Diary of William C. Hawes, 24 June- 8 Dec. 1862, kept while serving under Captain Asa M. Cook in the Eighth Battery, Light Artillery, Massachusetts Volunteer Militia, that was raised for six months service in response to a call for all active militia in Massachusetts made by President Lincoln, 26 May 1862. Entries include descriptions of travel south by train, including a railroad accident in New Jersey killing some of the soldiers; drill practice in Fairfax, Virginia; marching through Washington, Frederick City, and Middletown, Maryland; unions with sections of the Army of the Potomac, such as General Pope's Army of Virginia and Wilcox's division of Reno's (9th) Corps in Maryland; battles at South Mountain, Fox's Gap, Antietam Creek, and Pleasant Valley; the second Battle of Bull Run; weather; equipment and supplies; and general health and well being of the troops. Also includes a manuscript copy of a letter, 8 Dec. 1862, from Hawes to his friend Barry at the end of the diary.
