James Palmer was born in Georgia on June 17, 1834. He moved to Kemper County, Mississippi, around 1855. Palmer married Elizabeth Rose Rainey on August 12, 1855. The couple had at least eleven children: Martha E. (b. ca. 1856), Alexander J. (b. ca. 1858), Ben W. (b. ca. 1859), Laura I. (b. ca. 1862), David E. (b. ca. 1866), Mary E. (b. ca. 1868), Alfred E. (b. ca. 1871), Albert E. (b. ca. 1871), Edwin P. (b. ca. 1873), Walter E. (b. ca. 1876), and George W. (b. ca. 1878).

On April 10, 1862, Palmer enlisted as a corporal in Company I, Fortieth Regiment, Mississippi Infantry, Confederate States Army. However, Palmer was absent without leave on at least two occasions and later demoted to the rank of private. He fought in several Civil War battles in Mississippi, including those along the Big Black River and at Iuka in Tishomingo County. Palmer also participated in the siege of Vicksburg and received a slight head wound. His regiment was captured on July 4, 1863, and paroled on July 11. After briefly returning to Kemper County, Palmer rejoined his company and departed for Georgia as part of the Atlanta campaign. Palmer was wounded a second time in the battle of Peach Tree Creek, Georgia, on July 20, 1864, and sent to a military hospital in Macon, Georgia. After being discharged from the hospital, Palmer returned to Kemper County and joined Gamblin’s Cavalry, Mississippi State Troops. He served in the cavalry in Choctaw County, Mississippi, until the end of the war.

After the war, James Palmer and his family settled in Winston County, Mississippi, where they engaged in farming. James Palmer died in Winston County on December 1, 1898.

This collection consists of a diary and accompanying song lyrics of Confederate soldier James Palmer of Kemper and Winston counties, Mississippi, along with transcripts and reference photocopies of each. The diary was kept while Palmer was a member of Company I, Fortieth Regiment, Mississippi Infantry, from 1862 to 1865. He describes troop movements, battles in which his company fought, and camp and hospital life. Palmer also notes his movements to and from Company I, including unauthorized visits home, and offers his views on the war, especially the siege of Vicksburg. In his entries regarding the siege, Palmer discusses the daily life of the soldiers, including such things as subsisting on pea bread and quarter rations, the action his regiment saw, and surrendering to the Union army.

The Fortieth Regiment participated in the Atlanta campaign of 1864. In the diary, Palmer describes the progress of his regiment toward Atlanta, including skirmishes between Resaca, Georgia, and the Chattahoochee River. He also notes that the regiment had been removed from the command of General Joseph Eggleston Johnston and transferred to that of General John Bell Hood. Palmer also mentions the wound he received at the battle of Peach Tree Creek, Georgia.

There are personal accounts in the back of the diary that were apparently kept by Palmer in 1875. They note purchases from an unidentified store and include such items as cloth, peas, seed, sugar, and whiskey. The undated song lyrics are entitled "Song Ballet." They were written for Palmer by fellow members of Company I and recount the hardships of Confederate soldiers.

The transcriber of the Civil War diary and song lyrics is unknown. The diary transcript is only a partial one, corresponding only to pages ten through forty-five of the reference photocopy.

1. Diary (Transcripts; Reference Photocopies). 1862-1875; n.d. 4 folders.

   Box 1, folders 1-4

2. Diary (Original). 1862-1875; n.d. 2 folders.

   Box 2, folders 1-2 (restricted)

• Box 1, folders 1 and 3: Reference photocopies, 1862-1875.

  folders 2 and 4: Transcripts, 1862-1865.

• Box 2, folder 1: Diary, 1862-1875. (restricted)

  folder 2: Song lyrics, n.d. (restricted)