Lawson Botts papers

Access and use

Location of collection:
Virginia Military Institute Archives
Preston Library
Virginia Military Institute
345 Letcher Ave.
Lexington, VA 24450-0304
Contact for questions and access:
POC: Jeffrey S. Kozak
Phone: (540) 464-7516
Phone: (540) 464-7566
Fax: (540) 464-7089
Restrictions:

There are no restrictions.

Terms of access:

Manuscript collections in the VMI Archives are made available for educational and research use. The VMI Archives should be cited as the source. The user assumes all responsibility for identifying and satisfying any copyright holders. Materials from our collections may not be redistributed, published or reproduced without permission from the VMI Archives.Contact the VMI Archives for additional information.

Preferred citation:

Lawson Botts papers, 1861-1862. MS 0064. VMI Archives, Virginia Military Institute, Lexington, Virginia.

Summary

Extent:
6 items
Creator:
Botts, Lawson, 1825-1862
Language:
English
Preferred citation:

Lawson Botts papers, 1861-1862. MS 0064. VMI Archives, Virginia Military Institute, Lexington, Virginia.

Background

Scope and content:

The Lawson Botts papers consist of Civil War papers, including:

  • A receipt (May 10, 1861)
  • A letter of commission (September 12, 1861)
  • A promotion order (September 12, 1861)
  • A general order to assume duties of Provost Marshall in Winchester, Virginia (November 18, 1861)
  • A furlough request (January 11, 1862)
  • A letter to Captain O'Brien complaining about shortage of rations (May 22, 1862)

A receipt for five hundred ball cartridges.

Written from Richmond, Virginia. Letter regards Lawson Botts' commission and order.

Special Order 276 that promotes Major Lawson Botts to a Lieutenant Colonel with the 2nd Virginia Regiment.

General Order 13, which relieves Lawson Botts from the 2nd Virginia Regiment and orders him to assume the duties of Provost Marshall of the town of Winchester, Virginia.

In the letter, Lawson Botts is requesting fifteen days of furlough. The back of the letter contains signatures related to the furlough approval process.

Written from the 2nd Virginia Infantry Regiment headquarters. The letter regards a shortage of rations and tired troops.

Biographical / historical:

Lawson Botts (1825-1862) was a Confederate officer who served with the 2nd Virginia Infantry Regiment. He was born in Fredericksburg, Virginia in 1825 to Thomas Hutchinson Botts and Anne Carter Willis. Botts entered VMI in 1841 and spent two years there, resigning before graduation because of his father's ill health. He subsequently studied law and established a practice in Charles Town, [West] Virginia prior to the Civil War. In 1859, he served as one of the lawyers assigned to defend the abolitionist John Brown. Botts married Elizabeth Bibb Ranson (1829-1909) in January 1851 and the couple had four sons (Thomas, James, Lawson, and Robert), and one daughter who died in infancy.

In 1859 Botts became Captain of a volunteer company known as the "Botts Grays." When the Civil War began, this unit entered the service of Virginia as Company G, 2nd Virginia Infantry Regiment, and was one of the units that comprised the famous Stonewall Brigade. Botts was commissioned as a Major in June 1861 and became a Colonel in June 1862. He was praised for his conduct during several battles, including First Kernstown, First Winchester, Gaines's Mill, and Cedar Mountain.

Botts was mortally wounded in action at 2nd Manassas (Virginia) on August 28, 1862 and died on September 11 of that year. He is buried at Zion Episcopal Church Cemetery, Charles Town, West Virginia. His half-brother, Walter Browne Botts, was a member of the VMI Class of 1854. His father, Thomas H. Botts, served on the VMI Board of Visitors from 1839 to 1845.

Physical location:
Manuscripts stacks