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Start Over Date range 1863 Subjects Civil War - raids and raiders.
West Virginia and Regional History Center

Aten Family Civil War Letters, 1861/1865

0.01 Linear Feet Summary: 1/4 in. (1 folder)
The Aten Family Civil War letters chronicle the Union Army service of James, John, and Henry Aten. James Aten returned to his native Hancock County from Illinois in February 1861 and enlisted in the First WV Volunteer Infantry for a three-month tour in May 1861. He reenlisted in the Twelfth WV Volunteer Infantry and saw service along the B & O Railroad, the Shenandoah Valley, along the James River and at one point he was a prisoner of war. John and Henry Aten served in the 85th Illinois Volunteer Infantry and served in Kentucky, Tennessee, and Georgia. John was hospitalized at one point. The letters give good military and political perspectives.
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Aten Family Civil War Letters, 1861/1865 0.01 Linear Feet Summary: 1/4 in. (1 folder)

Aten family
The Aten Family Civil War letters chronicle the Union Army service of James, John, and Henry Aten. James Aten returned to his native Hancock County from Illinois in February 1861 and enlisted in the First WV Volunteer Infantry for a three-month tour in May 1861. He reenlisted in the Twelfth WV Volunteer Infantry and saw service along the B & O Railroad, the Shenandoah Valley, along the James River and at one point he was a prisoner of war. John and Henry Aten served in the 85th Illinois Volunteer Infantry and served in Kentucky, Tennessee, and Georgia. John was hospitalized at one point. The letters give good military and political perspectives.
West Virginia and Regional History Center

Civil War Letter regarding Shenandoah Valley Diversionary Campaign, 1863

0 Linear Feet Summary: 12 pages
An ALS from a Union officer "George" to his wife "Fannie" describing, in the form of a diary, a diversionary campaign into the Shenandoah Valley, 10, December - 25, December 1863. The purpose of their maneuver, which he calls "the Valley Expedition," was "to divert attention from Gen. Averill while he was making a raid up through Staunton, Virginia." The expeditionary force of about 1,600 was large enough not to fall prey to guerrillas but too small to actively engage the regular Confederate army locally under the command of Gen. Jubal Early. They successfully preoccupied and eluded the forces of Gen. Early and his diary gives details of how this was accomplished, the social conditions and attitudes of the Valley's inhabitants and the common hardships of military camps. He had not written sooner because the expedition had been under strict orders to cut off communication lines to its headquarters and home base at Harpers Ferry. Also they were not expected to return from what was considered a suicide mission.
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Civil War Letter regarding Shenandoah Valley Diversionary Campaign, 1863 0 Linear Feet Summary: 12 pages

An ALS from a Union officer "George" to his wife "Fannie" describing, in the form of a diary, a diversionary campaign into the Shenandoah Valley, 10, December - 25, December 1863. The purpose of their maneuver, which he calls "the Valley Expedition," was "to divert attention from Gen. Averill while he was making a raid up through Staunton, Virginia." The expeditionary force of about 1,600 was large enough not to fall prey to guerrillas but too small to actively engage the regular Confederate army locally under the command of Gen. Jubal Early. They successfully preoccupied and eluded the forces of Gen. Early and his diary gives details of how this was accomplished, the social conditions and attitudes of the Valley's inhabitants and the common hardships of military camps. He had not written sooner because the expedition had been under strict orders to cut off communication lines to its headquarters and home base at Harpers Ferry. Also they were not expected to return from what was considered a suicide mission.
West Virginia and Regional History Center

Harry T. Leeper, Collector, Papers, 1779/1915

0.83 Linear Feet 10 in. (2 document cases, 5 in. each)

Collection includes family correspondence of the Bowman, Veach, and Leeper families. Manuscripts include a recounting of the Civil War event known as "Jones' Raid." In another document Nathaniel Cochrane, an ancestor of Thomas Leeper, recounts his capture and imprisonment by indigenous people, along with a biography of Cochrane. Daily life for that time is captured in "Home Life of the Leeper Family." Other typescript histories include "Monongah," Thomas Leeper's diary regarding heavy rains and high waters of 1888, a history of West Monongah High School, and "History of the Leeper Family."

