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Letter written by Thomas Russell Bowden to the editor of New England Magazine on May 16, 1892 in response to an article published in December 1891 as to "Why the South was defeated in the Civil War."  Bowden requests the opportunity to submit a written response to the article and includes his thoughts regarding the South and specifically Virginia as well as his longstanding familial ties to both the state, Williamsburg, and the College of William and Mary.

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Letter written by Henry E. Edmunds to Claiborne G. Barksdale, a member of the 14th Virginia Regiment, about the patriotic fervor of the early days of the American Civil War, shortly after Virginia ceded from the Union the month before. In the letter, Edmunds wrote of Barksdale joining the Virginia troops, how Edmunds would make a great soldier if he was younger, a local man named Townes gathering up troops to join the fight, and the great condition of the wheat crop.

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Letter from George Ivy, Chimborazo Hospital, 4th Division, Ward 6, near Richmond, Va., to "Dear Wife," no place. He replies to her letter and tells her not to sell the land or the cow until he returns home. He sends regards to Mr. Childress and Mr. Casey.

Scope and Contents Civil War diary of Henry Alexander Scandrett dated 1862. The front of the diary has the entry from January 7, 1862 written through Thursday, January 9, "Monday 5th of May. Was in my first battle today. About 1 o'clock PM our regiment was marched into the field.  We were thrown in advance and through some blunder was not reinforced.  We have lost all our company officers and our field officers are all wounded.  With fifteen others I was taken prisoner and am now in William and Mary College." ...

Scope and Contents Papers of the Houstater Family, primarily of Henry Houstater (1837-1862) and Harriet (Hattie) Houstater (1842-1931) of New York State. The collection was held by Harriet Houstater. After her death, her sister Sarah Houstater owned it.The collection includes the papers of Henry F. Houstater, a Democrat who enlisted in the Union Army in 1861. It also contains the papers of several Houstater family members. Henry F. Houstater's papers (1840s-1862) include political speeches and...

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Letter from John H. Leeth [?], no place to [?]. He lists various food items and their costs. He saw Bob as he was leaving the regiment. He sends his regards and hopes the recipient will write. Incomplete.

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Letter from J.S.E. McGhee, Camp Carolina, Norfolk, Va., to his uncle [?], no place. The letter describes camp life and fortifications at Craney Island from where he could see the "Enemy". Other locations mentioned include Sewells Point, Spinners [Pinners] Point, the marine hospital and Fort Norfolk, which are "in good order for meeting the Northern vessels". He heard that Yankees had landed at Ocean View, Va. and he expresses his disrespect for them. He sends greetings to family members.

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Diary, 1862-1865, of Laura Lee, Winchester, Virginia. (?) entitled "A History of Our Captivity," discussing in detail movements of and occupation by Union forces. The volume also includes lists of persons who died during the Civil War.

The material can also be viewed on microfilm: Laura Lee Diary, Winchester, VA 1862-1865, in Swem Library’s microforms area, 1 reel, call number E605 .L44

Scope and Contents The McLeod-Tyler Family papers contains materials from members of the McLeod-Tyler family. Included in the collection are diaries and scrapbooks of Lieutenant John G. Tyler II during World War II, a typed transcript of a Civil War Memoir of Edward Keville Glennan; a commemorative collection of 20 battle pictures, entitled "Advance in the Pacific, New Guinea to the Philipines"; and two high school poetry anthologies, 1969-1970 to which J. Goodenow Tyler III contributed. Also included in the...

Scope and Contents Bound manuscript titled "Memories of Rebel Prisons".  Contains a list of Union prisoners from the Civil War kept in the Confederate prisons of 'Castle Thunder' and 'Libby' in Richmond, Virginia and a prison in Salisbury, North Carolina.  A memorandum written by Joshua Harris Aubin dated May 14, 1940 reads, "The first thirty pages are in hand writing of Captain W.B. Galucia (1834- 1902), after that in my hand-writing although I cannot recall when or in what circumstances."...

Scope and Contents Letter written on May 11, 1862 by Sgt. Nathan Cory, a Union soldier, to his brother-in-law, Peter Baley, while Cory was "on the road to Richmond."  The letter describes the Battle of Williamsburg, which occurred on May 5th, and mentions that the Union is pursuing the Confederates who left Yorktown shortly after the battle.    Cory mistakenly dated the letter as April 11th.  However, the postmark on the envelope indicates the letter was written in May, which also aligns with the...

Scope and Contents The collection contains letters written by Rufus Robbins, Jr. to family members during the Civil War. In his year and a half of service in the 7th Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry, Robbins freqently wrote to his parents and brothers Henry and Edwin in South Abington, Massachusetts.  The letters contain information about camp life and the activities of Robbins' regiment.  Of note, the letter dated May 11, 1862 gives Robbins' account of the Battle of Williamsburg, which took place...

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This collection is a typed carbon copy of the letterbook of Captain Daniel Messinger, Provost Marshall of Portsmouth, dated November 9, 1863 to June 27, 1864. It contains correspondence between Messinger and various military personell including Brigadier General Wild, Brigadier General Barnes, General Butler, Colonel Shaffer, Colonel Holman, as well as Portsmouth's Mayor Collins. Photographs are included in the copy. It was transcribed by Jno. C. Emmerson, Jr. in 1946.

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The diary of William Coe, a minister from the Shenandoah Valley, with entries dated from May 29, 1862 to August 13, 1862. He writes about the Seven Days and Cedar Mountain battles and shifts in area from Confederate to Union control. He discusses slavery, specifically a man he enslaves who marries a free woman, as well as the death and burial of an enslaved woman who was his servant's mother.

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Poem, circa 1864, written by Gilbert M. Woodward. The poem is a humorous look at the role of the printer in the Civil War, and begins "Hail and Thrice Hail Ye Craftsman, / Knights of the Stick and the Rule, / Who through the fiery storm of war / With purpose high and courage cool / the fearful brunt of battle bore..." Throughout the poem, Woodward references the battles in which his unit, the 2nd Wisconsin Volunteers, participated. A transcription of the poem is also included.