Personal Narratives of Events in the War of the Rebellion, Being Papers Read Before the Rhode Island Soldiers and Sailors Historical Society.
This series of exactly 100 memoirs was published between 1878 and 1915 by the Rhode Island Soldiers and 
Sailors Historical Society, an independent charitable organization created for this purpose by former Rhode Island officers. In all other states with similar projects (California and Oregon (together), Colorado, District of Columbia, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Vermont, and Wisconsin), the publication of these memoirs, collectively known as War Papers, was overseen by that state’s commandery of The Military Order of the Loyal Legion of the United States; only in Rhode Island were these war papers published by an independent society. A reprint edition of all states’ war papers, including Rhode Island’s, was published in 70 volumes by Broadfoot Press in 1993. Rhode Island’s war papers are the most voluminous, accounting for ten volumes. (The Second and Third series, twenty items each, were originally each bound in two volumes.) Rhode Island’s War Papers, and those of all the other states, are all now in the public domain and available in various places online. Every individual memoir listed below is linked to a readable and searchable scan of the original editions at the nonprofit Hathitrust Digital Archive.
Apparatus [appearing on completion of Seventh Series, 1915]:
Notices of Contributors [all series].
Congressional Medals of Honor Awarded to Rhode Island Soldiers.
Numerical Author-Title Index [all series].
First Series. [Not so labeled.] Providence: Sidney S. Rider, 1878-1879.
1. The First Campaign of the Second Rhode Island Infantry. Elisha H. Rhodes, Bvt. Col., Lt. Col., Second R.I. Infantry. 26 pp., 1878.
2. The Rhode Island Artillery at the First Battle of Bull Run. J. Albert Monroe, Lt. Col., First R.I. Light Artillery. 31 pp., 1878.
3. Reminiscences of Service in the First Rhode Island Cavalry. George N. Bliss, Capt., First R.I. Cavalry. 32 pp., 1878
4. My First Cruise at Sea, and the Loss of the Iron-Clad Monitor. Frank B. Butts, Paymaster’s Clerk, U.S.N. 23 pp., 1878.
5. Kit Carson’s Fight with the Comanche and Kiowa Indians, at Adobe Walls on the Canadian River, November 25, 1864. George H. Pettis, Bvt. Capt., 1st Lt., First Calif. Vols.; 1st Lt. Adjutant, First N.M. Vols. 44 pp., 1878.
6. A Trip to Richmond as Prisoner of War. Edward P. Tobie, 2nd Lt., First Maine Cavalry. 48 pp., 1879.
7. Incidents of Cavalry Service in Louisiana. Charles H. Parkhurst, Lt. Col., Third R.I. Cavalry. 25 pp., 1879.
8. The Bay Fight: A Sketch of the Battle of Mobile Bay, August 5th, 1864. William F. Hutchinson, M.D., Acting Passed Asst. Surgeon, U.S.N. 28 pp., 1879.
9. Personal Incidents in the Early Campaigns of the Third Regiment Rhode Island Volunteers and the Tenth Army Corps. Edwin Metcalf, Col., Third R.I. Infantry. 31 pp., 1879.
10. Battle of the Mine. Ervin T. Case, Capt., Ninth N.H. Infantry. 37 pp., 1879.
Second Series. Bound in two parts. Providence: N. Bangs Williams & Co., 1880-1883.
1. First Cruise of the Montauk. Samuel T. Browne, Paymaster, U.S.N. 59 pp., 1880.
2. A Country Boy’s First Three Months in the Army. C. Henry Barney, Cpl., Fifth Battalion, R.I. Vols. 47 pp., 1880.
3. Organization and Service of Battery F, First R.I. Light Artillery. Phillip S. Chase, 2nd Lt., Battery F., First R.I. Light Artillery. 48 pp., 1880.
4. The Marine Artillery with the Burnside Expedition, and the Battle of Camden, N.C. William B. Avery, Capt., First Marine Artillery, N.Y. Vols. 28 pp., 1880.