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Harry T. Leeper, Collector, Papers, 1779/1915 0.83 Linear Feet 10 in. (2 document cases, 5 in. each)

Leeper, Harry T.

Collection includes family correspondence of the Bowman, Veach, and Leeper families. Manuscripts include a recounting of the Civil War event known as "Jones' Raid." In another document Nathaniel Cochrane, an ancestor of Thomas Leeper, recounts his capture and imprisonment by indigenous people, along with a biography of Cochrane. Daily life for that time is captured in "Home Life of the Leeper Family." Other typescript histories include "Monongah," Thomas Leeper's diary regarding heavy rains and high waters of 1888, a history of West Monongah High School, and "History of the Leeper Family."

West Virginia and Regional History Center

H.E. Matheny, Collector and Compiler, Civil War Correspondence and Other Material, 1861/1865

0.17 Linear Feet Summary: 2 in. (1 folder, 1/4 in.); (1 reel of microfilm, 1.75 in.)

Forty-nine letters of Ephraim W. Frost of Co J., 116th Reg, Ohio Vol Inf. Frost, who lived in Coolville, Ohio, near Parkersburg, was stationed at Moorefield, Martinsburg, near Romney, Winchester and Sleepy Creek in Morgan County, where his Reg. was guarding the B & O. The letters comment on fighting in the Shenandoah Valley in 1864 around Woodstock, mention of McNeill, Imboden, and Mosby, and contain much on camp life in the eastern panhandle area. Frost was wounded near Piedmont in May 1864 and died at Annapolis, Maryland in January 1865.

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H.E. Matheny, Collector and Compiler, Civil War Correspondence and Other Material, 1861/1865 0.17 Linear Feet Summary: 2 in. (1 folder, 1/4 in.); (1 reel of microfilm, 1.75 in.)

Matheny, H. E. (Herman Edmond), 1910-

Forty-nine letters of Ephraim W. Frost of Co J., 116th Reg, Ohio Vol Inf. Frost, who lived in Coolville, Ohio, near Parkersburg, was stationed at Moorefield, Martinsburg, near Romney, Winchester and Sleepy Creek in Morgan County, where his Reg. was guarding the B & O. The letters comment on fighting in the Shenandoah Valley in 1864 around Woodstock, mention of McNeill, Imboden, and Mosby, and contain much on camp life in the eastern panhandle area. Frost was wounded near Piedmont in May 1864 and died at Annapolis, Maryland in January 1865.

West Virginia and Regional History Center

Henry Solomon White Papers, 1861/1865

0.1 Linear Feet Summary: 1 in. (1 folder)
The manuscript diary of Henry Solomon White, a Corporal and Orderly Sergeant in Company N, Sixth Regiment, [West] Virginia Volunteer Infantry, covering the period of 24 September 1861 to 26 September 1864. Company N was organized at Camp White, in 1861 for a three-year tour of duty guarding the B.&O. and North Western railroads. The company was stationed at various times at Burton, Littleton, Barrackville, Fairmont, Clarksburg, Bridgeport, Grafton, and Webster. Squads of this company were detailed for special duty and scouting detail in Cornwallis, Ritchie County; Camp Burne; Camp Wilkinson; and in Monongalia, Marion, and Roane counties; and Fayette and Greene counties, Pennsylvania. Company N was on duty in Fairmont during the Jones Raid in 1863.
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Henry Solomon White Papers, 1861/1865 0.1 Linear Feet Summary: 1 in. (1 folder)

White, Henry Solomon
The manuscript diary of Henry Solomon White, a Corporal and Orderly Sergeant in Company N, Sixth Regiment, [West] Virginia Volunteer Infantry, covering the period of 24 September 1861 to 26 September 1864. Company N was organized at Camp White, in 1861 for a three-year tour of duty guarding the B.&O. and North Western railroads. The company was stationed at various times at Burton, Littleton, Barrackville, Fairmont, Clarksburg, Bridgeport, Grafton, and Webster. Squads of this company were detailed for special duty and scouting detail in Cornwallis, Ritchie County; Camp Burne; Camp Wilkinson; and in Monongalia, Marion, and Roane counties; and Fayette and Greene counties, Pennsylvania. Company N was on duty in Fairmont during the Jones Raid in 1863.
West Virginia and Regional History Center

