James C. and Gertrude (Meredith) Biddle Family 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.

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Preferred citation:

Researchers wishing to cite this collection should include the following information: [identification of item], [box], [folder], James C. and Gertrude (Meredith) Biddle Family Correspondence, 1861-1865, Ms2024-105, Special Collections and University Archives, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, Va.

Summary

Extent:
1.1 Cubic Feet 3 boxes
Creator:
Biddle, James Cornell, 1835-1898 and Biddle, Gertrude Meredith
Abstract:
The James C. and Gertrude (Meredith) Biddle Family Correspondence collection includes letters primarily written between James C. Biddle and his wife Gertrude Biddle, as well as letters from C.K. Meredith and William M. Meredith. In addition to expressions of love, the contents pertain mostly to James C. Biddle's time serving in the Union military, detailing his day to day life and events of the war.
Language:
English .
Preferred citation:

Researchers wishing to cite this collection should include the following information: [identification of item], [box], [folder], James C. and Gertrude (Meredith) Biddle Family Correspondence, 1861-1865, Ms2024-105, Special Collections and University Archives, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, Va.

Background

Scope and content:

The James C. and Gertrude (Meredith) Biddle Family Correspondence collection includes letters primarily written between James C. Biddle and his wife Gertrude Biddle, as well as letters from C.K. Meredith and William M. Meredith. In addition to expressions of love, the contents pertain mostly to James C. Biddle's time serving in the Union military, detailing his day to day life and events of the war.

Biographical / historical:

James Cornell Biddle (1835-1898) was born in Philadelphia, PA, the son of James Cornell Biddle Sr. and Sarah Caldwell Biddle, née Keppele. James entered the Faires Classical Institute in 1845 and then graduated from the University of Pennsylvania in 1853 with a career in civil engineering. Upon the outbreak of the Civil War in 1861, James enlisted in the 17th Pennsylvania Volunteers for three-months service. Upon his discharge, he was appointed First Lieutenant in the 27th Pennsylvania Infantry, assigned to General Thomas Williams' staff. In this role he was assigned to Fort Hatteras and by late 1862, he had received promotion to Major and was involved in the first Federal attacks on Vicksburg, Mississippi by Admiral David Farragut, where he was captured for a short period and exchanged.

By September of 1862, he was an aide to General James B. Ricketts' division. On December 27, 1862, James married his long-time fiancee Gertrude Gouvernuer Meredith (1839-1905), daughter of William M. Meredith. In May 1863, he was assigned as an aide-de-camp to General George G. Meade, and would remain on his staff through the end of the war, participating in all the subsequent major campaigns till 1865. On August 1, 1864 he was brevetted Lieutenant Colonel and on April 9, 1865 was brevetted colonel for continuous service with Meade and the Army of the Potomac. With Gertrude, they had two daughters: Catherine Meredith Biddle (1865-1931) and Sarah Caldwell Biddle (1866-1930).

Unfortunately, we know less of Gertrude Biddle from the collection and other sources. She was the daughter of William Meredith, a prominent Philadelphia lawyer who served as U.S. Secretary of the Treasury under President Zachary Taylor and later as Attorney General of Pennsylvania from 1861-1867. From her letters, she lives a generally comfortable, upper-class lifestyle that would be expected of someone from her social class. A large portion of the correspondence during the summer of 1862 is written from Atlantic City, New Jersey; this was likely a summer retreat away from the heat and diseases in urban Philadelphia. Gertrude is extremely well informed about the progress of the war, and often shares information she learns from larger newspapers with James. She has a sister Catherine Meredith, who sent her letters from Trenton, New Jersey.

External sources:

"From Yesterday's Evening Edition," The Daily Delta (New Orleans, LA), August 22, 1862, p. 1.

Charles J. Cohen, Memoir of Rev. John Wiley Faires, A. M., D. D., Founder and Principal of the Classical Institute, Philadelphia (Philadelphia: John C. Winston Co., 1926). pp. 83-85.

Acquisition information:
The James C. and Gertrude (Meredith) Biddle Family Correspondence was purchased by Special Collections and University Archives from July 2022 to August 2023.
Processing information:

The processing, arrangement, and description of the James C. and Gertrude (Meredith) Biddle Family Correspondence was completed in October 2025.

Arrangement:

The collection is arranged by author and subdivided chronologically.

Rules or conventions:
Describing Archives: A Content Standard