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Start Over Names Smith, Francis H. (Francis Henney), 1812-1890 Level Series
Virginia Military Institute Archives

Office of Communications and Marketing subject files, 1950

10 cubic feet
1 result
Virginia Military Institute Archives

Barton family papers, 1855/1869

10 items

The Barton family papers consist of the papers of three members of the Barton family who attended VMI during the mid-19th century. Papers related to Charles M. Barton (VMI Class of 1856) include a letter (dated September 28, 1855) from Charles to his cousin Joseph M. Barton in which he complains about VMI life and about his instructor Thomas J. "Stonewall" Jackson (Jackson is described as a "hell of a fool"). Other Charles Barton material is found in a notebook (approximately 250 pages) that contains poetry copied by Charles, including "The Faculty of the VMI," which describes Francis H. Smith, John T.L. Preston, and other early faculty members; class notes from lectures given by Francis H. Smith; autographs of his VMI classmates, and a resolution on the death of Cadet Thomas Blackburn.

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Bolling W. Barton papers, 1863/1864 2 Folder

Includes four class exercises and one note indicating math and French marks. Also includes two items of correspondence.

Virginia Military Institute Archives

Charles A. Derby papers, 1839/1891

0.25 cubic feet Approximately 80 items in 1 box

The bulk of the Charles A. Derby papers consists of Derby family correspondence. Approximately twenty-eight letters were written by Charles A. Derby (dated 1844-1862) and cover the period from late boyhood up to his death in battle in 1862. Included are letters (dated 1846-1847) written while he was a cadet at VMI, as well as correspondence dating from his careers as a teacher and Episcopal clergyman. Two items were written during his brief service in the Confederate Army.

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Virginia Military Institute Archives

William D. Stuart papers, 1850/1863

60 items 60 items in one box

The bulk of the William D. Stuart papers consists of the Civil War papers (60 items; 1861-1863) of Stuart. The papers contain:

  • Correspondence to and from various Confederate Army officers
  • Morning and guard reports
  • Military orders
  • Invoices and receipts documenting Stuart's brief service with the 15th Virginia Infantry Regiment and his command of the 56th Virginia Infantry Regiment
Other items include letters of recommendation for a United States Army Commission (1850), a letter from Gabriel Jordan, Jr. (VMI Class of 1850) dated November 1854, and printed material.

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Virginia Military Institute Archives

Andrew C. L. Gatewood papers, 1860/1993

35 items

The bulk of the Andrew C. L. Gatewood papers consist of 28 letters (dated 1860-1864) written by Gatewood to his parents and other family members. Early letters describe life at VMI and in Lexington, Virginia, just prior to and during early months of the Civil War. Subsequent letters date from Gatewood's service with the 11th Virginia Cavalry Regiment, Company F (Bath Squadron), including a letter (dated September 1862) written after the Second Battle of Manassas (2nd Bull Run).

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Virginia Military Institute Archives

James H. Reid papers, 1862/1867

18 items

The James H. Reid papers consist of the Civil War correspondence (18 items) of Reid. Included are 14 letters (dated August-November 1862) from Reid to his parents written while he was a fourth classman at VMI. This correspondence contains many references to wartime cadet life, including the use of the term "rat" as a name for new cadets, hazing, uniforms, food, guard duty, and other aspects of life at VMI.

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Virginia Military Institute Archives

John E. Roller papers, 1862/1910

0.50 cubic feet approximately 40 items

The John E. Roller papers include:

  • Civil War era letters from cadet friends concerning life at VMI
  • Civil War dispatches and telegrams that date from Roller's service with the Confederate States of America engineers, including one document signed by General Robert E. Lee
  • One scrapbook (circa 1910) that contains clippings about Civil War battles, veterans, unit reunions, monument dedications, and other related information
  • Two photographs, one of Confederate soldier Lieutenant Colonel Samuel T. Walker (10th Virginia Infantry Regiment) and one of the Virginia Legislature Centennial Committee (1871)
  • Holograph text of a cadet literary-debating society speech delivered by Cadet Norwood B. Randolph in 1870
  • Other items

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Virginia Military Institute Archives

Matthew Fontaine Maury papers, 1833/1873

175 items

The Matthew Fontaine Maury papers consist primarily of letters written by Maury to various members of his family, including daughter Diana Fontaine Corbin (Maury) (1837-1900), son-in-law Spotswood Wellford Corbin (1835-1897), and wife Ann Hull Maury (Herndon) (1811-1901). Other correspondents include Maximilian (1832-1867), Emperor of Mexico, and Empress Carlotta.

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Correspondence, family, 1840/1872 Box 1, Folder 1-81, Box 2, Folder 1-66

This correspondence series was given to VMI as a single donation by a descendant of Diana Fontaine Corbin (Maury), "Nannie," a daughter of Matthew F. Maury.

Virginia Military Institute Archives

Records of Superintendent Francis H. Smith, 1839-1889, 1839/1889

30 Linear Feet

These files constitute the major record series generated by the office of Francis H. Smith, VMI's first Superintendent. He served from 1839-1889. The records, (ca. 30 linear feet) consist of incoming and outgoing correspondence, order books, speeches and publications, annual reports, personal file, and subject files.

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Correspondence, incoming, 1839/1870 20 Linear Feet

Incoming correspondence of VMI's first Superintendent, Francis H. Smith, for the period 1839-1870. The original 19th century filing order has been retained. Each incoming letter was assigned a number by Smith's secretary; these letters were then filed numerically by letter number within each year. Some years were further broken down into alphabetical sections (A-K; L-Z etc.) and thus have more multiple numerical sequences within an individual year. It is therefore the case that some years have more than one letter number 1, 2 etc. Some letters for the year 1870 are missing; occasional other missing letters are identifed on the index; however the series is largely complete. These letters are indexed by name of sender. Outgoing letters for the period are located in bound letter books, which are arranged chronologically.

Correspondence, incoming, 1885/1889 3 Linear Feet

Francis H. Smith incoming correspondence, 1885-1889. These letters are no longer filed in the numbered sequence that was used for the period 1839-1870; they are filed alphabetically within each year. Corresponding outgoing letters are located in separate letter books for the period. Incoming correspondence for the period 1871-1884, except for a few miscellaneous items, is not extant. This was noted by William Couper in the 1930's, and it is not know at what point or under what circumstances the incoming letters for this period were lost. Outgoing letters for 1871-1884 are extant.

Correspondence, outgoing, 1839/1889 51 Volumes

The outgoing letterbooks (bound volumes) of VMI's first Superintendent Francis H. Smith, who served from 1839-1889. There are no outgoing letters from 1864 August 9-1865 October 30.

Virginia Military Institute Archives

Jaqueline Beverly Stanard papers, 1863/1865

0.25 Linear Feet approximately 20 items

The Jaqueline Beverly Stanard papers (approximately 20 items) consist of letters from Cadet Stanard to his family (dated 1863 to 1864), a telegram concerning Stanard's body, letters from his brother Robert to their mother (dated 1865), and two essays written at VMI.

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