1866 ORIGINAL MANUSCRIPT DIARY AND JOURNAL OF US NAVAL ENGINEER, VETERAN OF THE CIVIL WAR AND WITNESS TO ONE OF THE MOST DESTRUCTIVE WARS IN SOUTH AMERICA EVER

On offer is a super, original 1866 manuscript relic of maritime and naval history being a journal handwritten by US Navy Asst. Engineer, Hiram Parker Jr. Dated January 26th 1866 and ending on May 13th 1866 Parker details his voyage on the noted gunboat USS Dacotah to Rio de Janiero, Medina, Brazil and last entries were from the Faulkland [sometimes Falkland] Islands [known as the Malvinas Islands to most South Americans]. Parker and his ship arrive at the height of the intense and horrific "Great War of La Plata" 1864 - 1870, a war against Paraguay which was the bloodiest and most expensive in South American history. Parker does a super job observing and detailing the people, the sights and of course matters of interest to a US seaman but first and foremost he spends most of his time describing the culture, the people and the politics of Brazil. This is a 7" x 8 1/2" journal has narrative on 86 pages most are full pages. He mentions one young crew member being hit on the head by a sheet block while asleep cracking his skull and killing him also diving boys off ship for coins, different machine repairs to the ship but our author has a lovely way with words and carries his love for Country and the ship on his sleeve: "We have indeed been having some rough weather. How the wind did blow & how high the waves ran. I never saw either excelled in all my precious sea going. Ur little craft showed herself equal to the emergency though she experienced a terrible rolling. American oak and iron and American hearts under the American ensign protected by the God of Nations should be equal to any emergency." Each page is filled with interesting observations when they reach Brazil from the holiday for the Emperor's grandson to entries like this: "Acting Master Price was buried in Potters field for the Catholics never permit Protestants to be buried in their cemeteries." This diary is really outstanding for bringing the reader right into the heart of Brazil through the eyes of an heroic 25 year old American veteran of the Civil War with the soul of a poet. BIO NOTES: one online source provides: Birth: Oct. 4, 1841, Death: Feb. 17, 1918. Civil War Union Naval Officer. Third Assistant Engineer, 16 November, 1861. Second Assistant Engineer, 25 August, 1863. First Assistant Engineer, 11 October, 1866. Resigned 18 February, 1875. Burial: Charles Baber Cemetery Pottsville Schuylkill County Pennsylvania, USA. Another source: Hiram Parker, Jr. married Elizabeth Jane Myers December 23, 1862. The covers are detached but present and some of the early pages are loose but those are numbered and none are missing. Some of the pages are brittle and split but all text is legible. Overall Fair+.; Manuscript; 8vo - over 7¾" - 9¾" tall; KEYWORDS: HISTORY OF, HIRAM PARKER JR, USS DACOTAH, USS DAKOTA, CIVIL WAR VETERAN, SOUTH AMERICA, LATIN AMERICA, BRAZIL, PARAGUAY, FALKLAND ISLANDS, MALVINAS ISLANDS, GREAT WAR OF LA PLATA, NAVAL, MARINE, US SEAMAN, ENGINEERS, UNITED STATES NAVY, US, US NAVY, SOUTH ATLANTIC, FAULKLAND, AMERICANA, HANDWRITTEN, MANUSCRIPT, DOCUMENT, LETTER, AUTOGRAPH, KEEPSAKE, WRITER, HAND WRITTEN, DOCUMENTS, SIGNED, LETTERS, MANUSCRIPTS, HISTORICAL, HOLOGRAPH, WRITERS, AUTOGRAPHS, PERSONAL, MEMOIR, MEMORIAL, PERSONAL HISTORY, ARCHIVE, DIARY, DIARIES, ANTIQUITÉ, CONTRAT, VÉLIN, MANUSCRIT, PAPIER ANTIKE, BRIEF, PERGAMENT, DOKUMENT, antiquité, contrat, vélin, document, manuscrit, papier Antike, Brief, Pergament, Dokument, Manuskript, Papier oggetto d'antiquariato, atto, velina, documento, manoscritto, carta antigüedad, hecho, vitela, documento, manuscrito, papel.