Collections : [Washington and Lee University, Leyburn Library]

Washington and Lee University, Leyburn Library

Special Collections and Archives
James G. Leyburn Library
Washington and Lee University
204 W. Washington Street
Lexington, VA 24450
Primary Collecting Areas:
American and Virginia history, regional genealogy, history of propaganda, Southern literature, theater, local and regional portraiture, landscapes and architecture, late 19th-century travel
Description:

The Washington and Lee University Special Collections and Archives Department houses over 1,000 unique manuscript collections including those of the Rockbridge Historical Society, The American Shakespeare Center, and the Mountain Valley Preservation Association. These collections vary greatly in size, format, and scope. Subjects covered within the collections are diverse and include concentrations in American and Virginia history, regional genealogy, history of propaganda, Southern literature, and theater.

It also houses over 10,000 photographs and prints. Beyond our photograph and print collections, which include scrapbooks, images can also be found within the manuscript collections and University Archives described above. Our photographic holdings vary greatly in size and include numerous formats representative of the evolution of the photographic process. Strengths are local and regional portraiture, landscapes and architecture, W&L University history, including athletics, and late 19th-century travel.

POC: SCA Staff
Phone: (540) 458-8649
Phone: (540) 463-8109
Fax: (540) 463-8964
Start Over Repository Washington and Lee University, Leyburn Library Creator Lee, Robert E. (Robert Edward), 1807-1870
Washington and Lee University, Leyburn Library

Robert E. Lee Family papers, 1792/1935, bulk 1833/1870

24 Linear Feet

This collection contains primary and secondary resources pertaining to Robert E. Lee and the Lee family. Included are correspondences from, to, and about Lee and various family members; memorabilia, pamphlets, photographs, reminiscences, miscellaneous personal papers, family history and genealogy. The collection includes materials acquired from the Lee family and items donated to and purchased and compiled by W&L University since Lee's tenure as president of Washington College from 1865 - 1870. Adminstrative papers, such as President's Reports, etc..., from Robert E. Lee's presidency of the school may be found within the W&L University Archives. Please contact W&L Special Collections for information regarding the University Archives.

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Washington and Lee University, Leyburn Library

Gerald L. Maatman, Jr. Civil War manuscript collection, 1852/1986

0.25 Linear Feet 1 half document box

This collection consists of original manuscripts, documents, military orders, illustrations, photographs, and ephemera of the era of the American Civil War collected by Gerald L. Maatman, Jr. Key themes of the collection are the Paxton family of Lexington and Rockbridge County, Virginia, Shenandoah Valley history, the Army of Northern Virginia and Stonewall Brigade of the Confederate States Army, Washington College (later Washington and Lee University) (VA), and Robert E. Lee. The photographs within this collection consist of seven ambrotype and tintype images of unknown people of the Rockbridge and Augusta County (VA) vicinity.

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Gerald L. Maatman, Jr. Civil War manuscript collection, 1852/1986 0.25 Linear Feet 1 half document box

Maatman, Gerald L., Jr.

This collection consists of original manuscripts, documents, military orders, illustrations, photographs, and ephemera of the era of the American Civil War collected by Gerald L. Maatman, Jr. Key themes of the collection are the Paxton family of Lexington and Rockbridge County, Virginia, Shenandoah Valley history, the Army of Northern Virginia and Stonewall Brigade of the Confederate States Army, Washington College (later Washington and Lee University) (VA), and Robert E. Lee. The photographs within this collection consist of seven ambrotype and tintype images of unknown people of the Rockbridge and Augusta County (VA) vicinity.

Washington and Lee University, Leyburn Library

Lee-Jackson Foundation collection, 1775/1913

1.25 Linear Feet 3 boxes

The sixteen R.E. Lee items cover a date span of 22 years from 1847 through 1869. There are ten letters of Mrs. Mary Randolph Custis Lee ranging from the early 1850s to shortly before her death in 1873.

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Robert E. Lee to Matthew Fontaine Maury, 1865 Box 1, Folder 12

In this letter From Cartersville, Va, Lee writes to Maury that he is disappointed in the government but that he wants to continue trying to make it better. He advises Maury against his ideas about starting a settlement of ex-Confederates and other immigrants. A transcription of this letter is housed with the original.

  1. Letters, 1775-1913

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