Conditions Governing Reproduction and Use

The copyright status of this collection is unknown. Copyright restrictions may apply. Contact Special Collections and University Archives for assistance in determining the use of these materials. Reproduction or digitization of materials for personal or research use can be requested using our reproduction/digitization form: http://bit.ly/scuareproduction . Reproduction or digitization of materials for publication or exhibit use can be requested using our publication/exhibition form: http://bit.ly/scuapublication . Please contact Special Collections and University Archives (specref@vt.edu or 540-231-6308) if you need assistance with forms or to submit a completed form.

Conditions Governing Access

The collection is open to research.

Preferred Citation

Researchers wishing to cite this collection should include the following information: [identification of item], [box], [folder], F. B. Lewis Letter, Ms1992-015, Special Collections and University Archives, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, Va.

Immediate Source of Acquisition

The F. B. Lewis Letter was purchased by Special Collections and University Archives in 1992.

Processing Information

The processing and description of the F. B. Lewis Letter commenced and was completed in October, 2023.

Biographical / Historical

F. B. Lewis was an enlisted man serving in Company B of an unidentified regiment within the U. S. Army in 1845. Evidence suggests that the writer may have been the Frederick B. Lewis who married Catharine F. Prince in Norristown (Montgomery County), Pennsylvania, on November 2, 1834. Both were natives of Norristown. The couple had two children. The U. S. Army Register of Enlistments shows that Montgomery County native Frederick B. Lewis, a 26-year-old printer, enlisted for five years in the U. S. Army at Philadelphia on April 1, 1841. He served in Company B, 2nd U. S. Artillery and was discharged at Fort Columbus, New York, on November 3, 1845. Lewis re-enlisted for five years on November 27, 1845 at Fort Mifflin (Philadelphia) and was assigned to Company D, 2nd U. S. Artillery. A note within his enlistment record states that Lewis deserted on February 13, 1846.

Scope and Contents

This collection consists of a single, three-page letter written by F. B. Lewis, an enlisted man serving in Company B of an unidentified regiment within the U. S. Army. Written from Fort Columbus (now Fort Jay) in New York Harbor on January 23, 1845, the letter is addressed to Lewis's brother, William Lewis of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. Lewis's letter concentrates largely on his efforts to secure a discharge from the army. He writes at length and bitterly of the degradation of the army through the "admission of Foreign Renegades and unprincipled Brats (in the shape of Lieutenants) from West Point." He particularly complains of favoritism shown to soldiers of English and Irish origin over those born in the United States. Of officers who had graduated from the U. S. Military Academy, Lewis writes that they are "poor gentlemens' sons, and are placed at West Point, because they cannot be supported at home in idleness and ... are too elevated in society(!) to learn an honest profession ..." Lewis also writes obliquely of some domestic problems which may have led to his enlistment.

Rights Statement for Archival Description

The guide to the F. B. Lewis Letter by Special Collections and University Archives, Virginia Tech, is licensed under a CC0 ( https://creativecommons.org/share-your-work/public-domain/cc0/ ).