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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], Hamilton S. Sclater Letters, Ms2008-087, Special Collections and University Archives, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, Va.

Source of Acquisition

The Hamilton S. Sclater Letters were purchased by Special Collections in 2004.

Processing Information

The processing, arrangement, and description of the Hamilton S. Sclater Letters commenced and was completed in November 2008.

Biographical Note

Hamilton S. Sclater was born in Fluvanna County Virginia in 1844, the son of Robert, a farmer, and Janetta (possibly Jennetta) Sclater. Census indexes for 1850 and 1860 record the family name as Selater. The 1850 census shows a family of eight brothers and sisters: William H., age 18; James R., age 16; Mary A.[?], age 14; Richard J., age 12; Morton T.[?], age 8; Hamilton S., age 6; George T., age 4; and Louisa E., age one month. The ages of the parents, Robert and Janetta are shown as 42 and 39, respectively. By 1860, the only children listed are Morton, Hamilton, George, and Louisa. The 1870 census shows Morton and Hamilton living with their parents in the Cunningham Township of Fluvanna County The occupation of each is noted as "works on James," while Robert continues to be listed as a farmer, and Janetta's occupation is "keeping house." Cunningham Township lies in the southwestern corner of Fluvanna County and is bordered by the James River on the south.

During the American Civil War, Hamilton S. (H.S.) Sclater was a private in D Company of the 25th Virginia Battalion in April and July 1864 when he wrote two of the letters in this collection. Part of the Local Defense Troops, the 25th was known as the Richmond City Battalion, or simply the City Battallion, as Sclater refers to it. Company D, commanded by Captain John F. C. Potts, was known as the Richmond Minute Men. Muster rolls for the 25th Battalion show that Sclater was enlisted on either 21 January or 18 February 1863, in Richmond, by either Captain S. T. Bailey or Captain Potts. According to Wallace's A Guide to Virginia Military Organizations, 1861-1865, the 25th was originally organized on 15 August 1862 for a period of six months, for service in and around Richmond. It was then re-mustered in January and February 1863.

Sclater's first letter, dated 13 August 1862, requests that mail be directed to him via "Ewell's Division Earley's Brigade." In Stonewall Jackson at Cedar Mountain, Robert K. Krick identifies the infantry units comprising Jubal Early's brigade as the Virginia 13th, 25th, 31st, 52nd, 58th, and the 12th Georgia. Existing muster rolls for the 25th Virginia Infantry do not include records for H. S. Sclater.

The battle at Cedar Mountain began in earnest on Saturday 9 August 1862. Sclater reports that he arrived at the battlefield the following morning. His letter to his mother was written the following Wednesday from camp near Gordonsville, approximately 15 miles south of the battle site.

The letter from Chaffin's Farm on 4 July 1864 mentions George, Hamilton's younger brother, of whom Sclater says, "it would be best for him to join this Company before he is 18."

External Sources:

Wallace, Jr., Lee A. A Guide to Virginia Military Organizations, 1861-1865, rev. 2nd ed. Lynchburg, VA: H.E. Howard, Inc., 1986. (E581.4 .W3 1986 Spec Civil War)

Krick, Robert K. Stonewall Jackson at Cedar Mountain. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 1990. (E473.76 .K75 1990 Spec Civil War)

Scope and Content

This collection contains three letters written by Hamilton S. Sclater, a private in Company D, 25th Battalion Virginia Infantry during the American Civil War. These letters describe several aspects of the life of a Confederate soldier in Virginia. The earlier letter, written following the battle at Cedar Mountain, describes the "considerable loss" on both sides and mentions the capture of a Union brigadier general. (The general in question is Henry Prince.) In this letter, Sclater also describes, in some detail, one of the several presumed, but false Union charges that led to a Confederate panic. (In Stonewall Jackson at Cedar Mountain, Krick suggests that the Cedar Mountain campaign involved "more unwarranted panics than any two other campaigns of the war combined.")

The letters from Chaffin's Farm in April and July 1864 report a quieter scene, despite mention of the shelling of Petersburg in the latter, but also a situation where rations are meager and Sclater's hunger is evident. General Grant's order to General Lee to surrender Petersburg or face its destruction is mentioned, as is Sclater's hope that "Lee will not give it up without a fight. . . ." (Chaffin's Farm, an area of fortifications south of Richmond, would, in late September 1864, be the site of a major engagement.)

Arrangement

The collection is arranged chronologically.

Subjects and Indexing Terms

• Civil War
• United States -- History -- Civil War, 1861-1865

Rights Statement for Archival Description

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