Mary Gyla McDowell 100th Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry Regiment collection, 1861-1865.

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McDowell, Mary Gyla, 1869-1965. Mary Gyla McDowell 100th Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry Regiment collection, 1861-1865.

Mary Gyla McDowell 100th Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry Regiment collection, 1861-1865.

http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/437427229

The Mary Gyla McDowell Collection consists of diaries, memoirs, letters, clippings, pamphlets, negatives and photographs of the 100th Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry Regiment, also called "the Roundheads." Of particular interest are the letters, generally written daily throughout the war, by men of various ranks, describing and evaluating battles, marches, and camp life, punishments, and rail and steamship journeys. One of the most interesting, well-written memoirs is that of the almost daily letters of Robert Audley Browne, Chaplain of the Regiment, to his wife. Although he accompanied the troops to the front but carried no weapons, Browne, purportedly, said calmly amidst gunfire, "I wish some of you would reply to that fellow. I don't know why he wants to hurt me." His quiet courage, it is believed, kept many in the Regiment from desertion. Also included in the collection is a hand-written manuscript, "A Brief History of the One Hundredth Regiment" (1884), by Pennsylvania state historian, Samuel Bates. Dr. Silas Stevenson, the regimental surgeon, began gathering historical materials, including his War Diary (1863-1865) and biographical sketches of unit members. The collection also includes a discussion of the use of African American soldiers in the war.

7.2 cubic feet.

Pennsylvania State University Libraries