James Henry Rivers (1845 - 1919) was born in Boston, and was a Clerk pre-war, signing up as a 16-year old drummer boy with the 24th MA Infantry in October of 1861. He fought in several engagements, and took a wound in March of 1862 at the battle of New Bern, NC. He fought off infection (and Typhoid Fever) from June - August of 1862 then was discharged, joining the 13th MA Light Artillery the following month. He served with that unit until July of 1865, then mustered out.

James married Belinda Linnell in 1870, and later joined G.A.R. Post 35 in Chelsea, MA as an Adjutant. In March of 1882 he transferred to Post 67 (Manchester-by-the-Sea, MA), and moved to the area. There he met Edwin Payson Stanley (Chaplain of the post and later its commander). The two became good friends.

Belinda passed in 1903, and James remarried the following year (Nettie Lane). In 1905 the two men (Rivers and Stanley) went on a 3-week journey to the G.A.R. encampment in Denver, and James wrote this diary to document their adventures.

James Henry Rivers passed in 1919, and Stanley 5 years later. Both of James’ wives are buried with him, and Edwin Payson Stanley is also buried in the same cemetery.

I wasn’t initially sure who wrote the diary, as it’s unsigned. However, a few clues came up while reading it, and I documented my research as I went along, eventually coming to the conclusion that it had to be James H. Rivers:

He was a Clerk before the war (documenting and performing administrative tasks)

He joined Post 35, then Post 67 in 1882 as an Adjutant (chief administrative officer and secretary who managed paperwork, books, and wrote reports - which would’ve also placed him in prime position to attend events as a leader of the post)

James and his wife Belinda moved to Manchester, MA sometime before the 1900 Census (which confirms their location)

The diary entries were written on stationary from the Essex County Club, which is located in Manchester-by-the-Sea (in Manchester)

James was one of only 2 veterans from Manchester-by-the-Sea mentioned in the September 30th, 1905 edition of the Manchester Cricket as having returned from the 1905 Denver G.A.R. Encampment Friday of the week prior (21st)… this was the exact same day the author mentioned arriving back in Massachusetts

The other veteran named in the article was Edwin P. Stanley (whom the author mentions twice in the diary as “Comrade Stanley”)

Rivers ultimately passed away in Manchester-by-the-Sea in 1919, confirming he had been residing there for at least 19 years

In Stanley’s obituary, it says he was “by trade a barber and painter”, and in the diary “Comrade Stanley” is at one point sketching Pikes Peak.

Just too much evidence to be anyone else! I had an AI program grab all the text and make it a little more organized. Also, sometimes James wrote in the present tense, while other times he seemingly went back and added things, so I fixed a few words here and there so it maintains one tense.

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Sept 4 - 9, 1905

Trip to the 39th Encampment G.A.R
Denver, Colorado

September 1st we left Boston on a special train at 11 o'clock a.m., making stops at Ayer Junction, Fitchburg, and Gardner to connect with trains from other parts of the state. We reached the Hoosac Tunnel at 4 p.m., passed through, and stopped at North Adams. A box lunch was served on the train at noon.

We passed the Massachusetts-New York state line at 5:15, and arrived at Rotterdam Junction — 267 miles from Boston — at 6:30 p.m. There we transferred to the West Shore Division of the New York Central, running parallel with the Erie Canal most of the way to Utica, New York, where supper was served at Baggs’ Hotel near the depot.

Leaving Utica at 9:30, the run to Syracuse took an hour and a half, the train passing right through the streets of the city. Thence to Buffalo, which we reached about 3 a.m. Saturday. At this point we set our watches back one hour.

There was a difference of one hour slower from here on until Omaha, Nebraska, where we set our watches back another hour, going by what is called Mountain Time.

The run from Buffalo to Cleveland, Ohio was partly at night. We arrived in Cleveland at 10 a.m. for breakfast. The country between Buffalo and Cleveland is mostly level, with large grape vineyards and fruit orchards on either side of the tracks.

Left Cleveland at 11:15 a.m. Fort Wayne, Indiana was reached at 5:15 p.m. We had supper at the hotel and left at 6:15 p.m. The outskirts of Chicago were reached about 10 p.m., about six hours later than scheduled. Some three and a half hours were consumed just getting around the city to the tracks of the Chicago & North Western Railroad.

