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 Places Union Colony of Colorado
Washington and Lee University, Leyburn Library

John Jay Stevens Diaries

6 Item

The John Jay Stevens Diaries consist of two diaries written by Stevens between September 4, 1863 and October 31, 1863 while commissary officer of the 110th New York Infantry Regiment during the American Civil War. Diary one entries commence as the 110th embarked on its cruise from New Orleans, La. to what would be known as the Battle of Sabine Pass, Texas at the mouth of the Sabine River. Stevens details eight days aboard the troop transport steamer 'Thomas Winthrop' in the Gulf of Mexico covering the battle of and the Federal retreat from Sabine Pass and the return trip to New Orleans. From September 12, 1863 through the end of the second diary he covers the 110th N.Y.'s overland campaign in Louisiana. Diary Two begins on September 26, 1863. The body of the entries after the cruise include troop movements, day to day camp life, and the Battle of Carrion Crow Bayou. Stevens documents experiences in and scenery of the Louisiana bayou country with vivid description. Entries are penned from New Orleans, Algiers, Brashear City, Berwick, Camp Bisland, Franklin, New Iberia, camp on the Teche, and Opelousas. He touches on foraging expeditions to abandoned plantations, the reaction of the local populace to the presence of the Federal troops, race relations and slavery, the landscape and weather, the character of the army and his commanding officers, death and disease, and his relations within the ranks. Stevens writes with a range of tones, but mantains a sense of humor throughout. This collection also includes a fascinating letter written by Stevens in 1875 while he was living in Greeley, Colorado. The letter, written to his sister Kate Forbes and her family in Oswego, New York, reports on the town and his life there. From the letter we learn that Stevens had ventured west for, among other reasons, his health. The collection also includes a letter fragment of an unknown child relative of Stevens in Cheyenne, Wyoming.

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John Jay Stevens Diaries 6 Item

Stevens, John Jay

The John Jay Stevens Diaries consist of two diaries written by Stevens between September 4, 1863 and October 31, 1863 while commissary officer of the 110th New York Infantry Regiment during the American Civil War. Diary one entries commence as the 110th embarked on its cruise from New Orleans, La. to what would be known as the Battle of Sabine Pass, Texas at the mouth of the Sabine River. Stevens details eight days aboard the troop transport steamer 'Thomas Winthrop' in the Gulf of Mexico covering the battle of and the Federal retreat from Sabine Pass and the return trip to New Orleans. From September 12, 1863 through the end of the second diary he covers the 110th N.Y.'s overland campaign in Louisiana. Diary Two begins on September 26, 1863. The body of the entries after the cruise include troop movements, day to day camp life, and the Battle of Carrion Crow Bayou. Stevens documents experiences in and scenery of the Louisiana bayou country with vivid description. Entries are penned from New Orleans, Algiers, Brashear City, Berwick, Camp Bisland, Franklin, New Iberia, camp on the Teche, and Opelousas. He touches on foraging expeditions to abandoned plantations, the reaction of the local populace to the presence of the Federal troops, race relations and slavery, the landscape and weather, the character of the army and his commanding officers, death and disease, and his relations within the ranks. Stevens writes with a range of tones, but mantains a sense of humor throughout. This collection also includes a fascinating letter written by Stevens in 1875 while he was living in Greeley, Colorado. The letter, written to his sister Kate Forbes and her family in Oswego, New York, reports on the town and his life there. From the letter we learn that Stevens had ventured west for, among other reasons, his health. The collection also includes a letter fragment of an unknown child relative of Stevens in Cheyenne, Wyoming.

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