H. Feild Letter

Access and use

Location of collection:
Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University
Special Collections, University Libraries (0434)
Newman Library
Virginia Tech
P.O. Box 90001
560 Drillfield Drive
Blacksburg, VA 24062-9001
Contact for questions and access:
Phone: (540) 231-6308
Fax: (540) 231-3694
Restrictions:

The collection is open to research.

Terms of access:

The copyright status of this collection is unknown. Copyright restrictions may apply. Contact Special Collections and University Archives for assistance in determining the use of these materials. Reproduction or digitization of materials for personal or research use can be requested using our reproduction/digitization form: http://bit.ly/scuareproduction. Reproduction or digitization of materials for publication or exhibit use can be requested using our publication/exhibition form: http://bit.ly/scuapublication. Please contact Special Collections and University Archives (specref@vt.edu or 540-231-6308) if you need assistance with forms or to submit a completed form.

Preferred citation:

Researchers wishing to cite this collection should include the following information: [identification of item], [box], [folder], H. Feild Letter, Ms1992-039, Special Collections and University Archives, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, Va.

Summary

Extent:
0.1 Cubic Feet 1 folder
Creator:
Feild, H.
Abstract:
Letter from Confederate surgeon H. Feild, written at the general hospital in Petersburg, Virginia, "to my esteemed friend," on January 5, 1865, describing the suffering in the land and the cries of the wounded.
Language:
The materials in the collection are in English.
Preferred citation:

Researchers wishing to cite this collection should include the following information: [identification of item], [box], [folder], H. Feild Letter, Ms1992-039, Special Collections and University Archives, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, Va.

Background

Scope and content:

This collection consists of a single four-page letter written by Confederate surgeon H. Feild (presumably Hume Feild) during the American Civil War. Dated from Petersburg, Virginia, on January 5, 1865, the letter is addressed to "my esteemed friend." After extending congratulations for his friend's recent wedding, Feild expresses despondency over the recent course of the war, then recounts his recent experiences, having been temporarily assigned to duty in Abingdon, Virginia, until two politicians intervened on his behalf. Feild concludes with news of mutual acquaintances.

Biographical / historical:

The presumed writer of this letter, Hume Feild, was born on November 10, 1829. A son of Dr. John and Mary Bolling Feild, of Brunswick County, Virginia, the younger Feild obtained his medical degree from the University of Pennsylvania in 1850, and practiced medicine with his father. He married Lucy Osborne Jones (1833-1900) in Brunswick County on October 25, 1851. The 1860 federal census lists the Feilds and three Feild children as residents of Dinwiddie County, Virginia. During the American Civil War, Feild served as an assistant surgeon in the Confederate States Army, being assigned to the 15th Virginia Infantry on May 24, 1862. By February 1865, he had been appointed to duty as assistant surgeon at the general hospital in Petersburg, Virginia. Following the war, Feild returned to Dinwiddie County and private practice. The Feilds apparently divorced in the 1880s; Hume Feild married Anna Westmore Atkinson (1856-1946) in Dinwiddie County, Virginia, on April 17, 1889. Feild died August 15, 1891, and was buried in Concord Presbyterian Church Cemetery, Rawlings (Brunswick County).

Acquisition information:
The H. Feild Letter was purchased by Special Collections and University Archives in 1992.
Processing information:

The processing and description of the H. Feild Letter commenced and was completed in October, 2023.

Rules or conventions:
Describing Archives: A Content Standard