We left at 1:45 a.m. Sunday, crossed the Mississippi River at Clinton at 6:30 a.m., and arrived at Cedar Rapids at 9, where breakfast was served. Leaving at 10 a.m., we arrived at Boone, Iowa at 1:30 for dinner.

We left at 2:30 to continue westward, and after leaving Boone the conductor called our attention to a trestle bridge we were about to cross that went over the Des Moines River. The train ran very slow across it. It is 185 feet above the bed of the river, the highest and only double-decked trestle in the country.

Continuing, we crossed the Missouri River at Council Bluffs and reached Omaha, Nebraska on the opposite side, where supper was served at 6:30 p.m.

Leaving Omaha at 8:30, we crossed the North Platte River, almost a dry bed, and reached the town of North Platte at 6:30 a.m. This was the original home and ranch of Col. Cody (Buffalo Bill), now having a population of about 4,500. Here we ate lunch at the restaurant and fed and watered the locomotive.

We arrived at Sidney, Nebraska at noon for breakfast, leaving at 1:30 for Cheyenne.

We arrived at the Fair Grounds at 4:30, where Western sports arranged for the benefit of the G.A.R. were in progress. The show was practically over when we arrived.

We left Cheyenne at 9:30, had supper on the dining car, and arrived in Denver at 12:30 after midnight on Monday. I went to the hotel and got a room, where I remained during my stay in Denver.

During the trip our train ran through the states of Massachusetts, New York, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Iowa, Nebraska, Wyoming, and Colorado.

Denver is a large and prosperous city of 175,000 people, with well laid out wide streets and large handsome buildings, especially the Court House and the State Capitol, which is built very much like our own State House in Boston.

In the basement of the Capitol there were rooms devoted for use as a museum, where they exhibit various products from the state of Colorado. Minerals of all kinds…gold, silver, coal, and ornamental stones used in jewelry. Fruits of all kinds preserved in jars — apples eight inches in circumference and weighing 30 ounces, pears weighing 18 to 20 ounces, sixteen-rowed corn ears a foot long, and other things too numerous to remember.

One room was devoted to War Relics: old muskets from the flint-lock down to the modern repeating rifle, pistols and sabres, shot and shell, mountain howitzers, and other relics.

During the stay at Denver we witnessed on Tuesday the 5th the Parade of Ex-Prisoners of War, escorted by a battalion of the 2nd U.S. Regulars with regimental band, and a battalion of boys from the Industrial Home at Golden, Colorado, with the Perkins, Oklahoma band composed of young ladies. The Colorado Midland Band was serving the Ex-Prisoners.

On Wednesday was the Parade of the G.A.R., starting at 10 a.m. over a route of two miles in length, asphalt paved the entire distance. It was variously estimated that there were between 125,000 to 175,000 in line, the time passing a given point being three and a half hours. Massachusetts, as usual, made a fine appearance with about 300 men in line, receiving an ovation at every point in the parade. We were fortunate in having the Colorado Cowboy Band to head our department.

On Thursday we made the trip to Silver Plume and the Georgetown Loop. Leaving Denver at 9:15 by special train, we reached the foothills about 10 and passed into Clear Creek Canyon at an elevation of 6,390 feet above sea level. A wild and rugged scene presented itself as we wound along the bank of the creek, with mountains thousands of feet high on one side, almost within reach of the hand from the windows of the car.

At 11 o'clock, Idaho Springs was reached, elevation 7,540 feet, where gold was first discovered in 1860, 37 miles from Denver. About noon we arrived at Georgetown City, 50 miles out, at an elevation of 8,476 feet, with a population of about 4,000.

From here we entered the famous Georgetown Loop, the trains winding their tortuous way up the mountain, appearing at times as if the engine was going to catch up with the rear of the train. During the ascent we crossed numerous trestles, the first at elevation 8,697, the next at 8,772, and looking down at the city beneath - it looked like a toy village.

