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Conditions Governing Access

The collection is open for research.

Preferred Citation

Researchers wishing to cite this collection should include the following information: [identification of item], [box], [folder], Alexander Welch Reynolds Letter, Ms2008-030, Special Collections and University Archives, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, Va.

Source of Acquisition

The Alexander Welch Reynolds Letter was purchased by Special Collections in 2004.

Biographical Note

Alexander Welch Reynolds was born in Clarke County, Virginia in 1817 and graduated from the United States Military Academy at West Point in 1838. He served in the United States Army until Virginia seceded from the Union in early 1861. During the American Civil War, he served as a Colonel in the 50th Virginia and of four Tennessee regiments, successively. In 1863 he was promoted to brigadier general and commanded the 54th and 63rd Virginia, 58th and 60th North Carolina attached to Major General Carter L. Stevenson's Division, Hardee's Corps. He served in this capacity until he was wounded at New Hope Church in 1864 during the Atlanta campaign. Post-war, Reynolds served as a brigadier general in the army of the Khedive of Egypt until his death in 1876.

Scope and Content

The letter of Alexander Welch Reynolds, written from Wytheville, Virginia to his sister in Lewisburg, Virginia, is dated July 13, 1861, just three days after he was commissioned colonel of the 50th Virginia Infantry in the Confederate Army during the American Civil War. He writes that he has been organizing his regiment and invites his nephew to join his command. Reynolds predicts that the Union Army will be a formidable foe--a minority opinion at the time--and states that he deplores the necessity of the war, though he feels it necessary to take up arms in defense of country and home.

Subjects and Indexing Terms

• Civil War
• Local/Regional History and Appalachian South
• United States -- History -- Civil War, 1861-1865

Rights Statement for Archival Description

The guide to the Alexander Welch Reynolds Letter by Special Collections and University Archives, Virginia Tech, is licensed under a CC0 ( https://creativecommons.org/share-your-work/public-domain/cc0/ ).