5. The Battles of Roanoke Island and Elizabeth City. Lorenzo Traver, M.D., Acting Asst. Surgeon, U.S.N. 1880. 31 pp., 1880.
6. The Burnside Expedition. Ambrose E. Burnside, Maj. Gen., U.S. Army. 33 pp., 1882.
7. Reminiscences of Two Years with the Colored Troops. J. M. Addeman, Capt., Fourteenth R.I. Heavy Artillery, Colored. 38 pp., 1880.
8. A Recruit Before Petersburg. George B. Peck Jr., M.D., Lt., Second R.I. Infantry. 74 pp., 1880.
9. Personal Experience of the Chancellorsville Campaign. Horatio Rogers, Col., Bvt. Brig. Gen., Second R.I. Volunteers. 33 pp., 1881.
10. The Battle of Cedar Mountain, a Personal View. Rev. Frederic Denison, A.M., Chaplain, First R.I. Cavalry. 45 pp., 1881.
11. Reminiscences of the War of the Rebellion, 1861-1865. J. Albert Monroe, Lt. Col., First R.I. Light Artillery. 78 pp., 1881.
12. A Cruise Along the Blockade. Frank B. Butts, Paymaster’s Clerk, U.S.N. 37 pp., 1881.
13. The High School Boys of the Tenth R.I. Regiment, with a Roll of Teachers and Students of the Providence High School who served in the Army or Navy of the United States during the Rebellion. William A. Spicer, Co. B., Tenth R.I. Volunteers. 83 pp., 1882.
14. Services of the Cavalry in the Army of the Potomac. Edward P. Tobie, 2nd Lt., First Maine Cavalry. 56 pp., 1882.
15. Prison Life of Lieut. James M. Fales. George N. Bliss., Capt., First R.I. Cavalry. 70 pp., 1882.
16. The Last Tour of Duty at the Siege of Charleston. Charles H. Williams, 2nd Lt., Third R.I. Artillery. 29 pp., 1882.
17. Ambrose Everett Burnside [A Memorial Address]. Rev. Augustus Woodbury, Chaplain, First R.I. Volunteers. 97 pp., 1882.
18. Incidents of Service with the Eleventh Regiment R.I. Volunteers. Charles H. Parkhurst, Lt. Col., Third R.I. Cavalry. 32 pp., 1882.
19. Battle of Cedar Creek, October 19, 1864. John K. Bucklyn, Capt., First R.I. Light Artillery. 24 pp., 1883.
20. Incidents of Cavalry Experience During Gen. Pope’s Campaign. William Gardiner, Sgt., First R.I. Cavalry. 36 pp., 1883.
Third Series. Bound in two parts. Providence: Published by the Society, 1883-1887.
1. Life on the Texan Blockade. William F. Hutchinson, M.D., Surgeon, U.S.N. 43 pp., 1883.
2. My Four Months’ Experience as a Prisoner of War. Thomas Simpson, Capt., Battery F., First R.I. Light Artillery. 40 pp., 1883.
3. Gunboat Service on the James River. William B. Avery, Acting Ens., U.S.N. 38 pp., 1884.
4. A Private’s Recollections of Fredericksburg. Eugene A. Cory, Co. E., Fourth N.Y. Volunteers; Co. I, One Hundred Fifty-Ninth N.Y. Volunteers. 28 pp., 1884.
5. Camp and Hospital. George B. Peck Jr., 2nd Lt., Second R.I. Volunteers. 50 pp., 1884.
6. Cavalry Service with Gen. Sheridan, and Life in Libby Prison. George N. Bliss, Capt., First R.I. Cavalry. 103 pp., 1884.
7. Service with Battery F, First R.I. Light Artillery, in North Carolina. Philip S. Chase, 2nd Lt., Battery F., First R.I. Light Artillery. 31 pp., 1884.
