Captain Isaiah A. Welch Correspondence

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], Captain Isaiah A. Welch Correspondence, Ms2009-094, Special Collections and University Archives, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, Va.

Summary

Extent:
0.1 Cubic Feet 1 folder
Creator:
Welch, Isaiah A., 1829 (1823?)-1902 and Dickenson, Crispin, b.1832
Abstract:
This letter from Captain Isaiah A. Welch to Captain Crispin Dickenson details Welch's desire to get back in touch with Dickenson, following their American Civil War service together. A shopping list of Captain Crispin Dickenson's is also included.
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], Captain Isaiah A. Welch Correspondence, Ms2009-094, Special Collections and University Archives, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, Va.

Background

Scope and content:

The collection contains a letter from Captain Isaiah A. Welch to his former fellow American Civil War officer, Crispin Dickenson. Welch's intention was to "renew the friendly relations which our contact and association during two or three years of hardships and common suffering begot..." The letter also depicts some of the post-war difficulties of Confederate soldiers, particularly in Welch's portrayal of Richard Miller's circumstances. The collection also contains a handwritten shopping list.

Biographical / historical:

While Captain Isaiah A. Welch's tombstone in Bramwell, West Virginia, marks his birth as March 3, 1823, it is more probably that he was born in 1829. Welch was born in Doddridge County, Virginia–now part of West Virginia. He worked as a civil engineer before and after the American Civil War. During the war, he served on the field staff as Assistant Quartermaster for the 13th Battalion, Virginia Light Artillery. Welch's most enduring legacy, however, may be his work in the West Virginia coal fields. He died in 1902. The town of Welch, West Virginia, is named after him.

Captain Cripsin Dickenson (Dickerson) was born on December 6, 1832 in Pittsylvania County, Virginia. Dickenson, a physician, and his wife, Mary C. (Catherine), had three sons: Charles T. (b. abt. 1856), Daniel C. (b. abt.1857), and John C. (b. abt.1859). Dickenson enlisted with the Confederate Army in Company B ("Ringgold" Battery), 13th Battalion, Virginia Light Artillery. A 1st Lieutenant at the time of his enlistment in 1862, he was promoted to Captain only a year later. On April 9, 1865, Dickenson surrendered his regiment at Appomattox Court House. From 1885 to 1887, he served as a member of the Virginia House of Delegates.

Richard T. "Dick" Miller (b. 1842) served in the 18th Regiment, Virginia Infantry, before being transferred to the 13th Battalion, Virginia Light Artillery, where he became Quartermaster Sergeant in the "Ringgold" Battery. After his capture at Petersburg, Miller was a prisoner at Point Lookout from April 4-June 16, 1865. Following the war, he worked as a laborer.

For additional information, see:
  1. Biographical Publishing Company. Men of West Virginia. Chicago: Biographical Pub. Co., 1903.
  2. Cavanaugh, Michael A. The Otey, Ringgold, and Davidson Virginia Artillery. Virginia Regimental History Series. Lynchburg, Va: H.E. Howard, 1993.
Acquisition information:
The Captain Isaiah A. Welch Correspondence was purchased by Special Collections in 2009.
Processing information:

The processing, arrangement, and description of the Captain Isaiah A. Welch Corrrespondence commenced and was completed in June 2009.

Arrangement:

The collection is arranged chronologically.

Rules or conventions:
Describing Archives: A Content Standard