Administrative Information

Access Restrictions

There are no restrictions.

Use Restrictions

See the University of Virginia Library’s use policy.

Preferred Citation

Papers of Joseph E. Johnston and George Frederick Holmes, Accession #5069, Special Collections, University of Virginia Library, Charlottesville, Va.

Acquisition Information

This collection was deposited on 19 May 1955.

Scope and Content Information

This collection contains 4 letters to General Joseph E. Johnston plus a partial listing of the Johnston family tree, a treasury note, and a billfold that contains a lock of the general's hair. There are also 14 letters addressed to Dr. George Frederick Holmes and from him as well. The General Johnston letters cover the years 1821-1825 while the Dr. Holmes letters cover 1846-1885.

General Joseph E. Johnston (1807-1891) was a general in the Confederate Army. He received his education at West Point. He married Lydia McLane in 1845. During the Civil War, he fought in the battles of First Bull Run, Fair Oaks, Vicksburg, Kennesaw Mountain, and Richmond. In the Battle of Kennesaw Mountain he defeated General William T. Sherman. After the Civil War, General Johnston moved to Richmond and became a member of the House of Representatives from 1879-81. He was also the commissioner of railroads from 1887 until his death in Washington in 1891.

Connected to Johnstons by marriage was George Frederick Holmes. Dr. Holmes (1820-1897) was man of varied abilities. He was born in British Guiana while his father was stationed there. He moved to Britain and began his education. After one year at the University of Durham (England), he went to Canada and from there he traveled southward. When he came to Virginia, he married Eliza Floyd, the daughter of John Floyd, the then Governor of Virginia. He also spent some time farming in Southwestern Virginia.

Dr. Holmes continued his education after he came to the United States. He received a degree in law from the University of South Carolina and then began his career as an educator. He was a professor of the Classics at what is now the University of Richmond and was named the first president of the University of Mississippi in 1848. He also taught at the College of William and Mary. Yet, he is best remembered for his work at the University of Virginia where he was a professor from 1857-1897. While at the University of Virginia, Dr. Holmes took on a variety of professorships. Some of these included: Professor of Historical Science and Professor of Political Economy and of the Science of Society. As a professor, Dr. Holmes worked on issues such as the Civil War and its impact on America. This pursuit lead to a special collection at University of Virginia named "The Memorials of the American Disruption". For his many years of service to the University of Virginia, the University named a dormitory after him on Brown College at Monroe Hill. Dr. Holmes spent his final years in Charlottesville and died there. He was buried Sweet Springs, Virginia, now West Virginia.