Conditions Governing Reproduction and Use

The copyright status of this collection is unknown. Copyright restrictions may apply. Contact Special Collections and University Archives for assistance in determining the use of these materials. Reproduction or digitization of materials for personal or research use can be requested using our reproduction/digitization form: http://bit.ly/scuareproduction . Reproduction or digitization of materials for publication or exhibit use can be requested using our publication/exhibition form: http://bit.ly/scuapublication . Please contact Special Collections and University Archives (specref@vt.edu or 540-231-6308) if you need assistance with forms or to submit a completed form.

Conditions Governing Access

The collection is open to research.

Alternate Form Available

One of the scrapbooks in this collection has been digitized and is available online .

Preferred Citation

Researchers wishing to cite this collection should include the following information: [identification of item], [box], [folder], Daniel Bedinger Lucas Papers, Ms1995-012, Special Collections and University Archives, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, Va.

Source of Acquisition

The Daniel Bedinger Lucas Papers were donated to Special Collections in May 1995. Additional materials were donated in September 1995. An addtional letter was purchased in 2014.

Processing Information

The processing, arrangement, and description of the Daniel Bedinger Lucas Papers, commenced and was completed in July 1995. Additional materials were processed in October 1997. The 2014 addition was processed in 2017.

Biographical Note

Daniel Bedinger Lucas, lawyer and poet, was born March 16, 1836, at "Rion Hall" in Charleston, Virginia (now West Virginia). He attended the University of Virginia, and then studied law under Judge John W. Brockenbrough of Lexington, Virginia. In 1859 he began practicing law at Charleston but moved the next year to Richmond. At the beginning of the Civil War in 1861 he joined the staff of General Henry A. Wise and took part in the Kanawha Valley campaign, but his physical disability from a childhood spine injury kept him from active service in the last years of the war. Toward the end of the war he ran the blockade to defend his friend John Yates Beall, accused of being a Confederate spy, but was unable to defend him against the charges. Beall was executed on Governors Island, New York.

In 1869, Lucas married Lena Tucker Brooke, of Richmond. Their only child, Virginia, was born in 1873. Barred from the practice of law until 1871, due to restrictions on the service of ex-Confederates, Lucas turned to literature and became co-editor of the Baltimore Southern Metropolis . Many of his poems were published in this magazine. He reentered the practice of law in 1871 and took a prominent role in the Democratic party politics of West Virginia, acting as Democratic elector in the elections of 1872 and 1876, to the legislature in 1884 and 1886, and as a member of the supreme court of appeals from 1889 to 1893.

Lucas's volumes of poetry include The Wreath of Eglantine (1869), with poems of his sister, Virginia, and Ballads and Madrigals (1884). He wrote three plays about the Civil War. His books include The Memoir of John Yates Beall (1865) and Nicaragua, War of the Filibusters (1896). He was known as the "poet of the Shenandoah Valley." He died at Rion Hall on June 24, 1909.

Scope and Contents

The Daniel Bedinger Lucas papers consist of scrapbooks, correspondence, poems and essays, newspapers, and other materials collected and created by Lucas, including several items created by his sister, Virginia Lucas, also a poet. Topics include Lucas's defense of John Yates Beall, the exploits of adventurer William Walker, the origin of General Robert E. Lee's horse Traveler; and West Virginia politics. There are examples of Lucas's poetry scattered throughout the papers. The 1860 scrapbook includes several interesting pressed flower designs.

Arrangement

The collection is arranged chronologically. Undated materials are at located in boxes 3 and 4.

Related Material

Virgina Lucas Letter, 1861 (Ms2018-021). Finding aid for this collection is available online.

Subjects and Indexing Terms

• Civil War
• Local/Regional History and Appalachian South
• United States -- History -- Civil War, 1861-1865

Rights Statement for Archival Description

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