Continuing upward we reached the mining camp of Silver Plume at an elevation of 9,176 feet, the grade being 187 feet to the mile. The distance by air line from Silver Plume to Georgetown is one mile, but we travelled six miles of track to get from point to point. During this trip we passed through a mountain shower which was very violent while going through it, but was soon over.

Friday was passed visiting various public buildings and other points of interest in the city of Denver and vicinity, among which was Broadway Park, where we witnessed an exhibition of bronco busting and lassoing wild horses, and the City Park in the suburbs containing some 50 acres - with a band in the afternoon and evening, moving pictures, and an artificial lake on which were motor and row boats of all kinds for hire. Among other entertainment furnished were illuminated cars with band or drum corps running up and down the principal streets.

Sunday the 10th we left Denver for Colorado Springs and Manitou. We stopped at the Iron Springs Hotel, at an altitude of one mile above sea level. En route we saw many buttes of sandstone with curious formations.

At Manitou we visited the soda and sulphur springs which rise from the ground. The hotel was directly opposite the depot of the Cog Railroad which climbs Pikes Peak, 7,545 feet higher than where we are. The air line is about one and a half miles and the railroad nine miles in length. The engine and cars look odd, being built on an incline, that is, wheels on one end very low and the others high, as the cars are pushed up the mountain, the grade being very steep. The peak summit is 14,147 feet above sea level. At 11,500 feet timber or woods of all kinds cease to grow, and you find snow most of the year above this line.

On Monday we arrived at Colorado Springs and accompanied our party on the trip to Cripple Creek, where there are some of the best paying gold mines in the state. About four miles out we crossed Bear Creek at an elevation of 200 feet above its bed, which was dry at the time. We also caught frequent glances of Stratton Park far below in the valley, of which I will speak later. We also saw a peak on our right, 10,500 feet high, from which proudly floats the Stars and Stripes put there by the government.

On this trip the cars ran on the edge of precipices which dropped sheer down for hundreds of feet. At Summit Station, 10,000 feet up, we stopped for a view of the country and saw the town of Cripple Creek in the valley below, which we soon reached and stopped for lunch and visited the town. Some of our party also made a trip to Victor on the electrics, some 3 or 4 miles farther and 357 feet higher than the summit. On this trip we passed through numerous tunnels cut through the mountain.

Cripple Creek is quite a large city with wide straight streets, a large number of brick and stone buildings — Court House, Opera House, 2 vaudeville houses, Fire Department, etc. — with a population of 10,000 or 12,000. This railroad is said to have cost the sum of $90,000 per mile to build.

Tuesday was at Colorado Springs. We took a carriage ride about the city, viewing many handsome residences and public buildings. Also the parks, of which there are several.

After dinner we took the electric car for Stratton Park, some 4 miles out of the city. This park, I was informed, was laid out by private enterprise, the tract of land of about 60 acres being purchased by Mr. Stratton when it was perfectly wild, being covered with scrub oak and underbrush. Some 20 acres of this land was cleared up and laid out as a park, with nice walks, shade trees planted, and artificial ponds built, one of which is quite large, half an acre or more, and stocked with lake trout and black bass which are not allowed to be caught.

It also contained 2 large pavilions for lunch rooms and curios, and a band stand with seats arranged like an amphitheatre to seat probably 2,000 people. There are also settees and swing chairs scattered about in great abundance. This property was opened to the public about 4 years ago, but is still owned by the heirs of Mr. Stratton.

I also visited Broadmoor and witnessed a very lively game of polo which was in progress.

In the evening we witnessed an exhibition run of the Fire Department, which consisted of a steamer, truck, and 4 combination hose wagons. They were illuminated with red fire, and through the negligence of someone who had attached Roman candles to the apparatus, the Chief of Police, Fire Chief, and some of the men were more or less injured, none seriously.

On Wednesday we visited the new Palmer Park on the western side of the city. Here we get a grand view of the mountains and Pikes Peak, which Comrade Stanley made a sketch of. We also witnessed something which at first we could not understand — from the top of the peak we saw frequent and irregular flashes of lightning as we supposed, but which proved to be messages sent by the wireless telegraphy.

