The collection is open for research use.
The materials from Washington and Lee University Special Collections are made available for use in research, teaching, and private study, pursuant to U.S. Copyright law. The user assumes full responsibility for any use of the materials, including but not limited to, infringement of copyright and publication rights of reproduced materials. Any materials used should be fully credited with the source. Permission for publication of this material, in part or in full, must be secured with the Head of Special Collections.
Preferred citation: [Identification of item], Franklin Lafayette Riley Papers, WLU Coll. 0060, Special Collections and Archives, James G. Leyburn Library, Washington and Lee University, Lexington, VA
In some cases the citation format may vary. Please contact Special Collections' staff to verify the appropriate format.
The materials in Folder 1 were previously housed in W&L miscellaneous manuscripts.
The materials in Folders 2-14 were found in the attic of the Pi Kappa Phi Fraternity, where Riley previously lived, and subsequently donated to the archives by the fraternity members, probably around 1966.
Franklin Lafayette Riley was a Professor of history at Washington and Lee University from 1914-1929.
This collection includes correspondence connected with the book Gen. Robert E. Lee After Appomattox edited by Dr. Riley; letters from Riley to his wife while he was with the American Expeditionary Force University in France in 1919; other correspondents include Edward Clifford Gordon, Mary Custis Lee and Jo Lane Stern. Also includes letters to his daughter (Frances Riley, later Frances Denton), her Daughters of the American Revolution card, and photographs and postcards of Washington and Lee University.
Some materials from this collection are housed in Oversize drawer 27.