Administrative Information

Access Restrictions

None

Use Restrictions

Consult repository for information.

Preferred Citation

Ludolph Longhenry Diary, MSS 06-32, Virginia Room, Fairfax County Public Library

Acquisition Information

Gift of C.J.S. Durham, Great Falls, VA, February 1977.

Processing Information

Mark F. Hall, September 2024
EAD generated by Ross Landis, 2024

Historical and Biographical Information

Ludolph Longhenry came to the USA in 1857 at the age of 36 and settled in Platteville, WI. He was born in Odesheisen, Hanover, Germany. His two brothers, Gerhard and Joachim, remained in Germany. In 1861, he enlisted and was assigned to Company C of the Platteville Guard. Company C arrived at Camp Randall in Madison, WI and joined the 7th Regiment of Wisconsin, part of "The Iron Brigade" of the Civil War. At the end of his enlistment, he returned to Platteville where he met and married Wilhelmine (Minnie) H. (Ratje--the German spelling of the Roger name) Roger, who came to the USA in 1855 at the age of 3. She was born in Dugon, Hanover, Germany, the oldest of 8 children (2 girls and 6 boys) of William (Ratje) Roger and Patricia Jane Millwright Roger. Ludolph and Minnie were married on April 27, 1866, and raised a family of 1 daughter and 7 sons in Platteville. He died on August 26, 1899, and is buried in Hillside Cemetery in Platteville, Grant County, Wisconsin.

Scope and Content

The Ludolph Longhenry Diary is a 1967 translated transcription of a three-notebook diary chronicling the life of a Civil War soldier spanning the years 1861-1863. Longhenry served in the Seventh Wisconsin Regiment, part of the famous “Iron Brigade of the West”. The diary was translated from German by the late Alois Wolf, Alexandria, VA, and C.J.S. Durham, Great Falls, VA. It contains descriptions of areas of Fairfax County during the Civil War. Fairfax County locations mentioned include Fairfax Court House, Falls Church, Centreville, Munson's Hill, and Chain Bridge. The current whereabouts of the original diary is unknown.

Related Material

Published as Longhenry, Ludolph. A Yankee piper in Virginia. [Place of publication not identified] : [publisher not identified], 1967 VREF 973.781 L (Oversize)

Separated Material

None

Index Terms

• Fairfax County (Va.) -- History -- 1861-1865, Civil War.
• Longhenry, Ludolph, 1821-1899
• United States of America. Army. Wisconsin Infantry Regiment, 7th.
• Virginia -- History -- 1861-1865, Civil War.

Adjunct Descriptive Data