Rhodes’ diary portrays the challenges and small pleasures of Army life away from the battlefield. Written in plain, direct, and unvarnished style, his diary is a bounty of insights into Army life, his spirit of service, his battle experiences, and his religious faith and drive to see the war to its conclusion. Hailing from the village of Pawtuxet, Cranston, he entered military service as a private and left it four years later as a colonel. The first entry was written in May 1861, shortly after the war began, and the diary closes with an entry dated July 28, 1865.Īs a member of the 2 nd Rhode Island Volunteer Regiment, he fought in all the major battles waged by the Army of the Potomac, from First Bull Run in 1861 to Appomattox in 1865.
Rhodes came to Burns’ attention through the publication of his Civil War diary, “All for the Union,” in 1985 by his great-grandson, Robert Hunt Rhodes. Highlighted in Ken Burns’ acclaimed documentary, The Civil War, Elisha Hunt Rhodes is perhaps the most widely known Rhode Islander of the Civil War. Soldier Was Driven by Sense of Duty,” and “Faith in God, Union Kept Soldier Alive.” (This essay was originally published in the Newport Daily News, July 26 & 27, 2012, as “R.I.
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