8. Reminiscences of Gunboat Service on the Nansemond. Frank B. Butts, Paymaster’s Clerk, U.S.N. 67 pp., 1884.
9. The Battle of Groveton, August 28, 1862. Rev. Frederic Denison, Chaplain, First R.I. Cavalry. 35 pp., 1885.
10. Recollections of Monocacy. Alfred S. Roe, Co. A, Ninth N.Y. Heavy Artillery. 32 pp., 1885.
11. Recollections of Service in the Twelfth Regiment Rhode Island Volunteers. Oscar Lapham, 1st Lt., Co. B, Twelfth R.I. Volunteers. 39 pp., 1885.
12. The March to the Sea. Charles A. Hopkins, Capt., Thirteenth N.J. Volunteers. 32 pp., 1885.
13. Reminiscences of Service with the Colored Troops in the Army of the Cumberland, 1863-65. Thomas J. Morgan, Col., Bvt. Brig. Gen., Fourteenth U.S. Colored Infantry. 52 pp., 1885.
14. Frontier Service During the Rebellion; or, a History of Company K, First California Volunteers. George H. Pettis, 1st Lt., First Calif. Infantry; 1st Lt. & Adjutant, First N.M. Infantry; Bvt. Capt., U.S. Volunteers. 54 pp., 1885.
15. Reminiscences of Service with the Twelfth Regiment Rhode Island Volunteers, and a Memorial of Col. George H. Browne. Pardon E. Tillinghast, Quartermaster Sgt., Twelfth R.I. Volunteers. 53 pp., 1885.
16. Battery D. First Rhode Island Light Artillery, at the Battle of Antietam, September 17, 1862. J. Albert Monroe, Lt. Col., First R.I. Light Artillery. 45 pp., 1886.
17. Relief of Washington, North Carolina, by the Fifth Rhode Island Volunteers. William W. Douglas, Capt., First R.I. Artillery. 28 pp., 1886.
18. A Private’s Reminscences of the First Year of the War. Benjamin Andrews, Co. C, Fourth Conn. Infantry, subsequently First Conn. Heavy Artillery. 41 pp. 1886.
19. Battle of Kelly’s Ford, March 17, 1863. Jacob B. Cooke, 1st Lt., First R.I. Cavalry. 38 pp., 1887.
20. The Investment of Fort Pulaski. Alonzo Williams, 2nd Lt., Third R.I. Heavy Artillery. 59 pp., 1887.
Fourth Series. Bound in two parts. Providence: Published by the Society, 1889-1893.
1. From Monocacy to Danville: A Trip with the Confederates. Alfred S. Roe, Co. A, Ninth N.Y. Heavy Artillery. 41 pp., 1889.
2. The Siege and Capture of Harper’s Ferry by the Confederates, September, 1862. William H. Nichols, 3d, Cpl., Co. A, Seventh R.I. Cavalry. 48 pp., 1889.
3. Service with Battery F, First Rhode Island Light Artillery. Philip S. Chase, 2nd Lt., Battery F, First R.I. Light Artillery. 41 pp., 1889.
4. The First Rhode Island Cavalry at Middleburg, Va., June 17 and 18, 1863. George N. Bliss, Capt., Co. C., First R.I. Cavalry. 56 pp., 1889.
5. Personal Recollections of General Sheridan. Edward P. Tobie, 2nd Lt., First Maine Cavalry. 40 pp., 1889.
6. The Monitor and the Merrimac. Frank B. Butts, Paymaster’s Clerk, U.S.N. 51 pp., 1890.
7. From Bridgeport to Ringgold, by Way of Lookout Mountain. Albert R. Greene, 1st Lt., Seventy-Eight N.Y. Infantry, and Aide-de-Camp, Third Brigade, Second Division, Twelfth Army Corps. 46 pp., 1890.
8. Duffié and the Monument to his Memory. George N. Bliss, Capt., Co. C, First R.I. Cavalry. 65 pp., 1890.
9. The Burnside Expedition and the Engagement at Roanoke Island. William L. Welch, Twenty-Third Mass. Infantry. 48 pp., 1890.