After dinner, we visited Williams Canyon at Manitou, a narrow road used by carriages and burros that winds up the mountainside to the Cave of the Winds, about 1,500 feet above the town. On this trip we passed through a cut in the solid rock, 8 feet wide, with walls running straight up on each side. There are many turnouts on the road for carriages to pass each other, as otherwise there would be a blockade, with horses going up and down the canyon at all hours of the day.

Lover's Leap, a precipice 1,200 feet high and practically perpendicular on its face, was seen as we moved along. The cliffs on the right of the canyon resembled some old castle with numerous holes looking like casemates or windows in its side, presenting a grand picture.

The evening was passed at North Park, where a concert was given by the Midland Band.

After lunch we took a walk through the Garden of the Gods, going in at the western end and passing out at the eastern end into Colorado City — quite a long walk. Here again we saw the wonderful work of nature. At the entrance are the twin pillars on each side of the road, high pinnacles of rock worn so that it seems as if they had been placed stone on stone by masons.

Farther on we came to the Gates of the Garden, guarded by the Sentinels some 60 feet high, worn in fantastic shapes. The pass is about 80 feet wide, the ridges on either side rising almost perpendicular, probably 300 feet or more. On the sides we saw many holes, large and small, one near the top going clear through so that you can see the sky on the opposite side.

Soon after passing the gates we were overtaken by a mountain storm of wind and rain, but were fortunate enough to find a cave in a limestone cliff nearby. The entrance was just big enough to crawl into, and we found room to sit up straight after getting inside, there being a long narrow slit in the rock over our heads. How high it was I do not know, as matches would not give light enough to see the top of it. We also found a large ridge of gypsum, which is very soft on first being dug out, but soon hardens when exposed to the air. Many handsome ornaments are made from it and sold at the curio shops.

On Thursday we took the cars on the Midland Railroad for a trip up the Ute Pass trail. After passing through a series of 7 tunnels we made the first stop at Cascade Canyon, 7,421 feet high — quite a large valley in the side of the mountain, with cultivated stretches of flat land.

Next was Green Mountain Falls, 7,820 feet. Here we saw quite a village of tents laid out in old army style, with wide street between, probably occupied by "lungers" as they are termed in that country, that is, people who are there for lung trouble and such diseases.

Next was Crystola, 7,950 feet, where we saw a mine above the village. Then was Woodland Park, 8,484 feet, a town with a hotel, livery stable, and small houses. From this point we got a view of Pikes Peak with snow lying on its top and sides.

Next was Edlowe, 8,923 feet. Between this station and Woodland Park we saw large stretches of mountain meadows, which look very nice and green after so much of barren rock and scrub oaks.

Our stopover was made at Divide, at the top of the pass, 9,123 feet, where at the station we found our old friend and former townsman, Geo. Drysdale, who is the operator here. We took dinner with him and looked around the village, consisting of some 40 houses, 2 saloons, a dance hall, and school house with 2 teachers and about 40 pupils. The men were mostly engaged in getting out lumber, of which there is a large tract a few miles out owned by one person.

Opposite the depot was a one-story building perhaps 30 by 50 feet, with a sign on the roof reading "Walker House" in very large letters, a type of hotel like most others except in the large mining towns and cities where they are up to date. There at noon the mercury stood at 65 degrees, not very cold considering that we are up in the air nearly 2 miles. The view from this point was very extended, as the air is so clear that objects 50 miles away seem very near.

Friday at 8 o'clock we left for Cheyenne Canyon and Seven Falls, reached by electrics and a carriage ride through the canyon. On our right we saw Cutler Mountain, where the body of a murdered woman was found by surveyors in November 1904. Also a pinnacle high up resembling a McClellan saddle. The guide told us that on the previous Sunday he saw a man and woman up there astride the rock.

On the left was Inspiration Rock, where Helen Hunt Jackson did so much of her writing, and farther on we come to the trail which leads up to her grave on the mountainside.

Upon arrival at the foot of the falls we climbed several long flights of stairs with frequent resting places on the way up. These falls were small, with pools between, in fact cascades, and a large pool at the foot of the chain in which were mountain trout. Mountain goats and sheep are frequently seen on the range at the top of the mountain. They are quite wild and there is a law against shooting them.

