Charles Melville Fay

Charles Fay found plenty of time to write while in 101st NY volunteer infantry, and thank goodness for it. Leaving behind a diary and many letters to his sister "Mant," Fay provided a detailed account of his participation in the Peninsular Campaign and the Seven Days Battles in the summer of 1862, including the Battles of Malvern Hill and Glendale. Also, he wrote of the high morale of the soldiers marching up the Peninsula, presumably to take Richmond, but also, he details the disappointment of the soldiers and disheartening march back to the sea. Having later been wounded, Fay transferred to Gallops Island in Boston Harbor, a waiting area for conscripts, and prison for deserters and rebels, where he lived out the rest of the war, eventually rising to the rank of captain. His diary gives a fine account of not only the battles he and his regiment faced, but also the long days and grinding routine of camp life.