A Guide to the Charles Thomas Haigh notebook-diary 1863 Haigh, Charles Thomas, notebook-diary, 1863 MS 0016

A Guide to the Charles Thomas Haigh notebook-diary 1863

A Collection in
Virginia Military Institute Archives
Accession Number MS 0016


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Virginia Military Institute Archives

Virginia Military Institute Archives
Preston Library
Virginia Military Institute
Lexington, Virginia 24450-0304
USA
Phone: (540) 464-7566
Fax: (540) 464-7279
Email: archives@vmi.edu
URL: http://www.vmi.edu/archives

© 2001 By Virginia Military Institute

Funding: Web version of the finding aid funded in part by a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities.

Processed by: Diane B. Jacob

Repository
Virginia Military Institute Archives
Accession number
MS 0016
Title
Charles Thomas Haigh Notebook-Diary 1863
Physical Characteristics
The collection consists of one item.
Language
English

Administrative Information

Access

There are no restrictions.

Use Restrictions

There are no restrictions.

Preferred Citation

Charles Thomas Haigh Notebook-Diary, MS 0016, Virginia Military Institute Archives, Lexington, Virginia.

Acquisition Information

Received from the Virginia Military Institute Museum in April 1966 (Museum #B-1923-1031)

Alternative Form

A typewritten transcription is available.

Provenance

The collection was originally donated to the VMI Museum by Mrs. Daingerfield, February 1923.

Alternative Form

This collection has been digitized. It is viewable online at http://digitalcollections.vmi.edu/ .

Biographical/Historical Information

Charles Thomas Haigh was born March 1845 at Fayetteville, North Carolina. He attended the Hillsboro (North Carolina) Military Academy and served as a drillmaster in North Carolina at the beginning of the Civil War. He subsequently enrolled at the Virginia Military Institute, where he was a cadet from late 1861 through part of 1863.

Haigh resigned his cadetship in order to join the Confederate Army, and in October 1863 he began service in Company B, 37th North Carolina Infantry Regiment. He was killed in battle at Spotsylvania on May 12, 1864, while leading a charge. His brigade commander wrote that "Lieutenant Haigh was among the foremost in the charge upon the battery, and won the admiration of all who saw him."

Scope and Content Information

The collection consists of a one volume notebook-diary kept by Virginia Military Institute Cadet Charles T. Haigh in 1863. The volume provides insight into the life and concerns of a VMI cadet during the Civil War. It primarily contains poetry written by his classmates, as well as poetry by Sarah Henderson Smith, the wife of VMI's Superintendent, Francis H. Smith.

The diary portion contains sparse entries for the period March-May 1863. Included are occasional references to wartime cadet life, as well as a brief account of General Stonewall Jackson's wounding, death, and funeral in May 1863.

Diary entries by date/topic

03/30/1863- ex-cadet William A. Daniels
04/02/1863- Hampton's Brigade
04/03/1863- resignation of Cadet Smith
04/22/1863- "Button mania"
04/28/1863- Visit of Governor John Letcher
05/06/1863- Gen. Lee's victory over Gen. Hooker
05/07/1863- Gen. Stonewall Jackson wounded; Paxton and Davidson killed
05/09/1863- Davidson funeral
05/11/1863- Death of Gen. Jackson
05/12/1863- Paxton's body interred
05/14/1863- Jackson's body arrives in Lexington
05/15/1863- Jackson's funeral

Contents List

Box 1
Notebook-Diary 1863