Lee Ward Coming to Clinton
Sunday, February 26, 2006

Lee Ward, former resident, will be at the Henry County Library Sunday, February 26, 2006 at 2:00 pm in the Friends Room. He will discuss and autograph copies of his book: But God has so Ordered it: The Civil War Diaries of Sgt. Harrison Whittemore, 1st Massachusetts Infantry, Company K, 1861-1864.

This book came about because Ward was a volunteer in the Truman Library's audio/visual department in Independence, Missouri. While serving as a volunteer Ward learned about a set of Civil War diaries that were presented to President Harry S. Truman as a 75th birthday present. He became fascinated by the diaries and decided to take on the job of putting them in an easier to read format. "Transcribing these diaries was a long, tedious job," Ward states. It took six long years before the diaries were ready to publish.

The diaries of Sgt. Whittemore describe his service in the Massachusetts Infantry Company K from 1861 to 1864. Whittemore participated in virtually every major battle of the Civil War. A Harvard graduate, Whittemore recorded detailed descriptions of people and battles in his diaries, complete with photographs and illustrations. When he was bored he often worked on complex equations, which are also included in the book.

Please plan to attend to learn more about the Civil War and how it affected Sgt. Whittemore.