Administrative Information

Access Restrictions

There are no restrictions.

Use Restrictions

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Preferred Citation

Provisional Army of Virginia, Recruiting Officer Records, 1861. Accession 38889, State Records Collection, The Library of Virginia, Richmond, Virginia.

Acquisition Information

Acquired prior to 1905 (no other acquisition information available).

Biographical/Historical Information

An ordinance to provide for the organization of the Provisional Army of Virginia was passed on April 27, 1861 by the Virginia Convention. Robert E. Lee was appointed "commander of the military and naval forces of Virginia" on April 23 with a commission as major general in the Provisional Army and the Volunteer Forces of Virginia. The Provisional Army was to consist of two regiments of artillery, eight regiments of infantry, a regiment of riflemen, and a regiment of cavalry. Only one battalion, however, the 1st Battalion Virginia Infantry (Irish Battalion), and one independent artillery company under Capt. Greenlee Davidson was recruited in 1861. Joseph Selden was nominated by Governor Letcher on the recommendation of Gen. Lee as Lt. Col. of Volunteers on April 17. Selden was later named superintendent of the recruiting service for the Provisional Army. On July 17, L.P. Walker, CSA Secretary of War, wrote to George W. Munford, Secretary of the Commonwealth, regarding the accounts of Joseph Selden and the recruiting service. In this letter, Walker ordered that the service be discontinued as the Confederate States relies on volunteer forces (War of the Rebellion, 4th Series, I:484). It appears that the recruiting service continued until the end of September 1861.

Scope and Content Information

Contains vouchers, accounts current, receipts, financial statements, correspondence, abstracts, returns, and musters of recruits. These materials were submitted to the Auditing Board by various recruiting officers of the Provisional Army of Virginia in 1861. The vouchers document the expenses incurred by these officers in performing their duty. The expenses include such items as room & board, transportation, printing posters, stationery, etc. The abstracts summarize the information from numerous vouchers and include the date of payment, on what account, and costs in dollars and cents. Noteworthy are the two musters of recruits. One of these musters was made by E.S. Hutter, Jr., and the other by William E. Harrison. The musters include the names of the recruits, rank, date of recruitment, place of enlistment, physical description (hair & eye color, height & weight), place of birth, occupation, and age.

Arrangement

Arranged alphabetically by the name of the recruiting officer.