Administrative Information

Access Restrictions

There are no restrictions.

Use Restrictions

Use microfilm (Misc. reels 4703-4788).

Preferred Citation

Virginia. Governor (1860-1863: Letcher). Executive Papers, 1859-1863. Accession 36787. State government records collection, The Library of Virginia, Richmond, Virginia.

Acquisition Information

Acquired prior to 1905.

Alternative Form Available

Also available on microfilm - Miscellaneous Reel 4703-4788.

Accruals

Accession 19736 has been included in Governor Letcher's Executive Papers. This accession consists of a letter from Susan E. Wash to Governor Letcher, asking that her husband be relieved from military service. Endorsement of Governor Letcher, dated 7 May 1861, grants the request.

Accession 19923 has been included in Governor Letcher's Executive Papers. This accession consists of a letter from Major General T. J. Jackson, Winchester, to Governor Letcher. In this letter, Jackson comments on the military situation and requests reinforcements and arms to be sent to Winchester, 30 November 1861.

Accession 33651 has been included in Governor Letcher's Executive Papers. This accession consists of a letter from John H. Winder to Governor Letcher regarding the sentence of J. C. Northwood, 6 April 1863.

Biographical Information

Governor John Letcher was born on 29 March 1813, in Lexington, VA. Letcher graduated from Randolph Macon College in 1833, where he studied law. He participated in the State Constitutional Convention of 1850 and was elected to Congress as a Democrat in 1852. Letcher served in Congress until 1859, when he was elected governor of Virginia.

Shortly after the Virginia Convention of 1861 passed the ordinance of secession on 17 April 1861, he ordered state troops to seize the Harper's Ferry arsenal and the Gosport navy yard. On 21 April 1861, Letcher appointed an Advisory Council consisting of Col. Francis H. Smith of the Virginia Military Institute (V.M.I.), Capt. Matthew Fontaine Maury, and John J. Allen, the Convention later adding Lt. Governor Montague and T. S. Haymond. Letcher sent Judge John Robertson to Washington to invite Col. Robert E. Lee to Richmond, where he offered Lee the position of major general of all the state's land and naval forces. Letcher later transferred all military forces to the Confederate States of America on 6 June 1861. Letcher entrusted Lee to make the major strategic military decisions, but still remained active, usually through his aid-de-camp, S. Bassett French, in the preparations for war. Letcher was also very active in raising volunteers from Virginia throughout the war.

Following his term as governor, Letcher unsuccessfully campaigned for a seat in the Confederate Congress and returned to Lexington, where he continued to live after the war. As a result of his involvement in the war, Letcher was arrested by Federal authorities and imprisoned in Carroll Prison in Washington, D.C. on 24 May 1865. He was paroled on 10 July, and later was granted a full pardon by President Johnson, and again returned to Lexington. Letcher died on 26 January 1884.

Scope and Content Information

Governor Letcher's Executive papers are organized into two series: Chronological files and Subject files. The Chronological files are arranged by date on the endorsement, which indicates when the document was received and what action was taken by the governor. The Subject files are arranged into three subjects: the Advisory Council, John Brown's Raid, and Railroads.

The bulk of the material is found in the Chronological files series, which primarily consists of incoming correspondence dated between 1860 and 1863. Although Governor Letcher did not take office until 1860, there is correspondence addressed to Governor Letcher soon after he was elected, between November and December 1859. Correspondence, court cases, telegrams, poll books, pardons, proceedings, receipts, clippings, reports, petitions, resignations, contracts, proclamations, requisitions, resolutions, and other items are found in the Chronological files.

Noteworthy correspondents include Jefferson Davis, Gen. Robert E. Lee, Stonewall Jackson, Joseph R. Anderson (President of Tredegar Iron Works), L. P. Walker & James A. Seddon (C.S.A. Secretaries of War), and James Mallory (C.S.A. Secretary of the Navy). The correspondence from Jefferson Davis involves Virginia troops (2 May 1861), the reduction of service for some soldiers' companies (16 July 1861), and enrollment of conscripts (2 December 1862), and the reduction of the number of slaves working on fortifications (25 February 1863 and 5 March 1863). As commander of all land and naval forces in Virginia, Gen. Robert E. Lee received correspondence referred from Governor Letcher. One such letter relates to the civil and military government alleged to have been established in Norfolk and Portsmouth (24 March 1862). These letters include Lee's response written on the endorsement. Stonewall Jackson wrote Governor Letcher on several occasions. On 12 October 1861, Jackson wrote regarding Letcher's intended visit. On 31 January 1862, Jackson writes Letcher regarding an order from the Secretary of War to fall back from Romney. Jackson expresses his opposition to this order and requests a resignation and an order to be sent back to the Virginia Military Institute. Joseph R. Anderson wrote Governor Letcher asking him to exempt workers at Tredegar from volunteer service (7 May 1861). Also included is a contract between Anderson and the Board of Commissioners to manufacture arms (23 August 1860). A letter from Secretary of the Navy, James Mallory, involves the transfer of the steamers Jamestown and Yorktown to the Confederate navy (15 July 1861).

