This website serves as a database for Privet Stephen Gordon’s diaries. Here visitors can find both the scans and transcriptions of all seven of Gordon's diaries. The site also includes exhibits about Stephen Gordon's life, the battle of Fredericksburg, as well as a timeline covering main events of the Civil War in connection with Gordon's life. This site was created by Alex Privitt, James Stewart, Callie Liberty, and Mike Black as part of Dr. Jeffrey McClurken’s Hist 428: Adventures in Digital History course at the University of Mary Washington (UMW). Thank you for visiting!
Navigation
Please use the main menu at the top to navigate through the pages of the site. Each diary is organized as a collection. Diary 1 is Gordon's first diary and diary 7 is the last. Each collection has a book reader feature so that visitors can flip through the pages of the diary. (Please note that for best viewing put the book reader on full screen.) All the pages of the diaries are also organized as items which include transcriptions. (Please note that all transcriptions are a product of the National Park Service with the exception of Diary 4 which was transcribed by Alex Privett.) Learn more about Gordon's life by exploring the Stephen Gordon page and find out more about the Battle of Fredericksburg on the Civil War in Fredericksburg page. There is also a search box at the top of the menu to find specific terms, such as locations or people, on the site.
Special Thanks
We would like to thank the following individuals:
- Grace May, student aid for UMW libraries, for scanning the July 24th, 1864 - March 20th, 1865 diary.
- Suzanne Chase, Digital Studies Librarian at UMW Libraries, for her assistance throughout the process including aiding us with scanning and questions about Omeka.
- Lusia Dispanzirie, Museum Curator for the Spotsylvania and Fredericksburg National Military Park, for allowing us to use the diaries and providing us information about Stephen Gordon.
- Martha Burtis, director of the Digital Knowledge Center, for her assistance in helping fix and offering guidance in Omeka.
- Katherine Perdue, librarian at UMW Libraries, for her assistance with the BookReader plugin.
- Dr. Jeffrey McClurken, and our fellow classmates in History 428, for their helpful feedback and guidance along the way.