Series III: Miscellaneous Records

Scope and content:

Contains certificates issued by the Secretary of Virginia Military Records, certificates issued by the U.S. War Dept., detached muster rolls of unpaid men, Harper's Ferry Rifle Factory records, hospital records, individual service records, John Brown's Raid unit records, Lists of Confederate Soldiers who died in Union Prisons, and other sundry items documenting the work of the Secretary of Virginia Military Records and Dept. of Confederate Military Records.

The Certificates Issued by the Secretary of Virginia Military Records consist of typescript copies of correspondence certifying the military service records of Confederate veterans between 1910 & 1917. Each certificate provides the name of the veteran along with a brief description of their service including their unit, whether wounded or captured, and dates of enlistment.

The Certificates Issued by the U.S. War Dept. consist of correspondence from the Secretary of Virginia Military Records between 1912 & 1917 (mostly 1914-1916) to the Adjutant General's Office of the U.S. War Dept. requesting the service records of Confederate veterans for pension applications. On the reverse side of each correspondence are forms issued by the War Dept. summarizing that soldiers' service in the Confederate army (if any information was found). Information included is the name of the soldier, rank, unit, date of enlistment, and the last date found on the company muster roll. Occasionally there is additional information about the soldier's service such as furloughs, discharges, paroles, etc. Each certificate is dated and signed by the Adjutant General.

The Detached Muster Rolls of Unpaid Men include muster rolls from various regiments during the Civil War. These rolls contain lists of soldiers who did not receive pay. The rolls provide the names and rank of the soldier, length of service, date when they became detached from the regiment, and, in a few cases, the circumstances of the detachment. The rolls are arranged by paymaster. Each paymaster was responsible for the detachments for various units.

The Harper's Ferry Rifle Factory records contain consolidated abstracts of provisions, payrolls, and powers of attorney from civilian employees working at the Rifle Factory in Harper's Ferry between April and June 1861. The abstracts enumerate and total the number of provisions such as beef, bread, sugar, soap, etc., and the number of men issued these provisions. The powers of attorney were issued by employees to appoint individuals to draw and receive pay on their behalf. Lastly, the payrolls provide the name of the employees who worked at the Rifle Factory, his occupation, days worked, price, total amount, and signature. The payrolls are signed and certified by the Master Armorer, Philip Burkhart, and approved by Brig. Gen. Joseph E. Johnston and Col. Thomas J. Jackson.

The Hospital Records consist of a register of wounded from Chimborazo Hospital between August & December 1863, a register of wounded from Winchester Hospital between July & August 1864, vouchers for supplies for Chimborazo Hospital from March 1865, and a published article on "The History of Chimborazo Hospital, Richmond Va., and its Medical Officers during 1861-1865" from "The Virginia Medical Semi-Monthly" published in July 1904.

The Individual Service Records include a small collection of both official and unofficial service records for 70 Confederate veterans gathered by the Adjutant General, the Secretary of Virginia Military Records, and later, the Virginia State Library between 1884 and 1934. Includes correspondence, certificates issued by the U.S. War Dept. and Secretary of Virginia Military Records, affidavits, and personal reminiscences of veterans and their families.

The John Brown's Raid Unit records contain muster rolls & payrolls from various regiments of the Virginia Militia stationed in Harper's Ferry after John Brown's Raid. There are also powers of attorney containing lists of soldiers' signatures authorizing certain officers to draw pay on their behalf.

The Lists of Confederate Soldiers who died in Union Prisons include typed lists of Confederate dead compiled by Maj. Joseph V. Bidgood in 1915 for the Department of Confederate Military Records. These lists contain names of Confederate soldiers, their regiment, and burial place transcribed from monuments and headstones. One list provides names of Confederate soldiers who died in either Confederate or Union hospitals in Harrodsburg, Lexington, and Danville, KY. Another list provides the names of Confederate soldiers who died in a railroad accident near Shohola, Pa. The majority of the lists, however, document the deaths of Confederate soldiers in over thirty Union prisons in twelve states. The lists are arranged by Union prison.

The Miscellaneous (Folders) file includes various lists compiled by the Secretary. These include lists of Confederate veterans at the Gettysburg encampment in 1913, veterans admitted to the Lee Camp Soldiers' Home in 1915, Virginia military organizations mentioned in official war records, and Virginia soldiers mentioned in special orders. There are printed pamphlets containing a roster of the Lee Camp Soldiers' Home in 1913 and also bylaws from 1910. Additional sundry items include acts related to the preservation of Confederate records in Virginia, addresses by Maj. Robert Hunter in 1904 and W. Gordon McCabe in 1908, a draft of Hunter's report to the Governor in 1909, and tabulations (numbers only) of living veterans in 1911.

The Miscellaneous (Volumes) files contain a number of loose volumes arranged alphabetically by title. Included are registers of officers from various branches of service, local designations, unit data, and other assorted volumes compiled by the Secretary of Virginia Military Records.

The Scrapbooks include two volumes of clippings from "Our Confederate Column" between 1904 to 1909 and two volumes of obituaries of Confederate veterans who died between 1910 and 1917.

The Transcripts of General and Special Orders from the Adjutant & Inspector General's Office from 1862 to 1865 were transcribed by the Secretary of Virginia Military Records. The handwritten transcripts of special orders document resignations, appointments, discharges, transfers, leaves of absence, work details, furloughs, and courts of enquiry for Confederate officers and soldiers from Virginia. Special orders No. 1-313 are represented in this collection. These special orders were issued by Jonathan Withers and George Deas, Assistant Adjutant Generals, by the command of the Secretary of War. A few of the orders were also issued directly from Samuel Cooper, Adjutant & Inspector General. The general orders are not as extensive and mostly include resignations and promotions of officers from the Provisional Army of the Confederate States. In addition, general orders numbered 64, 87, and 131 consist of rolls of honor for the battles of Payne's Farm, Chickamauga, Petersburg, and Chancellorsville. Lastly, there are a few miscellaneous transcribed documents including correspondence from John B. Floyd regarding the Battle of Fort Donelson and Jefferson Davis regarding nominations for appointment in the Provisional Army, reports of the Battle of Shiloh by G.T. Beauregard, and other miscellaneous lists of soldiers.

The Unit Lists contain a few miscellaneous lists compiled by the Secretary of Virginia Military Records. There are lists of infantry battalions, local defense units, militia units, the "Stonewall" Brigade, and unassigned companies. These lists are undated, but were created sometime between 1904 and 1918. There are payrolls from April 1862 for thirty-seven Tidewater Virginia & North Carolina units. These payrolls provide the names of the soldiers and to whom paid. Lastly, there is a catalog of muster rolls from the Richmond Circuit Court related to the court case between the Commonwealth and Joseph F. Wren in 1910. Wren was a rare book dealer who was fighting a court battle against the Secretary of Virginia Military Records for the possession of 200 original muster rolls (See "Clippings, 1884-1922" file).

The Veterans Lists by County contain miscellaneous lists of veterans and units arranged by county. The lists were collected by the Secretary of Virginia Military Records and compiled by veterans and veteran organizations between 1900 and 1922. Included are newspaper clippings, typescript and handwritten lists, correspondence, and pamphlets. There are two copies of a published "Roster of Warren County Veterans" published by the Warren Memorial Association and Daughters of the Confederacy in 1907. There is another published pamphlet of veterans from Greenbrier County in 1906. The cities of Lynchburg and Portsmouth are also represented in this collection. In addition, there are lists of Virginia veterans from Oklahoma and Kansas City, Missouri, arranged to the rear of the collection.

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