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Special Collections and University Archives, Virginia Tech
Special Collections and University Archives, University Libraries (0434)John M. Jackson
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.
The collection is open for research.
Researchers wishing to cite this collection should include the following information: [identification of item], [box], [folder], Frederick Blackman Correspondence, Ms1989-059, Special Collections and University Archives, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, Va.
The Frederick Blackman Letters were purchased by Special Collections and University Archives in two accessions in 1989.
The processing and description of the Frederick Blackman Letters commenced and was completed in February 2022.
Frederick Blackman (sometimes identified as Frederick Blakeman), son of James and Matilda Lockwood Blackman, was born in Easton (Fairfield County), Connecticut, ca. 1835. The 1860 federal census lists 24-year-old Frederick Blackman as a resident in the Fairfield (Fairfield County), Connecticut home of soda water manufacturer Franklin Sherwood. Blackman enlisted as a private in the 2nd Independent Battery, Connecticut Light Artillery on August 20, 1862, and was mustered into service on September 10. He was mustered out of service on August 9, 1865. He and his wife Lizzie had one daughter. Frederick Blackman died on March 14, 1917, and was buried in Mountain Grove Cemetery and Mausoleum, Bridgeport.
This collection contains two letters written by Frederick Blackman, a private in the 2nd Independent Battery, Connecticut Light Artillery during the American Civil War, to Frank Sherwood in Bridgeport, Connecticut. In an undated letter written at Fredericksburg, Virginia, Blackman asks Sherwood to send his box and blouse, as he "shant never Come Back to Bridgeport to live again." Writing on January 6, 1863, from an unidentified location, Blackman mentions having been "sick the knight that we had the fite" (possibly the skirmish with Stuart's cavalry near Fairfax Courthouse on December 27, 1862). He describes the local area as a "godforsaken looking country ... all of the barns are torn Down and About all the houses and the Bigest part of the trees ..." He mentions building berths and floors for tents and playing dominoes most nights. Blackman asks Sherwood if he thinks the war will end within six years, then expresses his hope that it will: "I have got A great hole in the [rer?] of My pants Most as big as A plate I hope that this war Will Close soon or I Shal Be Bare ass soon if they Dont give Abe some clothes soon."
The guide to the Frederick Blackman Correspondence by Special Collections and University Archives, Virginia Tech, is licensed under a CC0 ( https://creativecommons.org/share-your-work/public-domain/cc0/ ).
This collection had originally been assigned the title "Frederick Blackman Correspondence," but a review of the contents while processing determined that "Frederick Blackman Letters" would be a more accurate title.