Henry B. Sparks diary
Collection — Multiple Containers
Identifier: S1225
Scope and Contents
This collection has two folders. Folder one contains a xerox copy of Henry B. Sparks' diary, which he kept from January 1 through November 26, 1864. Folder two has the twenty-page typed copy of the same diary. On January 1, he wrote: This is the beginning of this little memoranda. Oh, may its pure and unsullied pages as now never be stained with a record of evil deeds, but a memoir of brave deeds and actions that I may look over in after times, and try to make my life better every day." Sometime between January 21 and January 27, he and eleven other Union soldiers were captured by Captain Strathers' company of the 4th Virginia Cavalry. He was imprisoned in Libby Prison, Belle Isle, and Andersonville, among other places. His descriptions of the places of incarceration are very good. He tells of building "a very comfortable rancho" at Andersonville on March 31. Henry often writes rumors about the war as though they are facts. May 24, he wrote: "From present appearance Confederacy is just about played out." On July 2, he wrote that the new stockade was finished. On September 11, Henry and four other men escaped but were recaptured on September 14 "by eighteen men and hounds innumerable." On the last page, he recorded the dedication of Providence Spring with the inscription on the marble canopy: "The prisoner's cry of thirst rang out to heaven, God heard, and with His thunder cleft the earth, and poured His sweetest waters gushing here. A thunderbolt fell with Omnipotent ring, and opened the fountain, Providence Spring."
Dates
- 1864
Creator
- Sparks, Henry B., 1841-1929 (Person)
Conditions Governing Access
This collection is open for research.
Conditions Governing Use
Legal title, copyright, and literary rights reside with Rare Books and Manuscripts, Indiana State Library, Indianapolis, IN. All requests to publish or quote from manuscripts must be submitted to Rare Books and Manuscripts.
Biographical Note
Henry Bascom Sparks was born August 4, 1841. He was a sergeant in Company C, Third Indiana Cavalry. In January 1864, he was taken prisoner by Captain Strathers' Company, 4th Virginia Cavalry. He was imprisoned on Belle Isle in Richmond, then transferred to Andersonville, where he arrived on March 22. He kept this diary from January 1 through November 26, when he landed at Annapolis, having been exchanged. Henry married Laura K. Sparks. In the 1870 census, he was listed as a farmer in Rising Sun, Ohio County, Indiana. His age was 28 and Laura was 23. The 1900 census recorded them living in Randolph, Ohio County. Henry was 58 and Laura was 53. Henry died March 8, 1929, and was buried in Aurora, Dearborn County, Indiana.
Extent
0.02 Cubic Feet (2 folders)
Language of Materials
English
Arrangement
This collection is arranged chronologically.
Custodial History
This collection was received by Rare Books and Manuscripts as a records donation from the Indiana Sesquicentennial Commission in 1967/2.
Accruals
No further additions are expected.
Processing Information
Collection processing and finding aid completed 2017/1/12 by Nikki Stoddard Schofield.
Creator
- Sparks, Henry B., 1841-1929 (Person)
- Title
- Henry B. Sparks diary
- Status
- Completed
- Description rules
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
- Language of description
- Undetermined
- Script of description
- Code for undetermined script
Repository Details
Part of the Rare Books and Manuscripts Repository
Contact:
140 North Senate Avenue
Indianapolis, Indiana 46204 U.S.A.
317-232-3671
140 North Senate Avenue
Indianapolis, Indiana 46204 U.S.A.
317-232-3671
