Captain A. T. Fielder's Civil War Diary

In July 1861, Alfred Tyler Fielder, of Dyer County, Tennessee, then 47 years of age and married, left his wife and enlisted as a private soldier in the Friendship Volunteers, later Company B, 12th Tennessee Infantry. After basic training at Camp Brown, Tennessee, Fielder fought in the battles of Belmont, Shiloh, the Kentucky Campaign, Murfreesboro, Chickamauga, Missionary Ridge, and the Atlanta Campaign. Fielder was wounded in the severe July 22, 1864 fighing at Atlanta, GA. After he was taken from the field, Fielder was sent to the Confederate hospital at Griffin, GA where he recovered from his wounds. After recuperation, Fielder rejoined the Army of Tennessee in time for the surrender in April, 1865. During the war, Fielder advanced in rank from private, to Ordnance Sergeant, to Lieutenant, to Captain of his company. This journal chronicles the day-to-day life and experiences of Alfred Tyler Fielder, a common soldier from West Tennessee who was a member of the 12th Tennessee Infantry, Cheatham's Division, Hardee's Corps, Army of Tennessee during the American Civil War. In this edition, Fielder's grammar, spelling, and sentence structure remain unedited, just as he wrote it approximately 150 years ago. Fielder's original diary is currently one of the most detailed Civil War diaries in the possession of the Tennessee Historical Society.