hamden, the Burnett House, Clarksburg, and companies are named such as McGhee and Radcliff, and Russel and Co.

The messages were sent for various reasons including where to send troops, whether or not family members were safe, needing money to get out of jail, and many more. It is a fine example of American communication during the Civil War.

Condition: The covers are missing from this book, and the pages are separated from the binding primarily in sections. Some pages are lying freely. There is significant folds and some tearing. The writing is still very vivid and fading is minimal.

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