Search

Start Over Places Harpers Ferry (W. Va.) Subjects Civil War -- Camps and camp life
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.
1 result

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

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.

1 result

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

Jacob Lester, Soldier, Civil War Letters, 1864/1865

0.2 Linear Feet Summary: 2 in.
Letters home from Jacob Lester of the 1st. Veterans NY Cavalry stationed in West Virginia, which he refers to as the new state of Kanawha. All letters are written from Clarksburg, Middletown, Kelly's Creek, and Camp Piatt, all in West Virginia, during or soon after the Civil War. He talks about the surrender of Confederates, the discharge of Union troops and the fighting he and his unit did in the Shenandoah Valley, particularly around Harpers Ferry.
1 result

Jacob Lester, Soldier, Civil War Letters, 1864/1865 0.2 Linear Feet Summary: 2 in.

Lester, Jacob
Letters home from Jacob Lester of the 1st. Veterans NY Cavalry stationed in West Virginia, which he refers to as the new state of Kanawha. All letters are written from Clarksburg, Middletown, Kelly's Creek, and Camp Piatt, all in West Virginia, during or soon after the Civil War. He talks about the surrender of Confederates, the discharge of Union troops and the fighting he and his unit did in the Shenandoah Valley, particularly around Harpers Ferry.
West Virginia and Regional History Center

Uz Barns, Soldier, Civil War Diary, 1862/1865

0.01 Linear Feet Summary: 1/4 in. (1 item in 1 folder)
Diary of Uz Barns of Ritchie County, a volunteer in the Union Army who served as a private in the 10th West Virginia Infantry. The diary covers the years 1862 through 1865 and contains daily entries, mainly regarding weather conditions. Barns also wrote about marches and distances marched per day; encampments at various places in eastern West Virginia and in Winchester, Virginia; and engagements with Confederate forces at Beverly, (West) Virginia, Harpers Ferry, (West) Virginia, and Deep Bottom, Henrico County, Virginia. He also records number of prisoners taken. Barns was in Richmond at the time of Lee's surrender and mentions the number of cannon and the supply of shells and powder left there by the Confederates.
1 result

Uz Barns, Soldier, Civil War Diary, 1862/1865 0.01 Linear Feet Summary: 1/4 in. (1 item in 1 folder)

Barns, Uz
Diary of Uz Barns of Ritchie County, a volunteer in the Union Army who served as a private in the 10th West Virginia Infantry. The diary covers the years 1862 through 1865 and contains daily entries, mainly regarding weather conditions. Barns also wrote about marches and distances marched per day; encampments at various places in eastern West Virginia and in Winchester, Virginia; and engagements with Confederate forces at Beverly, (West) Virginia, Harpers Ferry, (West) Virginia, and Deep Bottom, Henrico County, Virginia. He also records number of prisoners taken. Barns was in Richmond at the time of Lee's surrender and mentions the number of cannon and the supply of shells and powder left there by the Confederates.

Content Warning

ARVAS is an aggregator of archival resources. ARVAS does not have control of the descriptive language used in our members’ finding aids.

Finding aids may contain historical terms and phrases, reflecting the shared attitudes and values of the community from which they were collected, but are offensive to modern readers. These include demeaning and dehumanizing references to race, ethnicity, and nationality; enslaved or free status; physical or mental ability; religion; sex; and sexual orientation and gender identity.

Many institutions and organizations are in the process of reviewing and revising their descriptive language, with the intent to describe materials in more humanizing, inclusive, and harm-reductive ways. As members revise their descriptive language, their changes will eventually be reflected in their ARVAS finding aids.