SOLOMON B. BOWERMAN PAPERS,
1823-1922
.5 cubic feet
Solomon B. Bowerman, (b. ca. 1831) was mustered in as a 1st Lieutenant, Company
A, 172 Regiment on November 11, 1862 in Harrisburg. By January 1863, Bowerman
had been promoted to Captain 1 and was mustered out with the company on 1 August
1863. He then re-enlisted in Company C of the 200th Regiment, Pennsylvania Volunteers,
on August 26, 1864 at Harrisburg. Bowerman was again promoted, this time to
Captain of Company A, 210th Regiment, Pennsylvania Volunteers on 15 September
1864. He was mustered out with this company near Alexandria, Virginia on May
30, 1865. Nothing is known about Bowerman's life prior to the war although the
enlistment certificates in the collection record several other Bowermans who
may or may not be related to the Captain.
The collection focuses chiefly upon Bowerman's service in the 172nd and 210th Regiments, Pennsylvania Volunteers. The papers give much information about the daily life of the 210th Regiment under Captain Bowerman. Muster rolls, quartermaster reports, and clothing supply inventories are found here. A folder containing hospital records includes reports of the effects of deceased persons. A letter written by Private Daniel Shultz to his supervisor in 1865 features a photograph of Shultz dressed in infirmary clothing. Another hospitalized soldier wrote a letter to his captain reassuring him that he had recovered from typhoid fever and that reports of his death were erroneous.
A correspondence folder contains mainly incoming memoranda and letters as well
as receipts for payroll and transportation. Of particular interest are several
letters written by Bowerman pertaining to soldier desertions and subsequent
court-martials. A miscellaneous folder contains a mixture of items ranging from
an Army regulation booklet to written instructions presumably written by Bowerman
instructing his soldiers in the proper use of firearms. This collection has
in addition a folder of apparently unrelated material pertaining to the Diddy
or Ditty Family of Upper Paxton Township, Dauphin County. The folder contains
documents of genealogical interest including land deeds, a will, and property
survey maps. The Dittys are believed to have later relocated to Millersburg,
Pennsylvania. The connection between Solomon Bowerman and the Ditty Family,
if any, is unknown.
- 172nd Regiment, Pennsylvania Volunteers, 1862, 1863. (7 folders) {#337m.1}
- 210th Regiment, Pennsylvania Volunteers, 1846, 1865. (9 folders) {#337m.2}
- Diddy Family Papers, 1823-1922, undated. (1 folder) {#337m.3}
- The container listings for this Manuscript Group are available for viewing and word-searching in PDF format: [Holdings]
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