Charles S . Wainwright Charles Shiels Wainwright ( December 31 , 1826 – September 13 , 1907 ) was a produce farmer in the state of New York and an artillery officer in the Union Army during the American Civil War . He played an important role in the defense of Cemetery Hill during the July 1863 Battle of Gettysburg , where his artillery helped repel a Confederate attack . His extensive diary kept during the war is considered to be among the finest such documents from the Civil War period . Early life . Wainwright was born December 31 , 1826 , in New York City , the brother of future doctor and Union general , William P . Wainwright . As a young man , he helped run his father ' s sprawling farm , " The Meadows , " in the Hudson Valley , delivering produce to markets in the city . He was a prosperous farmer in 1860 , when the census was taken . His residence was listed as Rhinebeck , New York . He left behind an elderly father and two sisters when he joined the army in the early autumn of 1861 at the age of 34 . His diary was begun on October 1 of that year . Civil War . Wainwright was commissioned a major in the 1st New York Artillery on October 17 , 1861 , and served throughout the war as an artillery officer in the Army of the Potomac . Early in his service , he was recorder of a board used to weed out unfit officers . He was present with his guns at the Battle of Antietam and the Battle of Fredericksburg . His batteries supported the attack of the Pennsylvania Reserves on the Confederate right flank at the latter battle . Wainwright was chief of artillery of I Corps at the Battle of Chancellorsville . His actions in that battle were praised by the army ' s chief of artillery , Brig . Gen . Henry J . Hunt . He commanded the artillery brigade of the I Corps at the Battle of Gettysburg . During the struggle for control of Cemetery Hill on July 2 , 1863 , Wainwright commanded all the guns on the eastern part of the hill . His batteries were instrumental in helping repulse the twilight attack of the Louisiana Tigers , and they dueled with Confederate artillery the following day preceding Pickett ' s Charge . When Maj . Gen . George G . Meade reorganized the Army of the Potomac in 1864 , Wainwright became chief of artillery of V Corps , replacing Augustus P . Martin . He served in that role to the end of the war . Among his most successful actions was using guns to break a Confederate attack at the Battle of North Anna . He was promoted to brevet brigadier general on August 1 , 1864 . He was the author of " A Diary of Battle : The Personal Journals of Colonel Charles S . Wainwright , 1861 – 1865 " , published posthumously in 1962 . His journals provide insights into the administration of the artillery , as well as its use in battle . Wainwright ' s observations on the Union commanders with whom he served are pungent . Maj . Gen . Gouverneur K . Warren , under whom he had served in V Corps , and Maj . Gen . Joseph Hooker receive particularly negative reviews . Post - war activities . After the war , Wainwright resided in Dutchess County , New York , in Europe and then in Washington , D . C . . He belonged to the Metropolitan Club and the Sons of the American Revolution . Wainwright applied for a pension on November 28 , 1902 . His Washington address at the time was 1715 G Street North West . Wainwright died in Washington , D . C . , on September 13 , 1907 , at the George Washington University Hospital . He was buried in Green - Wood Cemetery , Brooklyn . Wainwright died unmarried , and his brother inherited the manuscripts of the diary he kept during the war .