Special Collections and University Archives, Virginia Tech
Special Collections and University Archives, University Libraries (0434)560 Drillfield Drive
Newman Library, Virginia Tech
Blacksburg, Virginia 24061
Business Number: 540-231-6308
specref@vt.edu
URL: http://spec.lib.vt.edu
John M. Jackson, Archivist
Administrative Information
Conditions Governing Reproduction and Use
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.
Conditions Governing Access
The collection is open for research.
Existence and Location of Copies
Some of this collection has been digitized and is available online.
Preferred Citation
Researchers wishing to cite this collection should include the following information: [identification of item], [box], [folder], Civil War Small Manuscripts Collection, Ms2003-014, Special Collections and University Archives, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, Va.
Scope and Content
A collection created from individual small (1- to 2-folder) manuscripts, containing such items as letters, diaries, reminiscences, and ephemera relating to the American Civil War.
Arrangement
The collection is arranged alphabetically by name of person, place, military unit, etc.
Subjects and Indexing Terms
- Civil War
- Local/Regional History and Appalachian South
- Montgomery County (Va.)
- United States -- History -- Civil War, 1861-1865
- Women -- History
Rights Statement for Archival Description
The guide to the Civil War Small Manuscripts Collection by Special Collections and University Archives, Virginia Tech, is licensed under a CC0 ( https://creativecommons.org/share-your-work/public-domain/cc0/ ).
Significant Persons Associated With the Collection
- Armistead, Mary Frances
- Babcock, H. O.
- Bailey, Pattie Dobson Talley, b.1888
- Briggs, Marian
- Campbell, Donald (Co. K, 12th Regiment [New York State Militia?])
- Compton, John R.
- Duncan, William E.
- Evans, Washington C.
- Fitting, Minnie Adams
- Garrett, Samuel Edwin, 1835(?)-1865
- Hart, Henry Waldo, 1832-1895 (Corporal, 2nd Connecticut Light Artillery Battery)
- Hayes, Carl N.
- Hilton, John, 1828-1903
- Jordan, Charles Francis, 1837-1922
- McKinnis, Henry, 1841-1893
- Shreve, David Prentiss (Lexington, Va.)
- Turner, Mary H.
- Walther, C. F. W., 1811-1887
Container List
Resident of Surry County and Richmond, Virginia during Civil War. Three-page photocopied typescript of Armistead's reminiscences, focusing on the several jobs she held during the war.
Farmer and schoolteacher from North Stonington, Connecticut. Diary entries record work, social and church activities, weather, and financial affairs. Also included are comments on the day's political and military affairs, particularly battles and lost friends.
A collection of buttons and pins relating to the Confederate States of America. Contains two Confederate naval uniform buttons, a Southern Cross of Honor [two pieces] belonging to William J. Baker (15th Virginia Infantry) and Frances M. Baker's pin from the Mississippi Division, United Daughters of the Confederacy.
Photocopy of application for membership in the Kentucky Division, United Daughters of the Confederacy. Describes Confederate service of Bailey's grandfather, Nathaniel Henry Talley, who worked as a gunboat mechanic and saddle maker at West Point, Virginia.
Resident of Gorham, New York. Letter to Catherine Weatherbee. Discusses their friendship, her parents' hardships, and the military service of her brothers Henry and Albert (both in the 126th New York Infantry)- -particularly Henry's wounding at Gettysburg and his subsequent death.
Soldier in Co. K, 12th Regiment [New York State Militia?]. Letter to his mother from Camp Anderson, Washington D. C. Writes of the regiment being mustered into U. S. service, conditions around Washington D. C., and relations with the local civilian population.
Waddy C. Charlton (1839), Montgomery County, Virginia native and soldier in the 4th Virginia Infantry. Photocopy of letter to Charlton from unidentified brother in Christiansburg, Virginia. Mentions family matters, local crop conditions, the local movement of troops aboard trains, prospects for a Confederate invasion of Washington D.C. and Maryland, and military activities in northwestern Virginia.
Collection of six handwritten poems said to have been composed during the Civil War and including works entitled "The Contraband" and "The Southern Girls Song," the latter signed by M. M. Williams; together with a writing case bearing the embossed title "Soldiers Home Companion." Digital images availabe on the VT Imagebase.
Colonel commanding the 198th Virginia Militia. Three notes, possibly from a copybook, signed by Compton. Two notes certify that Drs. Mitchel Kegley and William E. Hoge had served the regiment as surgeons, while the third directs Hoge to obtain payrolls while in Richmond.
Two notes issued by the Confederate government during the Civil War: a 20-dollar bill bearing the likeness of Vice President Alexander Stephens and a 100-dollar bill featuring portraits of Lucy Pickens (wife of South Carolina's governor) and George Randolph (CSA cabinet member).
Confederate assistant quartermaster at Giles Court House, Virginia. Copybook containing requisitions issued and letters written by Duncan. Many of the letters--written on behalf of Brigadier General Henry Heth- -concern such matters as supplies for local regiments, while others relate to postal service and transportation. A few of the mention local military combat.