Jacob M. Campbell Papers, 1796/1863

0.01 Linear Feet Summary: 1/4 in. (1 folder)

Facsimiles of letters, a deposition, and an indenture related to civilian affairs under Colonel Campbell's command. The collection also includes a letter dated July 20, 1796, from Lancaster, to a Miss Mary Witmer, Berkeley Springs who is visiting the baths.

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Jacob M. Campbell Papers, 1796/1863 0.01 Linear Feet Summary: 1/4 in. (1 folder)

Campbell, Jacob Miller, 1821-1888

Facsimiles of letters, a deposition, and an indenture related to civilian affairs under Colonel Campbell's command. The collection also includes a letter dated July 20, 1796, from Lancaster, to a Miss Mary Witmer, Berkeley Springs who is visiting the baths.

West Virginia and Regional History Center

Jacob M. Campbell Papers, 1861/1888, bulk 1861/1865

1.7 Linear Feet Summary: 1 ft. 8 in. (4 document cases, 5 in. each)

Military orders, telegrams, military correspondence concerning Campbell's command, lists of Confederate deserters, ordnance and quartermaster returns, additional military records, and a personal diary of Colonel Campbell, commander of the Fifty-fourth Pennsylvania Volunteers which operated along the line of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad between Cumberland, Maryland, and Martinsburg, West Virginia. Subjects include civilian-military relations; guerrilla activities of John D. Imboden, the Ringgold Raiders, and the McNeill's Rangers; treatment of Confederate sympathizers; fighting in the Shenandoah Valley in the spring of 1864; and military operations in the Eastern panhandle of West Virginia.

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Jacob M. Campbell Papers, 1861/1888, bulk 1861/1865 1.7 Linear Feet Summary: 1 ft. 8 in. (4 document cases, 5 in. each)

Campbell, Jacob Miller, 1821-1888

Military orders, telegrams, military correspondence concerning Campbell's command, lists of Confederate deserters, ordnance and quartermaster returns, additional military records, and a personal diary of Colonel Campbell, commander of the Fifty-fourth Pennsylvania Volunteers which operated along the line of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad between Cumberland, Maryland, and Martinsburg, West Virginia. Subjects include civilian-military relations; guerrilla activities of John D. Imboden, the Ringgold Raiders, and the McNeill's Rangers; treatment of Confederate sympathizers; fighting in the Shenandoah Valley in the spring of 1864; and military operations in the Eastern panhandle of West Virginia.

West Virginia and Regional History Center

John J. Polsley Papers, 1862/1879, bulk 1862/1865

0.19 Linear Feet Summary: 2 1/4 in. (1 folder, 1/2 in.); (1 reel of microfilm, 1.75 in.)
Correspondence and miscellaneous papers of a lieutenant colonel in the Eighth West Virginia Volunteer Infantry and later the Seventh West Virginia Regiment. The letters, most of which are addressed to Polsley's wife, pertain to military activities in central West Virginia, 1862-1863, and the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia. These letters comment on the West Virginia statehood movement, camp life, guerrilla warfare, Polsley's confinement in Libby Prison, General John Imboden's raid, 1863, and the West Virginia capital question.
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John J. Polsley Papers, 1862/1879, bulk 1862/1865 0.19 Linear Feet Summary: 2 1/4 in. (1 folder, 1/2 in.); (1 reel of microfilm, 1.75 in.)

