Conditions Governing Access

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Conditions Governing Access

Manuscript collections in the VMI Archives are made available for educational and research use. The VMI Archives should be cited as the source. The user assumes all responsibility for identifying and satisfying any copyright holders. Materials from our collections may not be redistributed, published or reproduced without permission from the VMI Archives.Contact the VMI Archives for additional information.

Preferred Citation

Thomas F. Barksdale papers, 1851-1855. MS 0062. VMI Archives, Virginia Military Institute, Lexington, Virginia.

Immediate Source of Acquisition

Gift of Emily Barksdale

Biographical / Historical

Thomas Flournoy Barksdale was born in 1833 in Halifax County, Virginia. He graduated VMI in 1855. He went on to become a Confederate veteran, lawyer, judge, and teacher. Barksdale died in 1902 in Roanoke, Virginia.

Scope and Contents

The Thomas F. Barksdale papers consist of two items. The first is a letter (dated January 25, 1855) from a Prussian official, denying Thomas F. Barksdale and his roommates permission to enter the Prussian Army. The second item is a notebook that contains: Class notes, including notes taken in Stonewall Jackson's class section in natural philsophy (a course that would today be most similar to physics) and notes taken in analytical geometry class taught by Francis H. Smith A resolution issued by cadets following murder of Cadet Thomas Blackburn, Class of 1854 Poetry Autographs of the Class of 1855 A list of roommates and room numbers

Subjects and Indexing Terms

• Blackburn, Thomas, 1834-1854
• Jackson, Stonewall, 1824-1863
• Mathematics—Study and teaching
• Notebooks
• Physics—Study and teaching
• Poetry
• Smith, Francis H. (Francis Henney), 1812-1890
• Virginia Military Institute—Academics—History—19th century
• Virginia Military Institute—Cadet compositions—Poetry
• Virginia Military Institute—Cadet life—1850-1859
• Virginia Military Institute—Class of 1855
• Virginia Military Institute—Curricula