Conditions Governing Use

The materials from Washington and Lee University Special Collections are made available for use in research, teaching, and private study, pursuant to U.S. Copyright law. The user assumes full responsibility for any use of the materials, including but not limited to, infringement of copyright and publication rights of reproduced materials. Any materials used should be fully credited with the source. Permission for publication of this material, in part or in full, must be secured with the Head of Special Collections.

Preferred Citation

Preferred citation: [Identification of item], William Lyne Wilson Papers, WLU Coll. 0029, Special Collections and Archives, James G. Leyburn Library, Washington and Lee University, Lexington, VA. In some cases the citation format may vary. Please contact Special Collections staff to verify the appropriate format.

Immediate Source of Acquisition

Most of the items in the collection were a gift of Mr. and Mrs. William Lyne Wilson II in 1969. 26 items were a gift of John Bowen in 1982.

Scope and Contents

Includes letters from the American Civil War period; correspondence of Wilson while he was Congressman from West Virginia, Postmaster General under Cleveland, and President of Washington and Lee University; 3 bound, indexed volumes (not orginals) of Wilson's official correspondence as Postmaster General; 6 diaries; miscellaneous papers and printed speeches; 38 letters from the University of West Virginia collection (microfilm); photograph; correspondence with Isidor Straus concerning politics and events at Washington and Lee; 4 letters dated 1874-1875 from J.A. Lapham to her sister, Amelia H. Scorah. Includes three manuscript diaries, 1862-1863, which were written while Wilson was serving in the 12th Virginia Cavalry. Also includes reviews of books about Wilson, correspondence about Wilson by his biographers and descendants, genealogy information on Wilson's mother, and eight photocopied letters from Wilson to Waitman Barbe dated 1891-1899.Other correspondents include Edward Atkinson, William Campbell Preston Breckinridge, James B. Bryce, Fitzhugh Lee, Thomas Nelson Page, William E. Russell, Isidor Straus, Henry St. George Tucker.

Subjects and Indexing Terms

• Boundaries
• Confederate States of America
• Confederate States of America. Army. Virginia Cavalry Regiment, 12th
• Correspondence
• Diaries
• Military participation -- African American
• Personal Narratives
• Personal narratives -- Confederate
• Photographs
• Speeches, addresses, etc., American
• Tariff
• Textile fabrics
• Venezuala
• Washington and Lee University
• Wilson, William L. (William Lyne), 1906-1989
• Wilson, William Lyne