A Guide to the J. Ambler Johnston Papers, 1900-1974
A Collection in
Special Collections
Collection Number
Ms1974-012
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Special Collections, Virginia Tech
Special Collections, University Libraries (0434)560 Drillfield Drive
Newman Library, Virginia Tech
Blacksburg, Virginia 24061
USA
Phone: (540) 231-6308
Fax: (540) 231-3694
Email: specref@vt.edu
URL: http://spec.lib.vt.edu/
2019 ( CC0 1.0 )
Processed by: Special Collections Staff
Administrative Information
Access Restrictions
Collection is open for research.
Use Restrictions
Permission to publish material from J. Ambler Johnston Papers must be obtained from Special Collections, Virginia Tech.
Preferred Citation
Researchers wishing to cite this collection should include the following information: J. Ambler Johnston Papers, Ms1974-012, Special Collections, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, Va.
Acquisition Information
The J. Ambler Johnston was donated to Special Collections in 1974.
Processing Information
The processing, arrangement, and description of the J. Ambler Johnston Papers were completed in 1974. Additional description was completed in January 2011 and November 2019.
Biographical Note
J. Ambler Johnston (1885-1974), architectural engineer, Civil War historian, and civic benefactor, graduate from VPI in 1904 with B.S and in 1905 with an M.E. In 1906, he received another M.E. from Cornell University and became co-founder of the architectural firm of Carneal and Johnston in Richmond, Virginia.
Carneal and Johnston was responsible for many buildings on the campuses of the University of Richmond (which later awarded Johnston an honorary D.Sc.), VPI, and VMI. Johnston helped rewrite Richmond's building code, was a charter member of the Richmond Rotary Club, and helped found a Civil War Round Table (CWRT) at the State Penitentiary. During World War I, Johnston served with the Richmond Light Infantry Blues (Home Guard). He held offices in several history and science-related organizations, including the Sons of the Revolution, the Society of the Cincinnatus, the Sons of Confederate Veterans, the Association for the Protection of Virginia Antiquities (APVA), the Descendants of the Signers of the Declaration of Independence, the Virginia Historical Society, and the Virginia Institute for Scientific Research.
A native of Rockbridge County, Virginia, Johnston was the son of a Civil War veteran. For more than forty years, he was closely associated with Douglas Southall Freeman, noted Civil War author. Both men owned land on which a number of Civil War battles were fought and later donated these lands to the National Park Service. After Freeman's death in 1953, Johnston often presented on the life of his fellow historian. His lecture tours earned him honorary membership in CWRTs in Kansas City, Chicago, Louisville, New York City, the Confederate Historical Society of England, and Richmond. In 1965, he served as chairman of the Richmond Civil War Centennial Committee.
Throughout his life, Johnston maintained close ties with Virginia Tech. He served as president of the Alumni Association, received the 1961 Distinguished Alumni Citation and had a dormitory building named after him in 1966. He lived in Richmond until his death in 1974.
Scope and Content
The J. Ambler Johnston Papers include materials relating to his many activities, with a particular emphasis on Civil War Round Tables and Virginia Tech. Materials consist of correspondence, publications and ephemera, organizational and committee reports, and photographs.
Arrangement
Materials in the collection are arranged by subject matter. Within each topic, materials are arranged in chronological order.
Separated Material
The J. Ambler Johnston collection of Civil War maps were separated to the Special Collections Historical Map Collection.
A model sculpture of Sacrifice, one of the Pylon statues in the War Memorial Court, was separated to the Artifact Collection.
Several books have been separated to the Rare Book Collection.
Index Terms
- Civil War
- United States--History--Civil War, 1861-1865
- University Archives
- Virginia Agricultural and Mechanical College and Polytechnic Institute
- Virginia Polytechnic Institute
- Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University
Subjects:
Organizations:
Significant Persons Associated With the Collection
- Johnston, J. Ambler (James Ambler), 1885-1974
Contents List
Includes information on Stuart's ride around McClellan, 1862.
Includes information on the establishment of the Prison CWRT in Richmond.
Includes Distinguished Service Award to Prison CWRT.
Includes information on the CWRT's 25th anniversary; JAJ talk on Douglas S. Freeman.
Includes information on the history of the CWRT; tour of Booth's escape route; JAJ talk on Grant and Lee.
Includes information on ceremonies at Fort Harrison.
Includes information on the Appomattox parole of JAJ's father, Nathaniel Burwell Johnston.
Includes JAJ talk on Robert E. Lee; JAJ talk "Then It Was Over."
Includes correspondence, brochures, and other publications by local, state, and national Civil War commissions.
Correspondence with, talks about, etc.
Includes copies of the muster roll of Salem Flying Artillery, 1864; newspaper clippings on the commemoration of the Battle of Hanging Rock; military record of JAJ's father, N. B. Johnston; notebook by N. B. Johnston detailing his experiences in the Civil War.
Includes talks by JAJ; newspaper clippings on campaigns in the Richmond area (1894) between N. B. Johnson and R. A. Holdaway, an officer of the Northern Army of Virginia; resolution at the death of Capt. William B. Newton, Fourth Virginia Cavalry (1863).
Includes correspondence; programs; Jamestown Committee minutes; reports on the restoration of the John Marshall house.
Includes correspondence; newsletters; membership lists.
Includes minutes; correspondence; membership lists; draft of a history of the VHS by JAJ, 1972; correspondence on save the Manassas battlefield, 1969.
Includes correspondence; minutes; financial statements; reports.
Materials include correspondence; minutes; reports.
The first part of the material in this group is arranged in chronological order, regardless of the organization; the second part is arranged alphabeticall by the name of the society.
Includes speeches before alumni groups; dedication speech for five new dorms, including Ambler Johnston Hall in 1966.
Includes information on a proposed alumni camp.
Includes information on the "Old Guard" Reunion; interest in an "Alumni House."
Includes information on the Alumni Fund Committee; dedication of Robeson Hall; photos of Ambler Johnston Hall.
Includes information on the proposed name change to Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University.
Includes information on a proposed history of VPI and VMI PWA projects.
Includes information on student disruptions on VPI campus.
Includes information on the Diamond Club bar.
Includes correspondence on a research fund for Virginia history; encouraging research on the routes of the western migration through Southwest Virginia; first annual Civil War seminar, 1972. JAJ's recollections of his student days at VPI are included with June 1972 correspondence. Also included are JAJ's student diary, 1901, and a diary he kept while Alumni Association president, 1938-1940.
Individual portfolios on the following tours include lists of participants, brochures, maps, and other publications relating to battlefield areas: Richmond (3rd), 1953; Central Tennessee (8th), 1958; Charleston and Savannah (9th), 1959; Gettysburg (12th), 1962; Louisiana (14th), 1964; Washington--Booth Trail (16th), 1966; Missouri and Arkansas (17th), 1967; Savannah and Charleston (20th), 1970; Stonewall Jackson's Valley Campaign (22nd), 1972; Kentucky Blue Grass (special tour), Fall 1972; Gettysburg--Carlisle (23rd), 1973.
Includes 23 long playing records, c.1952-1966; 7 tapes, c.1957-1969; 3 cassettes; 34 dictaphone belts. Also includes plaques and awards given to JAJ by Civil War Round Tables.