Confederate Muster Roll and Guard Duty Journal 

Description

Confederate Muster Roll and Guard Duty Journal 

 

Company D, 10th Virginia Heavy Artillery (“Brandon Heavy Artillery”) 

March 1862 – January 1863 

An exceptional original Confederate field record book kept by members of Company D, 10th Virginia Heavy Artillery, also known as the Brandon Heavy Artillery.  Bound in its original dark brown calfskin wraps with hand-stitched spine, the volume measures approximately 6 × 4 inches and contains over one hundred pages of period ink entries recording the daily muster rolls, guard rosters, and camp details spanning from early 1862 through January 1863. 

 

The opening page is headed “Muster Roll of the Brandon Heavy Artillery 26th March 1862” and lists officers and men including Capt. C. S. Harrison, Samuel Wilson, Joseph M. Green, James B. Anderson, George W. Williamson, Pleasant L. Smith, Wm. M. Guy, D. H. Emory, and others.  Later pages continue in diary-like format under dated headings such as “Monday’s Guard, Nov. 17 1862,” “Tuesday’s Guard, Nov. 18 1862,” etc., noting the detail of each day’s camp guard, the officer or corporal of the guard, and remarks on weather and camp conditions—entries such as “Cloudy, calm, looking as if it will rain… wind soft, warm, not cold” providing a vivid glimpse of Confederate life on post duty. 

 

Interspersed are additional notations in various hands, signatures of men within the company, brief arithmetic tallies, and sketches—including a small pen-and-ink eagle—suggesting continual use of the book throughout its period of service.  The closing leaves contain further muster or inspection references under “Lt. Johnson, Comdg Co. D” and numerous pencil notes likely added during field service.  Condition overall very good for a wartime ledger: covers worn from handling, some edge chipping and foxing consistent with age, but the ink entries remain clear and legible. 

 

The 10th Virginia Heavy Artillery originated from companies organized at Richmond and along the James River in 1861–62 for the defense of the river batteries protecting the Confederate capital.  Company D—known as the Brandon Heavy Artillery—was stationed at Fort Boykin, Fort Huger, and the Brandon batteries near City Point and Jamestown Island, operating heavy guns guarding approaches to Richmond via the James.  The unit later served under the Department of North Carolina and Southern Virginia, manning fixed emplacements through 1863 before portions were detached as light artillery in the Petersburg defenses. 

 

This journal stands as a rare, firsthand Confederate artillery company record, documenting daily personnel rotation and command structure during the critical mid-war period of 1862–63.  Surviving Confederate orderly or guard books of this completeness are seldom encountered—particularly from a fixed-battery unit engaged in the defense of Richmond’s lower river fortifications. 

 

Inventory Number: CON 656