10. Battery D., First Rhode Island Light Artillery, at the Second Battle of Bull Run. J. Albert Monroe, Lt. Col., First R.I. Light Artillery. 33 pp., 1890.
11. Recollections of Battery D, First Rhode Island Light Artillery. George C. Sumner, Battery D, First R.I. Light Artillery. 52 pp., 1891.
12. My Boyhood at West Point. William W. Bailey, Co. D, Tenth R.I. Infantry. 38 pp., 1891.
13. From Memphis to Allatoona, and the Battle of Allatoona. George W. Hill, Capt., Twenty-Second United States Infantry. 39 pp., 1891.
14. Recollections of the United States Naval Academy. John C. Pegram, Ens., U.S.N. 49 pp., 1891.
15. With the Ninth Army Corps in East Tennessee. W. A. Nason, Adjutant, Eleventh N.H. Volunteers. 70 pp., 1891.
16. In a Rebel Prison; or, Experiences in Danville. Alfred S. Roe, Co. A, Ninth N.Y. Heavy Artillery. 42 pp., 1891.
17. Richmond, Annapolis, and Home. Alfred S. Roe, Co. A, Ninth N.Y. Heavy Artillery. 41 pp., 1892.
18. John Albert Monroe, First Rhode Island Light Artillery. A Memorial. George C. Sumner, Battery D., First R.I. Light Artillery; George B. Peck Jr. M.D., Lt., Second R.I. Volunteers; Edward P. Tobie, 2nd Lt., First Maine Cavalry. 50 pp., 1892.
19. The Gettysburg Gun. John H. Rhodes, Sgt., Battery B, First R.I. Light Artillery. 57 pp., 1892.
20. A Chaplain’s Experience in the Union Army. Rev. Frederic Denison, A.M., Chaplain, First R.I. Cavalry and Third R.I. Heavy Artillery. 45 pp., 1893.
Fifth Series. Providence: Published by the Society, 1894-1899.
1. Services with Colored Troops in Burnside’s Corps. James H. Rickard, Capt., Nineteenth U.S. Colored Troops. 43 pp., 1894.
2. Kearsarge and Alabama. William H. Badlam, Engineer Corps, U.S.N. 39 pp., 1894.
3. From Andersonville to Freedom. Charles M. Smith, Co. E, First Mass. Cavalry. 74 pp., 1894.
4. From Fredericksburg to Gettysburg. Benjamin H. Child, Sgt., Battery A, First R.I. Light Artillery. 36 pp., 1895.
5. Operations of the Cavalry Corps, Middle Military Division, Armies of the United States, From February 27 to March 8, 1865, Participated in by the First Rhode Island Cavalry. William Gardiner, 1st Sgt., First R.I. Cavalry. 31 pp., 1896.
6. The Organization and First Campaign of Battery E, First Rhode Island Light Artillery. Francis B. Butts, Cpl., Battery E, First R.I. Light Artillery. 85 pp., 1896.
7. Assault on Fort Gilmer and Experiences of Prison Life. George R. Sherman, Capt., Bvt. Col., Seventh U.S. Colored Troops. 79 pp., 1897.
8. Battle of the Crater and Experiences of Prison Life. Sumner U. Shearman, Capt., Fourth R.I. Volunteers. 38 pp., 1898.
9. Reminiscences of the Signal Service in the Civil War. Henry S. Tafft, Capt., Bvt. Lt. Col., Signal Corps, U.S.A. 41 pp., 1899.
10. From Spottsylvania to Wilmington, N.C., by way of Andersonville and Florence. Sidney S. Williams, 1st Sgt., Co. C, Tenth Mass. Volunteers. 47 pp., 1899.
Sixth Series. Providence: Published by the Society, 1903-1905.
