The following excerpts were transcribed from the diary of William Warner Reid, a corporal in the 16th OVI. This transcription was kindly provided by Robert Fisher, great-great grandson of the soldier.
Update 2/19/2011: The text of this diary has been found to be nearly identical to that of the diary of Pvt. Peter Perrine, also of Company C and published on this website along with actual images of the diary pages. It is believed that soldiers often copied each other's diaries near or shortly after the war's end, so they could have a record of their service. At this time it is not known who the original author of the Reid/Perrine diary really is. It could have been copied from yet another soldier's diary or may possibly reflect an assembly of more than one soldier's diaries. It should be noted that looking at the images of the Perrine diary pages, due to the consistency of the writing, it is likely the Perrine diary was copied in one sitting from another, although it could have been copied from a more primitive version kept by the same soldier. The specific information in the diary, however, can be considered accurate as my research and cross-checking validates all the information.
