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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 to research.
Researchers wishing to cite this collection should include the following information: [identification of item], [box], [folder], Richard Henry Adams Diaries, Ms1994-013, Special Collections and University Archives, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, Va.
The Richard Henry Adams Diaries were donated to Special Collections and University Archives in 1994.
The processing and description of the Richard Henry Adams Diaries commenced and was completed in October, 2023.
Richard Henry Adams Jr., son of Richard H. and Anna Carter Harrison Adams, was born in Faunsdale (Marengo County), Alabama, on April 21, 1841. The 1860 federal census lists the younger Adams as a resident in the Marengo County home of his parents. At the outbreak of the American Civil War, Adams enlisted as a private in Company D, 5th Alabama Infantry. After being severely wounded at the Battle of Seven Pines in 1862, and recovering at home, Adams joined Company H, 51st Alabama Partisan Rangers and served as an officer on the staff of General Joseph Wheeler. Adams was captured near Mount Pleasant (or Columbia), Tennessee on September 24, 1863, and was sent to Nashville, then to Louisville, Kentucky (October 9); to Johnson's Island, Ohio (October 13); to Baltimore, Maryland (February 9, 1864); to Point Lookout, Maryland (February 14); to Fort Delaware, Delaware (June 23); to Hilton Head, South Carolina (August 20); to Fort Pulaski, Georgia (where he was one of the "Immortal 600" (October 20)); to H Hospital (November 19); back to Hilton Head (January 1, 1865); and finally back to Fort Delaware, where he was released upon taking the oath of allegiance on June 12. Returning to Alabama, Adams married Lottie Putnam; the couple had one son. Following Lottie Putnam Adams' early death, Adams married Elizabeth Campbell Radford (1847-1930). The 1880 census describes Richard H. Adams as a 39-year-old farmer, living with wife Lizzie (32), two young sons, and two servants. Richard Henry Adams Jr. died in Radford, Virginia, on October 8, 1896, and was buried in Radford Family Cemetery.
This collection contains diaries (photocopies of typed transcripts only) of Richard Henry Adams, who served during the American Civil War in Company D, 5th Alabama Infantry and in Company H, 51st Alabama Partisan Rangers and was a prisoner of war from September, 1863, to June, 1865. Included are transcripts of three separate diaries, comprising a total of 54 pages: "Journal No. 1" spans April 7, 1862 to May 30, 1862; "Diary No. 2," September 11, 1862 to March 22, 1863; the third, incomplete, segment is headed "Prison Diary of Capt. R. H. Adams" and commences in early 1864 and ends with Adams' return home on July 3. Also in the collection is a photocopy of a 1980 newspaper article, "Radford at Random," relating to Adams and his granddaughter, Minnie ("Mickey") Adams Fitting.
The guide to the Richard Henry Adams Diaries by Special Collections and University Archives, Virginia Tech, is licensed under a CC0 ( https://creativecommons.org/share-your-work/public-domain/cc0/ ).