Fenwick Civil War Materials Collection

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 for 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], Fenwick Civil War Materials Collection, Ms2001-042, Special Collections and University Archives, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, Va.

Summary

Extent:
0.2 Cubic Feet 1 box
Creator:
Smith, John Newton, 1843-1863 and Gulager, Charles, 1826-1898
Abstract:
This Fenwick Civil War Materials Collection is a small collection of American Civil War-related materials, containing the correspondence of John Newton Smith, a private in Company I, 13th Virginia Cavalry and the sketchbook of Charles Gulager, a private in Company A, 6th Pennsylvania Cavalry. The materials were collected by Fenwick family members.
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], Fenwick Civil War Materials Collection, Ms2001-042, Special Collections and University Archives, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, Va.

Background

Scope and content:

This collection contains American Civil War materials, which had been inherited by Edward G. and Dorothea Little Vanderslice Fenwick. The collection is divided into two series: the Charles Gulager sketchbook and the John Newton Smith correspondence.

The Charles Gulager sketchbook (measuring approximately 5 x 7 inches) contains more than 30 sketches drawn by Gulager while he served in Company A of the 6th Pennsylvania Cavalry. Many of the sketches depict war-related scenes, such as camps, soldiers and ships. Also among the sketches are illustrations of such historic structures as Mount Vernon and the Chain Bridge at Washington, D. C. (Selections from the sketchbook were published by Mr. Fenwick in 1987 under the title The Civil War Sketches of Charles Gulager [call number: NC139.G85 A4 1987 Civil War Spec]). The sketches may also be viewed by searching "Gulager" on Special Collections' ImageBase (http://imagebase.lib.vt.edu/). While many of the sketches are titled, some are either untitled or have titles which are illegible.

The John Newton Smith correspondence contains letters written by Smith while serving with Company I, 13th Virginia Cavalry. The letters span the first half of 1863 and are written mostly from Essex County, as well as other points in northeastern Virginia. Smith's letters are devoted largely to personal matters (especially his need for a hat, the illness and death of his horse, war-time prices and family affairs), but he also writes of military matters (especially the Chancellorsville campaign). The correspondence concludes with letters from Smith's cousin, Charles Croft, regarding Smith's severe illness and subsequent death, as well as documents related to the military pay due Smith's estate. The series also contains a set of transcriptions made-probably in the early twentieth century-from the original letters.

Biographical / historical:

John Newton Smith, a Confederate cavalryman during the American Civil War, was born in Nansemond County, Virginia on March 5, 1843. He was the oldest child of Burwell Riddick and Sarah Marie Cross. On June 4, 1861, "Newt" Smith enlisted at Suffolk in what would eventually become Company I of the 13th Virginia Cavalry. Smith died from typhoid fever at Hanover Courthouse military hospital (Virginia) on June 9, 1863.

Charles Gulager, an artist and Union cavalryman, was born on August 7, 1826. Best known for his paintings of naval and coastal subjects, Gulager lived in Philadelphia prior to the Civil War, and his paintings were exhibited at the Pennsylvania Academy in 1860. During the Civil War, Gulager was a private in Company A, 6th Pennsylvania Cavalry. He died on December 1, 1898, and is buried in Oakwood Cemetery, Falls Church, Virginia.

Sources:

Balfour, Daniel T., 13th Virginia Cavalry (Lynchburg, VA: H. E. Howard, 1986).

Groce, George C. and David H. Wallace, The New-York Historical Society's Dictionary of Artists in America, 1564-1860 (New Haven: Yale University Press, 1957).

Miltier, Kelly, comp. "Tom Smith Camp: the Family of Thomas Washington Smith." http://www.tomsmithcamp.com/genealogy/ (25 July 2002). Archived at https://web.archive.org/web/20020602082642/http://www.tomsmithcamp.com:80/genealogy/, accessed Feb. 13, 2023.

Acquisition information:
The Fenwick Civil War Materials Collection was donated to Special Collections in 2000. The Gulager sketchbook had been inherited by Edward G. Fenwick; Smith's letters had belonged to Dorothea Little Vanderslice Fenwick.
Processing information:

The processing, arrangement, and description of the Fenwick Civil War Materials Collection commenced in July 2002 and was completed in August 2002.

Arrangement:

Series I: Charles Gulager Sketchbook, c.1861-1865, contains a sketchbook kept by Gulager during the American Civil War. The sketchbook is self-contained, and the illustrations are arranged in no particular order.

Series II: John Newton Smith Letters, 1863-1864, contains letters written by Smith from various points in northeastern Virginia during the first half of 1863. It also contains letters from Charles Croft regarding Smith's illness and death, as well as official communications regarding the military pay due Smith's estate. The letters, which are arranged chronologically, are followed by a set of transcriptions, also arranged by date of original letter.

Rules or conventions:
Describing Archives: A Content Standard