1. A Forlorn Hope. Leverett C. Stevens, Cpl., Troop E, First R.I. Cavalry. 44 pp., 1903.
2. How I Lost My Sabre in War and Found It in Peace. George N. Bliss, Capt., Troop C, First R.I. Cavalry. 74 pp., 1903.
3. Reminiscences of the Signal Service in the Civil War: Second Paper. Henry S. Tafft, Capt., Bvt. Lt. Col., Signal Corps, U.S.A., Chief Signal Officer, Dept. of the South. 27 pp., 1903.
4. Extracts From my Diary, and From my Experiences While Boarding with Jefferson Davis, in Three of his Notorious Hotels in Richmond, Va., Tuscaloosa, Ala., and Salisbury, N.C., From July, 1861, to June 1862. William J. Crossley, Sgt., Co. C, Second R.I. Infantry. 49 pp., 1903.
5. The Maryland Campaign with the Fourth Rhode Island. Henry J. Spooner, 1st Lt. and Adjutant, Fourth R.I. Volunteers. 27 pp., 1903.
6. The Sword of Honor, From Captivity to Freedom. Hannibal A. Johnson, Lt., Third Maine Infantry. 72 pp., 1903.
7. Through Chancellorsville, Into and Out of Libby Prison. Clay MacCauley, Lt., One Hundred Twenty-Sixth Pennsylvania Infantry. 70 pp., 1904.
8. The Storming of the Lines of Petersburg by the Sixth Corps, April 2, 1865. Hazard Stevens, Adj., Seventy-Ninth Highlanders N.Y. Volunteers, Bvt. Brig. Gen., U.S. Vols. 40 pp., 1904.
9. Our Last Campaign and Subsequent Service in Texas. James Shaw, Col., Seventh U.S. Colored Troops, Bvt. Brig. Gen., U.S. Vols. 52 pp., 1905.
10. The Florida Campaign with Light Battery C, Third Rhode Island Heavy Artillery. Patrick Egan, Sgt., Light Battery C, Third R.I. Heavy Artillery. 25 pp., 1905.
Seventh Series. Providence: Published by the Society, 1905-1915.
1. Reminiscences of the Burnside Expedition. William H. Chenery, Sgt., Co. D, Fifth R.I. Heavy Artillery; 1st Lt., Co. F, Fourteenth R.I. Heavy Artillery. 48 pp., 1905.
2. From the Rapidan to the James Under Grant. Ezra K. Parker, 1st Lt., Battery E, First R.I. Light Artillery. 38 pp., 1909.
3. An Incident in the Battle of Middleburg, Va., June 17, 1863. Charles O. Green, Troop M., First R.I. Cavalry. 38 pp., 1911.
4. War Reminiscences. Martin S. James, Capt., Light Battery C, Third R.I. Heavy Artillery. 38 pp., 1911.
5. The Sailor on Horseback. William E. Meyer, Cpl., Troop A, First R.I. Cavalry. 71 pp., 1912.
6. Campaign of Battery D, First Rhode Island Light Artillery, in Kentucky and East Tennessee. Ezra K. Parker, 1st Lt., Battery E, First R.I. Light Artillery. 48 pp., 1913.
7. The Negro As a Soldier. George R. Sherman, Capt., Seventh U.S. Colored Infantry; Bvt. Lt. Col., U.S. Vols. 34 pp., 1913.
8. The Military Services of Major-General Ambrose Everett Burnside in the Civil War, and their Value as an Asset of his Country and its History, Part I. Daniel R. Ballou, 2nd Lt., Twelfth R.I. Infantry. 38 pp., 1914.
9. The Military Services of Major-General Ambrose Everett Burnside in the Civil War, and their Value as an Asset of his Country and its History, Part II. Daniel R. Ballou, 2nd Lt., Twelfth R.I. Infantry. 59 pp., 1914.
10. The Second Rhode Island Volunteers at the Siege of Petersburg, Va. Elisha H. Rhodes, Col., Second R.I. Volunteer Infantry. 37 pp., 1915.