Administrative Information

Access

Collection is open to research.

Use Restrictions

Permission to publish material from the James R. Tice Letters must be obtained from Special Collections, Virginia Tech.

Preferred Citation

James R. Tice Letters, Ms2003-006 - Special Collections, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University.

Acquisition Information

The James R. Tice Letters were donated to Special Collections in 2001.

Alternate Form Available

Images available online.

Processing Information

The processing and description of the Tice Letters commenced and was completed in April 2003.

Biographical Information

James R. Tice, farm worker and Confederate soldier, was born in Floyd County, Virginia, the son of Laban and Frances Webb Tice. Although census records indicate that Tice was born around 1842, family members provide March 24, 1847 as his date of birth. He was the son of Laban and Frances Webb Tice. In 1860, Tice was living in Copper Hill (Floyd County), Virginia and working as a field hand. He enlisted in Company B of the 42nd Virginia Infantry at Jacksonville (now Floyd), Virginia on May 25, 1861, with the initial rank of first corporal. Through successive promotions, he eventually attained the rank of third sergeant and was present with the company until December 1862, when he was briefly detailed to Floyd County to find absentee soldiers. Tice was wounded in the back and captured at the battle of Gettysburg. He died there from his wounds on July 6, 1863.

Company B of the 42nd Virginia Infantry was mustered into Confederate service at Lynchburg on June 11, 1861. The regiment had been recruited from counties in south central Virginia and would participate in Jackson's Shenandoah Valley campaign of 1862. The regiment later fought at Gettysburg, The Wilderness, Spotsylvania and in Early's Valley Campaign of 1864, before being assigned duty in the defense of Petersburg. The regiment was present at the surrender to Union forces in Appomattox.

Source: Chapla, John D. 42nd Virginia Infantry. Lynchburg, Va.: H. E. Howard, 1983.

Scope and Content Information

The correspondence of James R. Tice, a Confederate soldier in Company B, 42nd Virginia Infantry, consist of three letters written to his sister (Martha A. Tice Light) and brother-in-law (Jim Light) during the war. Written from camps near Romney (January 18, 1862), Port Republic (June 15, 1862) and Guinea Station (April 21, 1863), the letters focus primarily upon personal and family matters. Brief mentions are made of the battles of Cross Keys and Port Republic, as well as the death of Turner Ashby. Tice discusses in somewhat greater detail the withdrawal of Union forces from Romney and the many provisions captured by the Confederates there. He also briefly discusses the war-time prices of various goods.

Arrangement

The letters are arranged chronologically.

Index Terms

Subjects:

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