Use Restrictions

Permission to publish material from John P. E. Campbell Letter must be obtained from Special Collections, Virginia Tech.

Access Restrictions

Collection is open for research.

Preferred Citation

Researchers wishing to cite this collection should include the following information: John P. E. Campbell Letter, Ms2011-056, Special Collections, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Blacksburg, Va.

Acquisition Information

The John P. E. Campbell Letter was donated to Special Collections in March 2011.

Processing Information

The processing, arrangement, and description of the John P. E. Campbell Letter was completed in June 2011.

Biographical Note

John Place Evans Campbell was born July 6, 1835 to Benjamin J. and Lydia Campbell in Bedford Co., Virginia. He was married to Elizabeth M. Campbell (b. 1842) in 1856. Prior to enlisting in the Confederate Army Campbell worked as a mechanic in Henry County, Virginia.

John P.E. Campbell enlisted in the Confederate Army on July 15, 1862 in Giles County, Virginia. He enlisted at the rank of private in Company K, Virginia 50th Infantry Regiment. After Campbell's enlistment, Virginia's 50th regiment was involved in the battles at Chancellorsville, Gettysburg, Wilderness, and Winchester. The regiment disbanded in April 1865.

According to census records after the Civil War he lived in Patrick County, Virginia and worked as a furniture and cabinetmaker. He died in Patrick County, Virginia, June 11, 1909.

Source: United States Military and Census records from Ancestry.com

Scope and Content

Letter from John P. E. Campbell (50th Regiment, Virginia Infantry) to his wife, April 13, 1863. At the time of the letter Campbell was in Caroline County, Virginia. Campbell writes his wife about where he has been recently and who he has seen. The letter also includes a description of Fredericksburg after the battle. He writes of "the dead lying there almost dismembered" and the dead horses that covered the battlefield.

Subjects and Indexing Terms

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