Resident of Essex County, Virginia and private in Co. F, 9th Virginia Cavalry, killed near Malvern Hill. Photocopies and transcripts of two letters to Evans' sister, written from camps in the Richmond- Petersburg area, concerning local and camp conditions, military operations and personal matters. Accompanied by photocopies of a letter from Isaac J. Mercer regarding Evans' death, a newspaper death notice and a carte-de-visite of Evans.
Mimeographed typescript biography of Richard Henry Adams, Jr. (1841-1896), who served in the 5th Alabama Infantry and 51st Alabama Infantry, then later as an engineer under General Wheeler before being captured at Mt. Pleasant Tennessee in 1863. Adams became one of the "Immortal 600" prisoners-of-war held on Morris Island, South Carolina in 1864. He was released from prison in June, 1865. Biography includes lengthy excerpts from Adams' journals.
Resident of Cumberland County, Virginia; served in Co. G, 3rd Virginia Cavalry and killed in action at Five Forks, Virginia. Photocopies of letters to wife, Emma, from various camps in Virginia and West Virginia. Discusses family matters, the Southern cause, camp conditions, and military operations, particularly the Gettysburg campaign and the final battles around Richmond and Petersburg.
Corporal in 2nd Connecticut Light Artillery Battery and husband of Margaret Elizabeth Black. Typescript copies of letters written by Hart to his wife from camps in the northern Virginia and gulf coast areas. Discusses at great length camp life; conditions in northern Virginia, Louisiana, and other areas; military actions; the war's progress; and personal matters.
Photocopied typescript collection of information regarding the Civil War in Greene County, Tennessee.
English immigrant, corporal in Co. F, 111th Pennsylvania Infantry. Photocopies of Hilton's Civil War letters (written from the Washington, D.C. / Baltimore, Maryland area, Cedar Creek. Loudon Heights and ) to his wife, Mary Jane. Also includes photocopies of various military and legal documents, newsclippings and a photograph of Hilton. Digital images availabe on the VT Imagebase.
Transcripts of letters written to Amanda M. Fowler Holcombe of Texas by her husband, John M. Holcombe (Co. B, 17th Texas Infantry); her brother, Dr. William S. Fowler; and her brother-in-law, Lt. Charles Keton. The letters are written from camps in Arkansas and Texas and concern family matters, personal acquaintances, military activities, camp life, and Holcombe's illness and subsequent military discharge. Accompanied by photocopied biographical information on Holcombe.
Thomas G. Houck (1841-1863) of Pottsville, Pennsylvania, served with the 96th Pennsylvania Infantry during the Civil War and died from wounds received at Salem Church, Virginia. Collection consists of photocopied Civil War letters between Thomas Houck and his brother Joseph (1839-1908). Houck's letters are written from camps in Washington, D.C., Maryland and northern Virginia. Transcripts of the letters and of Thomas Houck's Civil War diary are included as well.
Resident of Rockbridge County, Virginia; farmer; banker; businessman; legislator; captain in Company C, 1st Virginia Cavalry. Photocopied typescript of Jordan's reminiscences of the battle at Kelley's Ford, Virginia, on March 17, 1863.
Private in Company B, 3rd Iowa Infantry from 1861-1864. Letters written to mother from camps near Moscow, Tennessee (January 20, 1863) and Hebron, Mississippi (March 5, 1864). McKinnis writes of Union and Confederate raids, a lack of rations, and general family matters. Accompanied by photocopies of typed transcripts, biographical material and a photo of McKinnis and his wife, Elizabeth Gilchrist McKinnis.
Photocopies of Civil War letters of brothers Fleming M., Christian S. and Isaac C. Prillaman, of Franklin County, Virginia, serving in Co. B, 57th Virginia Infantry.
Minister of Music at Manly Memorial Baptist Church (Lexington, Virginia). Collection of writings on the Shreve family and the Civil War in northern Virginia. Includes "Barbara Ann Shreve, Spy and Nurse for Her Countrymen," "A Young Confederate Sketch Artist Who Became a Scout, C[o]urrier, and Blockade Runner for John S. Mosby, 43rd Battalion, Virginia Cavalry" (regarding Benjamin Rutherford Shreve), "The Mystery of the Star Tavern's Puzzling Green Glass Star of Falls Church, Virginia," "Civil War Action in the No-Man's Land of Idylwood, Virginia and Vicinity," and "Along the Four Mile Run: Rural Life in 19th Century Arlington and Easter[n] Fairfax County - the Story of William Henry Shreve."
Resident of Petersburg, Virginia. Writes of friendship and the "unnatural and unholy war." Letter captured by J. S. France, of Co. B, 13th New York State Militia, during the Seven Days Campaign in 1862.
President of Lutheran Church, Missouri Synod. Internet printout of Walther's "Slavery, Humanism & The Bible: Selections from Lehre und Wehre," containing writings on slavery and the Civil War, extracted from various issues of a synodical publication published in 1863.