JOHN T. HOBLIT:

John T. Hoblit was born on January 1, 1840, apparently in Indiana. He had a brother, Isaac N. Hoblit (1837-1932), also of Minneapolis, and a sister, Mrs. Ernest Cole, who in 1923 lived at Minot, North Dakota. John came to Minnesota with his parents in 1855 and settled in Minneapolis. His father, Mahlon, opened a butcher shop and involved himself in civic affairs.

In 1859 John edited the Dakota Sentinel, a small newspaper published at Nininger, Minnesota that may have been connected with Ignatius Donnelly. He later returned to Minneapolis and worked as a teacher. He became friends with the King family, owners of the State Atlas newspaper of Minneapolis. It does not appear that he worked full time for the paper but he became well acquainted with William S. King, an influential Minnesota congressman.

John and his brother Isaac both joined the First Minnesota Regiment. John was mustered into military service at age 21 on April 29, 1861, and eventually attained the rank of corporal. His first combat experience was at Bull Run. Isaac became ill shortly after Bull Run, and was discharged for disability in July 1861. In early August the First Minnesota was marching to the upper Potomac, and on August 16 they arrived at what would become Camp Stone.

John was asked by William King to report on the activities and conditions of the regiment, particularly stories about the men of Company D, who were predominently from Minneapolis. Hoblit wrote back home about the poor condition of the clothing supplied to the men. William King expounded on this theme until it created a small scandal for Governor Ramsey and Adjutant General Sanborn. Subsequent letters told of new uniforms and pay. He told of the skirmish at Edwards' Ferry (Maryland) and of small incidents of camp life. He also spoke of the first death from sickness and how most of the fever and ague stayed away from the Minnesota camp. His letters appeared in the State Atlas under the name "Persimmons."

Hoblit died at age 22 of typhoid fever at Camp Stone in November 1861. He was buried at Minneapolis' Layman's Cemetery (later known as Minneapolis Pioneers and Soldiers Memorial Cemetery). In the fall of 1923 his body was exhumed and reinterred in Minneapolis' Hilllside Cemetery when it appeared that Layman's Cemetery was to be vacated for business development.

Most of the information above was taken from a First Minnesota Volunteer Infantry website (http://FirstMN.phpwebhosting.com/) maintained by Chuck Barden and Wayne Jorgenson.

Orison N. Washburn served in Company C of the Fourth Minnesota Volunteer Infantry. He was mustered in on October 4, 1861. The company was headquartered at Lakeville, Minnesota, and consisted mainly of men from Dakota County. Washburn died at Farmington, Mississipppi, August 15, 1862 and is buried at Corinth National Cemetery, Corinth, Mississippi.

Hoblit and Washburn were apparently not related, but both were ancestors of the donor of the collection: Hoblit was a brother of the donor's grandfather; Washburn was the brother of the donor's grandmother.

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In his diary Hoblit speaks about camp life at Camp Stone; marching and picket duty in the vicinity of Edwards' Ferry, Maryland; military promotions; injuries suffered by the soldiers and officers; court martials of soldiers for various infractions; observations about the weather; and accounts of small skirmishes with Confederate troops along the Potomac River, especially in connection with the Battle of Ball's Bluff. There is discussion about, and there are references to, many of the prominent officers associated with the regiment.

The binding of the diary was broken and it was coming apart when it was received by the Minnesota Historical Society. The volume consists mostly of blank pages. The 50 pages with entries on them were placed in an archival folder. The balance of the volume (front and back covers and blank pages) were retained for their value as artifacts and were placed in a separate archival folder. The collection also includes some additional background information (photocopies) about Hoblit that was assembled by the cataloger, including a copy of his obituary taken from the pages of the State Atlas newspaper. It should be noted that Hoblit's name is sometimes spelled "Hoblitt" and "Hobblitt" in various reference works.

"Pioneer Cemetery, Cedar Ave. & Lake St." has been written by an unknown person on the first page of the diary. The Albert E. Nelson Papers Relating to Minneapolis Pioneers and Soldiers Memorial Cemetery manuscript collection at the Minnesota Historical Society contains information about the cemetery, including clippings about Hoblit and the removal of his body to Hillside Cemetery.

There is also a letter written May 1, 1862 by Orison N. Washburn to his sister while he was stationed at Benton Barracks, which was located at a fair grounds on the outskirts of St. Louis. In the letter Washburn speaks of his recovery from measles; a rumor that was circulating that the regiment might soon be going to New Mexico; the men's expectation that they would be paid later that week; and the fact that other units were daily leaving for points down river. The next day the 4th Minnesota left for Corinth, Mississippi.

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Availability:

The collection is open for research use.

Preferred Citation:

[Indicate the cited item and/or series here]. John T. Hoblit Civil War Diary and Related Papers. Minnesota Historical Society.

See the Chicago Manual of Style for additional examples.

Accession Information:

Accession number: 15,703

Processing Information:

Processed by: David B. Peterson, February 2003

Catalog ID number: 990017379330104294

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The first issue (April 30, 1859) of the Dakota Sentinel newspaper, edited by Hoblit, has been microfilmed and is in the Minnesota Historical Society newspaper collection.

The State Atlas newspaper, which contains Hoblit's periodic letters home reporting on his experiences in the Union army, has been microfilmed and is in the Minnesota Historical Society newspaper collection.

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This collection is indexed under the following headings in the catalog of the Minnesota Historical Society. Researchers desiring materials about related topics, persons or places should search the catalog using these headings.

Topics:

Ball's Bluff, Battle of, Va., 1861.

Soldiers' writings, American.

Places:

Benton Barracks (Saint Louis, Mo.).

Camp Stone (Md.).

Edwards' Ferry (Md.).

Maryland -- History -- Civil War, 1861-1865.

Missouri -- History -- Civil War, 1861-1865.

Potomac River.

United States -- History -- Civil War, 1861-1865.

Virginia -- History -- Civil War, 1861-1865.

Persons:

Dana, Napoleon Jackson Tecumseh, 1822-1905.

Gorman, Willis Arnold, 1816-1876.

Washburn, Orison N., [ca.1836]-1862.

Organizations:

Layman's Cemetery (Minneapolis, Minn.).

United States. Army -- Military life.

United States. Army. Minnesota Infantry Regiment, 1st (1861-1864). Company D.

United States. Army. Minnesota Infantry Regiment, 4th (1861-1865). Company C.

Types of Documents:

Diaries.

Occupations:

Soldiers -- Minnesota -- Minneapolis.

War correspondents -- Minnesota -- Minneapolis.

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