Much of the correspondence to Governor Letcher consists of recommendations of Virginians for appointments. The governor appointed coroners; inspectors of salt, flour, tobacco, warehouses, and vessels; commissioners; Bank of Virginia directors; and notaries, in addition to positions in the Provisional Army. Numerous petitions accompany these recommendations. Letters from individuals stating their desire to be considered for a particular position are also included. One such letter from Elizabeth L. Stuart asks the governor to reserve a position in the Virginia Provisional Army for her son, Jeb Stuart (23 April 1861). Governor Letcher dealt with numerous such requests for commissions in the Provisional Army before he transferred all Virginia's forces to the Confederate States. Also common are letters and telegrams, mostly from April 1861, to the governor from individuals in support of secession and others who are tendering their services for the war effort. Letcher sent letters to the convention nominating colonels, calling volunteers into service, and issuing commissions (1-2 May 1861). Letcher nominated Lee as commander of all land and naval forces with the rank of Major General (22 April 1861) and also Thomas J. Jackson as colonel of volunteers. Along these same lines are various requests for exemptions from military service. An ordinance of the convention exempted railroad officers and employees from service. A list of Central Railroad exemptions can be found in these papers (16 July 1861).

An important function of the governor was issuing reprieves and pardons. Copies of court cases, clippings, petitions, and correspondence supplement the pardons. All of the pardon papers are filed separately in the chronological series at the end of each month. One significant pardon involved the case of Notley P. Adams of Patrick County, who was charged with arson. Letcher pardoned Adams in December 1863, after he served three years in the penitentiary. A map of the area in Patrick County where the crime was committed is included in the papers. The governor also received and issued proclamations and requisitions regarding escaped convicts and fugitives. Significant are the requisitions involving conspirators who assisted John Brown in his raid on Harper's Ferry.

Other noteworthy documents within the chronological series include: a rough copy of the ordinance of the Virginia Convention defining the duties of the Advisory Council (23 April 1861); a letter from the Virginia Convention to Jefferson Davis inviting him to make Richmond the seat of government of the Confederacy (27 April 1861); an anonymous letter to Letcher warning of the U.S. Government's intention to take Arlington Heights (6 May 1861); a letter from Letcher to Sam Houston, Governor of Texas, enclosing a copy of the resolution in response to the request of South Carolina and Mississippi for a Conference of the Southern States (23 April 1860); a resolution of the state of Tennessee on state's rights (24 May 1860); telegrams from the states of Florida, Alabama and Mississippi announcing their secession from the Union (10-12 January 1861); and a proclamation by Letcher to the people of northwestern Virginia regarding secession (14 June 1861).

Also included is a deed of the state of Virginia to the Confederate States of America transferring property, including all the machinery and stores at Harper's Ferry and the armory in Richmond (3 October 1861); a drawing of a "steam gun" designed by Philip Strickler (29 October 1861); a message from Letcher to the General Assembly announcing the death of former President John Tyler (18 January 1862); a 15-page report by Jeb Stuart to General Lee on the Pamunkey expedition (23 June 1862); lists of negro convicts employed by Joseph R. Anderson & Co. (3 September 1862); a list of prisoners confined in the State Armory taken by Major General Floyd (29-30 December 1862); a report of S. Bassett French calculating the slave population in those counties where requisitions were made for slaves to work on fortifications (20 March 1863); deed of the Hollywood Cemetery Company to the Commonwealth of Virginia for a section to bury President Tyler (17 March 1863); a telegram from James P. Smith, Guineas Station, to Letcher regarding the condition of General Jackson (5 May 1863); and a message from Letcher to the House of Delegates transmitting a statement of the number of troops furnished to the Confederate States by Virginia (8 October 1863).

The second series of Governor Letcher's Executive papers contains subject files. There are three subjects represented in this series: the Advisory Council, John Brown's Raid, and Railroads. The materials related to the Advisory Council include correspondence, proceedings, and reports of committees between April and June of 1861. Governor Letcher often referred correspondence to the Advisory Council, and the endorsement on the letter details the Council's action with regard to the letter. One letter, in particular, from Robert E. Lee is relevant to the preparations for the defense of Virginia (15 June 1861). The majority of the correspondence, however, concerns appointments in the Provisional Army and other military matters. The proceedings contain reports of the Committee for Courts of Justice, the Committee of Propositions and Grievances, the Committee on Finance, and the Committee on Military Affairs.

The John Brown's Raid documents include correspondence related to the request for pardon of conspirators Aaron D. Stevens and Albert Hazlett, and information concerning fugitive conspirators Barclay Cappoc, Owen Brown and Francis Merriam. Particularly interesting is a printed protest by Democratic members of the Iowa General Assembly condemning Governor Kirkwood's refusal to extradite Barclay Cappoc. There are copies of the indictments for Francis Merriam, Jeremiah Anderson, Owen Brown, and Charles P. Tidd. Military expenses incurred by militia, yet unpaid, are also documented here.

Lastly, material concerning railroads includes correspondence with regard to railroad connections and the ordinance of the convention relieving railroad workers from military duty and arming them for the defense of the railroads. A roll of the Richmond and Danville Railroad Guard is included.

Arrangement

Governor Letcher's Executive papers are organized into two series: I: Chronological files, 1859-1863; II: Subject files, 1860-1861.

The Chronological files are arranged by the date on the endorsement, which indicates when the document was received and what action was taken by the governor.

The Subject files are arranged into three subjects: the Advisory Council, John Brown's Raid, and Railroads.