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: Tom Camden
Phone: (540) 458-8649
Phone: (540) 463-8109
Fax: (540) 463-8964
Start Over Repository Washington and Lee University, Leyburn Library Date range 1892 Places Delaware -- Fort Delaware

George Washington Nelson Papers 16 Item

Nelson, George Washington , Jr. (G. Washington "Wash" Nelson), 1840-1903

This collection consists of letters primarily between George Washington "Wash" Nelson, Jr., of Hanover County, Virginia and his cousin and future wife Mary "Mollie" Nelson Scollay of Shepherdstown, West Virginia. Nelson commanded the Hanover Light Artillery (Va.) and was a staff officer of General William Nelson Pendleton, the Chief of Artillery of the Confederacy's Army Northern Virginia, during the American Civil War. Nelson was captured in October 1862 and spent the remainder of the war in Union prisons at Camp Chase, Johnson's Island, Morris Island, Fort Delaware., and Point Lookout. Nelson's final letter is sent on May 23, 1865 within weeks of his release from prison. The bulk of the collection are twenty letters between George and Mollie. Also included are seven wartime letters from George to "Charlotte" who we believe is Charlotte Cazenove Massie, wife of William O. Massie, and of Alexandria, Va. The wartime letters describe prison life, details of fellow prisoners, updates on home and family, and George and Mollie's courtship.

  1. Washington and Lee University, Leyburn Library

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