author

Charles K. Cadwell

1841–1924

A Civil War veteran turned his own service diary into a vivid regimental history, preserving the story of Connecticut’s Sixth Infantry for later generations. His best-known book offers a firsthand, memorial-style account of marches, battles, and camp life during the war.

1 Audiobook

The Old Sixth Regiment, Its War Record, 1861-5

The Old Sixth Regiment, Its War Record, 1861-5

by Charles K. Cadwell

About the author

Born in 1841, Charles K. Cadwell is known for The Old Sixth Regiment, Its War Record, 1861–5, published in New Haven in 1875. The book draws on a diary he kept while serving and was written to give what he called a fair record of the regiment’s experience in the Civil War.

Available records connect him closely with New Haven, Connecticut, and with Company F of the 6th Connecticut Infantry. A bookseller’s description of a signed first edition identifies him as a New Haven resident who enlisted as a private in 1861, later rising to corporal and then sergeant before mustering out in 1864.

Cadwell’s writing stands out because it is both historical and personal: part unit history, part act of remembrance for the men and families tied to the regiment. He died in 1924, leaving behind a work that remains useful to readers interested in soldiers’ firsthand accounts of the American Civil War.