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 Names Lee, Mary Custis Level Item

Edward Lee Childe to Robert E. Lee, 1865 Box 7, Folder 5

Edward Lee Childe, Robert E. Lee's nephew, had allowed a family friend to read a letter to him from his "Aunt Mary" (Mary Custis Lee). The letter divulged details of Richmond in the two months after its fall as well as the sentiments of Robert E. Lee and Mary Custis Lee regarding the war and figures such as Jefferson Davis. The family friend, without permission, submitted a copy of the letter to a newspaper, which published it. The newspaper wrote that the letter was "from the pen of a lady residing in Richmond, Virginia, where she is widely known and beloved for the admirable simplicity of her life and character, and for the practice of 'all the charities of mother, daughter, and sister.'" It was fairly obvious that the letter in the newspaper was written by Mary Custis Lee, mostly thanks to allusions to her husband and children, and for this reason Childe wrote to Robert E. Lee to apologize and explain the circumstances.
  1. Washington and Lee University, Leyburn Library
  2. Robert E. Lee Family papers, 1792/1935, bulk 1833/1870
  3. Letters to and about Robert E. Lee, 1837/1870
  4. Letters to and about Robert E. Lee, 1837/1866
  5. Correspondences, 1865

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