Saturday we took in the sights of the town, attending a band concert at North Park.

Sunday morning, as we went to breakfast, we stopped to look in the house of the Fire Department. Just then came an alarm for fire, 2 blocks away. We followed the apparatus and found it to be a small stable. There were 5 horses in it which were taken out, 1 badly singed and 2 others more or less singed.

After dinner I went to Stratton Park for the band concert, which attracted a very large crowd, who were very enthusiastic, the band responding to the encores.

On Monday the 18th we left Colorado Springs at 12:45 p.m. en route for home, and reached Pueblo at 2 o'clock, 45 miles from Colorado Springs. Here we found a large manufacturing town, principally iron and steel works.

Leaving at 2:30 for Kansas City, we crossed the Arkansas River upon leaving the town. Fifty-six miles from Pueblo we stopped at Sugar City, where there are mills for grinding and refining beet sugar. We passed many large farms and saw many teams carting beets to this place. At Horace, 102 miles out, we crossed the state line into Kansas.

On Tuesday we passed through a flooded country which had been visited by very heavy rains, nearly 10 inches having fallen in 36 hours a few days previous. The train was having to run very slow, in many places there having been a number of washouts on the road, frequently running through water which covered the journal boxes of the cars. At one place in particular, water came up to the lower step of the car. We saw many fields of corn which had been laid flat by the overflow of water, and covered with mud and debris. Many cabins were surrounded by water. One in particular, occupied by colored people, had the water up nearly to the door sill, and six or eight children looking out the window, with a dugout hitched to the door post to get to dry land with.

At Osawatomie, Kansas, the home of John Brown, a stop was made to connect the dining car to the train.

At Kansas City our train was transferred to the tracks of the C. B. & Q. railroad due to bridges on the Missouri Pacific line being gone at the Kaw River and other points on the road. We crossed the Missouri River on leaving the city, which was very high and turbulent at this time on account of recent rains.

At Chillicothe, Missouri, we were again changed to the tracks of the Wabash Road for the rest of the run to St. Louis.

On Wednesday at St. Charles, 23 miles from St. Louis, we crossed the Missouri again on a trestle bridge one mile long, and passed within sight of the Exposition Grounds, where the World's Fair was held last year. Many of the buildings are still standing.

We arrived at St. Louis at 7:30 and had breakfast at the Portland Cafe. Leaving at 9 o'clock, we soon crossed the Missouri again for the third time since leaving Pueblo.

At 1:30 we stopped at Danville, Kentucky, a city of about 16,000 people, with a large amusement park on the outskirts which we passed very close. Here also is located a National Soldiers' Home with about 2,000 old veterans as inmates. I had quite a chat with one grizzled old fellow at the depot.

Finally, we arrived at 8:30 in Detroit, Michigan. It was too dark to see much of the city, but judging from the lights of the city it seemed as if it was built on the side of a hill. Here our train was cut in two and backed down onto a ferry boat to cross the river to the Canadian side, where another locomotive would take us in tow for Buffalo, New York.

With our journey through Ontario made in the night, I cannot say anything about the country through which we passed.

About 3:30 a.m. Thursday the porter came round and woke up the passengers who were to stop over at Buffalo. When we arrived at 4:30, Stanley and I took possession of a couple of the best black chairs which are quite comfortable, while on the settees around the room were stretched out several others asleep, some rather looking the worse for wear. We waited for daylight to appear, then strolled around and looked for breakfast, which we located about 7 o'clock.

After that we took electric cars and rode an hour to Niagara Falls, which we viewed from Goat Island, which is reached by an arched bridge across the river from the American side and by trestle from the Canadian side. Having spent the forenoon there, we returned to Buffalo for dinner at McLeod's Hotel opposite the depot.

We visited the Soldiers' Monument, which is quite a massive affair with statues representing infantry, artillery, cavalry, and navy, and with a great deal of carving in stone.

Getting a light supper or lunch, we left Buffalo at 8 o'clock that evening, arriving at Boston at 11:30 Friday — just one half hour over three weeks from our date of leaving.

My return trip passed through parts of Colorado, Missouri, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Ohio, Michigan, Ontario, New York, and Massachusetts.