“Remain in camp. The 2d Column has come up & also Col. Debois of the 3d who now will serve as guide. The formation of the soil are now very strange. The river seems to have cut its way through the rocky masses that line it. It seems as though the rock was cleft into to make a passway for the stream. Nearly all kinds of rock are represented. Sand, lime, flint & a kind of granite are seen, also slate. I get some very curious specimens which I am saving. This was one of the hottest days we had this summer & the heat was hardly endurable. While at breakfast a groung squirrel came quietly walking up to my chair. I discovered afterwards that my tent had been pitched over his abode. It stayed with me as long as we remained in camp, but would not allow to be petted. We saw some antelopes in the distance, & mustang & buffalo tracks all around us.”, 1866 July 27

Item — Box: 1, Folder: 1

Staff Only

Scope and Contents

From the Collection:

The collection contains a bound volume that consists primarily of the diary of Charles Borberg (pages 29-54 of the volume) describing his experiences during a march from Fort Smith, Arkansas, to Fort Union, New Mexico, to Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, with the 57th United States Colored Infantry from June 8 to November 30, 1866. The volume also includes an undated, handwritten draft obituary of John L. Criswell of Stanton, Missouri (obituary is written in pencil and is difficult to read); a page of accounts titled “J.R. Clark Trustee,” 1875-1876 (page 2 of the volume); a page of notes in German script titled “Thoughts, Ideas,” February 19, 1883 (page 120 of the volume) (see transcription and translation below); a page of undated verse in German script titled “Auf die Geburt von J. Aschenbachs Jungsten” [To the Birth of J. Achenbach’s Youngest] (page 121 of the volume) (verse is written in pencil and is difficult to read); memorial verse in German script titled “Wachruf an John Achenbach” [Fanfare to John Achenbach] (page 122 of the volume) (see transcription and translation below); page of names and addresses (page 144 of the volume); page titled “Memorandum of Forwarding of Pension Papers,” which includes several names and addresses (page 145 of the volume); and a page containing two undated newspaper obituaries of Charles Borberg (last page of the volume). Many pages of this bound volume are missing. In addition to the bound volume, the collection also contains a handwritten statement of Charles Borberg recounting his military service in the Civil War up until his discharge on December 13, 1866.