Paul Agulus McMichael Diary and Autograph Album
Two manuscript volumes, 17 April 1862 - 2 May 1864, 22 June - 21 December 1864 and 1865, diary and autograph album of Lt. Col. P[aul] A[galus] McMichael (1820-1869), Co. G, 20th South Carolina Infantry. Preceded by an account ledger with the Bank of the State of South Carolina, 17 April 1862 - 2 May 1864, the diary relates experiences of McMichael while serving in the Shenandoah Valley during 1864. Comments on distances travelled and weather conditions accompany accounts of skirmishes--"July 25 [1864?] Marched to Deep Bottom--arrived in the night--drove in the Yankee Pickets, capturing a few and, no doubt, surprised the Yankees no little. Made entrenchments during the night, the men working with bayonets, tin pans, etc. having but four shovels & picks on hand. July 26 Got a tremendous shelling, the Yankees shooting with great accuracy. July 27 Enemy attacked us early in the morning and drove us from our position." McMichael was captured the day before the Battle of Cedar Creek, 18 October 1864, and transported to Ft. Delaware, an officers' prison, via Harper's Ferry and Baltimore. His entries while in prison are brief, giving scanty details of who dined with him, letters written, health, and the weather, as typified by his final entry--"Dec. 21 Snow (heavy)."
The accompanying autograph album contains signatures, with unit designation, home town, and home state, of fellow inmates at Ft. Delaware, 1865. McMichael was released from prison after the Confederate surrender and returned to South Carolina where he died of complications resulting from his imprisonment.
| 1994 Manuscripts Collections | 1994 USCS Program Menu | South Caroliniana Library |
http://www.sc.edu/library/socar/uscs/1994/mc_mik94.html
**********
20th South Carolina, see "History of Kershaw's Brigade, with a Complete Roll of Companies, Biographical Sketches, Incidents, Anecdotes, etc.," by Augustus D. Dickert, above. This unit was comprised of the 2nd, 3th, 7th, 8th, 15th 20th and 3rd South Carolina Battalion.
http://www.mosocco.com/southcarolina.html
**********
The U. S. Army Military History Institute, Carlisle Barracks, PA holds the following in their collections:
Regimental papers - LeighColl Book l9: 109-12 (Enlisted man's letters, Feb 4, 1862- Feb 21, 1864; Descriptive book)