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Conditions Governing Access

The collection is open to research.

Preferred Citation

Researchers wishing to cite this collection should include the following information: [identification of item], [box], [folder], John Buchanan Floyd Letter, Ms1989-015, Special Collections and University Archives, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, Va.

Source of Acquisition

The John Buchanan Floyd Letter was purchased by Special Collections and University Archives in 1989.

Processing Information

The processing and description of the John Buchanan Floyd Letter commenced and was completed in January 2022.

Biographical Note

John Buchanan Floyd, son of Virginia Governor John Floyd and Laetitia Preston, was born at Smithfield, Blacksburg, Virginia, on June 1, 1806. In 1830, he married his cousin, Sarah "Sally" Buchanan Preston; the couple had no children. In 1839, the Floyds settled in Washington County, Virginia, from which Floyd was elected to the Virginia House of Delegates in 1847. In 1849, he was elected governor of Virginia; following his term as governor he returned to the Virginia House of Delegates. In 1857 he was named Secretary of War under President Buchanan. He resigned on December 29, 1860. At the outbreak of the American Civil War, Floyd was commissioned a major general in the Provisional Army of Virginia and on May 23, 1861 was appointed a brigadier general in the Confederate States Army. Following his flight from battle at Fort Donelson, Floyd was relieved of command on March 11, 1862, resuming his position as major general of the Virginia state militia. He died in Abingdon, Virginia on August 26, 1863.

Burdett A. Terrett, son of Captain B. A. Terrett, was born in Missouri on May 30, 1842, and grew up in Lousiana. In 1860, he was named an "at large" appointee to the United States Military Academy. Records suggest that he was serving in the 8th Arkansas Infantry when he was wounded at the Battle of Shiloh. Following his recovery, he was promoted to captain and served as a staff officer through the remainder of the war. In late 1861, he was in Nashville, Tennessee, engaged in recruiting a battery of light artillery for Confederate service. Following the war, Terrett returned to Louisiana. He married Virginia Eliza Sompayrac (1883-1926) ca. 1869; the Terretts had three children. In 1874, he was named state and parish tax collector for Natchitoches. Burdett A. Terrett died in Natchitoches Parish, Louisiana on October 24, 1874 and was buried in American Cemetery, Natchitoches.

Scope and Content

This collection consists of a two-page letter written by Confederate Brigadier General John Buchanan Floyd to Confederate Secretary of War LeRoy Pope Walker. Writing from Camp Jackson at Wytheville, Virginia, Floyd solicits an officer's commission for B. A. Terrett of Louisiana, a former West Point cadet. Floyd suggests that Terrett would make a good drill officer. "I know this duty for him would be very agreeable to his parents--the more so because he is now [critically?] unemployed."

Subjects and Indexing Terms

• Civil War
• Local/Regional History and Appalachian South
• United States -- History -- Civil War, 1861-1865
• Wythe County (Va.)

Rights Statement for Archival Description

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