The Civil War Diaries of
Capt. Noah H. Hart

by Patrick N. Hart, based on the original letters.

        Descendants of Stephen Hart have served in every one of the America Wars. Noah Harrison⁸ Hart (Oliver Burnham⁷, Elias⁶, Solomon⁵, John⁴, John³, John², Stephen¹) served in the Civil War from April 22, 1862 to February 5, 1865 in Company F of the 10th Michigan Infantry. He entered the unit as a first lieutenant and he had reached the rank of captain at the time of his discharge.

       This story is based on letters that Noah Hart wrote to his wife during the war. It was written by Noah's great-grandson, Patrick N. Hart.

       The 10th Michigan Infantry left the state on April 22, 1862 under the command of Col. Charles M. Lum of Detroit. It joined the army under General Halleck at Pittsburg Landing, Tenn. and was assigned to the Second Brigade commanded by General Pope. The 10th Infantry eventually became part of General Sherman's army and participated in Sherman's march from Atlanta to the sea. At the end of the war, the 10th took part in a grand review in Washington D.C. on May 10th, 1865. The regiment was then mustered out of service on July 19, 1865 and returned to Michigan.

       Reliable sources indicate that of the original 997 officers and men in the 10th Michigan Infantry, 62 men were killed in action, 26 died from wounds, 9 died in Confederate prisons and 86 died from disease during its three year campaign.

One word of Civil War era slang that occurs frequently in this story and in the letters is "secesh". This is a shortened form of "secessionist," as the southerners were then know.