George W. Miller papers
Scope and Contents
The George W. Miller papers (1853-1865; 0.2 cubic feet) document the participation of George W. Miller, a baker, as a Union soldier in the Civil War. There are a few date discrepancies in the diary. In Diary 1 (1862-1863), Pages 1 through Page 80, Entry August 10 are thought to have been written in 1863. Although Diary 1 itself says 1861, on pages with entries for Saturday, January 17 through Thursday, January 22, Miller has marked out the date and written in "1863" instead. He has also had to change the daily dates, indicating that he was using an 1861 journal in a different year. Also in Diary 1, Pages 80, Entry August 11 through Page 147 are thought to have been written in 1862. Diary 2 (1863-1864) begins on Tuesday, August 11, 1863 and ends on June 21, 1864. The diaries discuss events such as weather, illness, and sometimes important Civil War battles. In addition to the diaries, the Miller papers include a check from John Muterspaugh to W.D. Barrett of Dublin, Indiana, attested by George W. Miller, dated 1853.
Dates
- Creation: 1853 - 1864
- Creation: Majority of material found within 1862 - 1864
Creator
- Miller, George W. (Person)
Biographical Information
George W. Miller was a resident of Dublin, Indiana, a small town in Wayne County. He worked as a grocer and owned a store, along with Russell Hardin, called Hardin and Miller. Hardin and Miller was located on the northeast corner of Davis and Cumberland Streets in Dublin. There is a possibility that George Miller also served as Dublin’s postmaster beginning in 1853. Miller married Sarah E. Barnett on September 11, 1854. According to his diary, they had at least two children, a son and a daughter, by 1863. After the outbreak of the American Civil War, Miller enlisted as a Union infantry soldier in Company C of the 84th Regiment of the Indiana Volunteer Infantry in the rank of Corporal in August, 1862 for a period of three years. Although the Indiana 84th saw action during the war, Miller was mostly assigned to performed detached duty, including working as a cook and baker at a military hospital somewhere outside of Catlettsburg, Kentucky. When he left the infantry Miller is listed as having been a Private. Miller survived the war and was reported to still be in the service as of May 1865.
Extent
0.182 Cubic Feet (One half-width letter-size manuscript box)
Language of Materials
English
Custodial History
Charles Apfelbaum, Rare Manuscripts and Archives
Acquisition Information
Donated by Anne Schowe and family on October 31, 2006 in honor of her daughter graduating from Purdue University after purchasing from Charles Apfelbaum.
Existence and Location of Copies
Digital reproductions of materials are available for research use. See our digital collections database e-Archives: Indiana History
Processing Information
Original order of the materials has been retained since they are bound books. All materials have been housed in acid-free sleeves, acid-free folders, and an acid-free box. Items have been scanned and made available in digital format.
Subject
- United States. Army. Indiana Infantry Regiment, 84th (Person)
- United States. Army (Organization)
Genre / Form
Geographic
- Title
- George W. Miller papers
- Status
- Completed
- Author
- Shauna Borger, Adriana Harmeyer, Emily Jones, and Sara Pettinger
- Date
- 2025-10-13
- Description rules
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
- Language of description
- English
- Script of description
- Latin
- Language of description note
- English
- Edition statement
- Fifth edition. Collection description first completed on January 10, 2011.
Repository Details
Part of the Purdue University Archives and Special Collections Repository
504 Mitch Daniels Boulevard
West Lafayette Indiana 47907 United States
765-494-2839
archives@purdue.edu