Out of the Attic: The Hogarth Diary, part 3
1 Oct 1863 – 31 Dec 1863
This final installment of Thomas Hogarth’s diary includes his participation in several key battles of the US Civil War. Hogarth reports on the weather, his often changing location and what he ate, but does not discuss the details of battles. During the last three months of 1863 included in this installment, Hogarth was at Lookout Mountain, Chickamauga and Chattanooga, among other pivotal battles.
Hogarth went on to keep a diary for 1864, and possibly another one, until the end of the war in 1865. The 1864 diary, along with his uniform and several other artifacts, were loaned to a museum in Stuart, Florida. Unfortunately, they were lost following a hurricane several decades ago. They might be out there somewhere, but his family has been unable to locate them.
Following the war, Hogarth married Destimonia Wilson, his sweetheart throughout the war, with whom he had frequent correspondence mentioned in the diary. He became a railroad engineer, and lived in both Indiana and Ohio. He and Destimonia eventually retired to Stuart, Florida, where he died in 1906.
We hope you have enjoyed this fascinating look at the life of a Civil War soldier. We thank Denise Hogarth Bumford, Thomas’ second great-granddaughter, for her work in transcribing this document.
