Born in Greenfield, Massachusetts, soldier Arthur E. Gilligan (1846-1922) first enlisted to fight in the Civil War at age 16. After seeing little military action with the 8th Massachusetts Volunteer Regiment, Company H, he re-enrolled in late 1863 with the 3rd Rhode Island Volunteer Cavalry and was eventually promoted to sergeant. On January 24, 1865, during a campaign to capture the Red River Valley and Shreveport, Louisiana, he surrendered as a prisoner of war and was held at Camp Ford, Texas, until May 1865. Following the war, Gilligan attended business college in Springfield, Massachusetts and worked alternately as a textile plant foreman and railroad car inspector. In 1869, he married Mary Louisa Delaney, with whom he had six children.
Comprised of a typed transcript, the Arthur E. Gilligan Diary, 1864-1865, documents Gilligan’s capture in Louisiana and experiences as a prisoner of war at Camp Ford, Texas. Additionally, the typescript includes a biographical prologue by Gilligan’s grandson and histories of the 8th Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry and 3rd Rhode Island Volunteer Cavalry.
This collection is open for research use.
Arthur E. Gilligan Diary, 1864-1865, Dolph Briscoe Center for American History, The University of Texas at Austin.
This collection processed by Joe P. Smyer, 1960.
Basic processing and cataloging of this collection was supported with funds from the National Historical Publications and Records Commission (NHPRC) for the Briscoe Center’s