Polsley, John J.
Correspondence and miscellaneous papers of a lieutenant colonel in the Eighth West Virginia Volunteer Infantry and later the Seventh West Virginia Regiment. The letters, most of which are addressed to Polsley's wife, pertain to military activities in central West Virginia, 1862-1863, and the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia. These letters comment on the West Virginia statehood movement, camp life, guerrilla warfare, Polsley's confinement in Libby Prison, General John Imboden's raid, 1863, and the West Virginia capital question.
West Virginia and Regional History Center

Joseph C. Snider (1839-1864), Soldier, Civil War Diary, 1861/1864

0.17 Linear Feet Summary: 2 in. (1 folder, 1/4 in.); (1 reel of microfilm, 1.75 in.)
Civil War diaries of Joseph C. Snider (1839-1864) of Harrison County, West Virginia, who served in Company C of the 31st Virginia Infantry Regiment from June 1861 to his death in battle on September 19, 1864. Collection consists of three diaries on microfilm that cover the periods from June 1861 to May 1862; January 1, 1863 to July 1, 1863; and March 26, 1864 to September 19, 1864. There is no explanation for the gaps in Snider's journals. Snider provides detailed descriptions of his major combat experiences (western Virginia in 1861; the Shenandoah Valley in spring 1862; actions in western Virginia in the spring of 1863; the battle of Gettysburg; the 1864 Overland Campaign; Jubal Early's 1864 raid on Washington, D.C.; and the 1864 Shenandoah Valley Campaign); minor skirmishes and engagements; and daily life in the Army of Northern Virginia. Folder contains handwritten account of the transfer of the diary from Joseph Snider after his death to his commanding officer, to his brother, and then passed down through the family until it was loaned to the WVRHC to make a copy.
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Joseph C. Snider (1839-1864), Soldier, Civil War Diary, 1861/1864 0.17 Linear Feet Summary: 2 in. (1 folder, 1/4 in.); (1 reel of microfilm, 1.75 in.)

Snider, Joseph C. (1839-1864)
Civil War diaries of Joseph C. Snider (1839-1864) of Harrison County, West Virginia, who served in Company C of the 31st Virginia Infantry Regiment from June 1861 to his death in battle on September 19, 1864. Collection consists of three diaries on microfilm that cover the periods from June 1861 to May 1862; January 1, 1863 to July 1, 1863; and March 26, 1864 to September 19, 1864. There is no explanation for the gaps in Snider's journals. Snider provides detailed descriptions of his major combat experiences (western Virginia in 1861; the Shenandoah Valley in spring 1862; actions in western Virginia in the spring of 1863; the battle of Gettysburg; the 1864 Overland Campaign; Jubal Early's 1864 raid on Washington, D.C.; and the 1864 Shenandoah Valley Campaign); minor skirmishes and engagements; and daily life in the Army of Northern Virginia. Folder contains handwritten account of the transfer of the diary from Joseph Snider after his death to his commanding officer, to his brother, and then passed down through the family until it was loaned to the WVRHC to make a copy.
West Virginia and Regional History Center

Sarah Jane Lough Civil War Letter regarding Confederate Activity in Morgantown, 1863

0.01 Linear Feet 4 pages (1 folder)
Letter dated 3 May 1863, written by Sarah Jane Lough of Morgantown, (West) Virginia to her brother Elza T. Lough, a private in the 3rd West Virginia Cavalry Regiment. Lough reports the entry of Confederate troops into Morgantown on 27 April 1863 and the Confederates' activities in the Morgantown and Fairmont areas during the following week. Subjects of note include the taking of horses and other property; a skirmish at Fairmont; spies passing through the town; and detailed accounts of various interactions between locals and Confederates. The collection includes a transcript and user copies. See "Scope and Content Note" and "Historical Note" for further information.
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Sarah Jane Lough Civil War Letter regarding Confederate Activity in Morgantown, 1863 0.01 Linear Feet 4 pages (1 folder)

Lough, Sarah Jane
Letter dated 3 May 1863, written by Sarah Jane Lough of Morgantown, (West) Virginia to her brother Elza T. Lough, a private in the 3rd West Virginia Cavalry Regiment. Lough reports the entry of Confederate troops into Morgantown on 27 April 1863 and the Confederates' activities in the Morgantown and Fairmont areas during the following week. Subjects of note include the taking of horses and other property; a skirmish at Fairmont; spies passing through the town; and detailed accounts of various interactions between locals and Confederates. The collection includes a transcript and user copies. See "Scope and Content Note" and "Historical Note" for further information.

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