Civil War Miscellaneous Collection

Access and use

Location of collection:
James Madison University
Second Floor Room 203, MSC 1704
Carrier Library
James Madison University
880 Madison Drive
Harrisonburg, VA 22807
Contact for questions and access:
POC: Tiffany Cole
Phone: (540) 568-3444
Phone: (540) 568-3612
Fax: (540) 568-3405
Restrictions:

Collection is open for research. Researchers must register and agree to copyright and privacy laws before using this collection. Please contact Research Services staff before visiting the James Madison University Special Collections Library to use this collection.

Terms of access:

The copyright interests in this collection have not been transferred to the James Madison University Special Collection Library. For more information, contact the Special Collections Library Reference Desk (library-special@jmu.edu). Because of the fragility of some items, reproductions may be restricted for certain materials.

Preferred citation:

[identification of item], [box #, folder #], Civil War Miscellaneous Collection, 1860-1965 (bulk 1862-1928), SC 0134, Special Collections, Carrier Library, James Madison University, Harrisonburg, Va.

Summary

Extent:
0.2 cubic feet 1 box
Creator:
Harrisonburg-Rockingham Historical Society
Abstract:
The Civil War Miscellaneous Collection, 1860-2005 (bulk 1862-1928), consists of Civil War records and letters from soldiers from 1860-1926, as well as twentieth-century materials including newspaper clippings, research, and writing about local Civil War battles and events.
Language:
English
Preferred citation:

[identification of item], [box #, folder #], Civil War Miscellaneous Collection, 1860-1965 (bulk 1862-1928), SC 0134, Special Collections, Carrier Library, James Madison University, Harrisonburg, Va.

Background

Scope and content:

The Civil War Miscellaneous Collection, 1860-2005 (bulk 1862-1928), consists of one box of materials related to the Civil War. This is an assembled collection, and the order of materials has been imposed by the archivist from the original unordered arrangement.

Civil War records included in the collection consist of muster rolls from the years 1862-1865, certificates of discharge and pension, lists of veterans, and lists of applicants and recipients of the Southern Cross of Honor from the years 1860-1926. Most of these records pertain to Confederate companies and individuals from Rockingham and Shenandoah Counties, but there are also a few records related to companies and soldiers within the Union Army. Other materials include personal letters from Civil War soldiers giving views of camp life and activities in and around Rockingham and Shenandoah Counties, writings by local historian John W. Wayland, twentieth century newspaper clippings relating to the Civil War, letters and poetry by Cassie Moncure Lyne, materials relating to Harrisonburg Civil War museums and monuments, and late nineteenth and early twentieth century bulletins and pamphlets about the Civil War. Please note that not all dates are inclusive.

Four Muster Rolls: Two from Union regiments in Illinois and New Hampshire; one from a Union convalescent regiment in Virginia; and one from Captain George A. Foster's company E, 20th regiment of U.S. Colored Infantry. Notes by Shenandoah Valley historian John Wayland on the muster roll of a company of Confederate infantry in the Virginia Militia.

Four letters from Civil War soldiers and one letter from a veteran relating details of his service and life after the Civil War. Project report titled "Civil War Letters Collection."

Civil War records including an honorable discharge from the Union Army, a pay voucher for a black aide-de-camp in the Union Army, a special orders letter granting a leave of absence, a copy of a receipt from Adams Express Company, a letter from the Treasury Department denying a veteran's claim for pay, and a pension certificate from the Bureau of Pensions.

Records pertaining to Confederate Soldiers, including lists of Confederate companies organized in Rockingham County, rosters of ex-Confederate soldiers in Rockingham County, lists of applicants for the Southern Cross of Honor, records of recipients of the Southern Cross of Honor, and a list of veterans from the Linville District.

Writings on the Civil War by historian John Wayland, including descriptions of local battles, chronological lists of Civil War events concerning Harrisonburg and Rockingham County, and a drafts of various texts about the Civil War in Rockingham County.

Copies of twentieth-century newspaper clippings about Civil War events including an article with photos on Colonel John S. Mosby and Mosby's Rangers.

Letters to Cassie Moncure Lyne thanking her for sending copies of her poem "The Rockingham Confederate Flag," from various individuals as well as the Library of Virginia, and the Virginia Historical Society. Notes, sketches, and papers relating to Ms. Lyne's desire to have a Confederate Monument erected in Court Square in Harrisonburg, Virginia, along with information about existing Confederate Monuments in Winchester and Richmond, Virginia. Copies of three poems written by Ms. Lyne.

Letters and documents pertaining to the Civil War Centennial Museum of Harrisonburg, Virginia, documenting the creation of a sign for the museum and relating to the Electric Map of the Stonewall Jackson Valley Campaign housed at the museum.

Bulletin of the Virginia State Library, 1927 "Two Confederate Items," includes the "Diary" of Captain H. W. Wingfield of Hanover County, Virginia and the "Reminiscences" of Judge E. C. Moncure of Caroline County, Virginia. An Address by Abraham Lincoln delivered before the R.E. Lee Camp, No. 1, Confederate Veterans, 1909. Miss Rutherford's Scrapbook, "Valuable Information About the South: History of Slavery—The South Did Not Fight to Hold Slaves," 1925. Various informational booklets about Camp Chase, Ohio, and the activities of various Civil War veterans groups.

"Bell Boyd: Southern Spy of the Shenandoah" by Laura Virginia Hale, undated. "Constitution and By Laws of the Stonewall Brigade Band," 1900. "Two Generals Kidnapped," An account of the capture of General George Cook and Benjamin Kelly by McNeill's Rangers, 1944. "McNeill's Last Charge," An account of Captain John H. McNeill and his Rangers, 1944.

Biographical / historical:

Civil War records within the collection were issued by government entities, including the Department of the Interior and the Treasury Department, along with various war offices. Notable individuals with papers represented in this collection include local Shenandoah Valley historian John W. Wayland (1872-1962 and Cassie Moncure Lyne (1875-1955) a Civil War writer and poet from Virginia.

Acquisition information:
Collection was deposited by the Harrisonburg-Rockingham Historical Society in April 1991. A student paper based on letters from the collection was added in 2005.
Custodial history:

When the collection was received from the Harrisonburg-Rockingham Historical Society in 1991, the materials consisted of one box of folders, mostly labeled "Civil War," with no apparent arrangement. After review, three collections were established from the materials: Sons of Confederate Veterans Collection, 1896-1964, SC 0132; United Confederate Veterans Collection, 1893-1938, SC 0133; and Civil War Miscellaneous Collection, 1860-2005, SC 0134.

Processing information:

In order to streamline the process of applying collection numbers, Special Collections staff completed a large-scale renumbering campaign in the spring of 2017. This collection was previously cataloged as SC 3050.

Arrangement:

The collection is arranged topically in four series with item level descriptions of folder contents.

  1. Primary Source Materials, 1862-1926, 2005
  2. Local Civil War History Documents, 1860-1978
  3. Museums and Monuments, 1879-1965
  4. Pamphlets and Booklets, 1909-1944
Rules or conventions:
Describing Archives: A Content Standard

Indexed terms

Subjects:
Spies -- United States -- Biography
Generals -- United States -- Biography
Presidents -- United States -- Public opinion
Soldiers -- Virginia -- Rockingham County -- Register
Soldiers -- Virginia -- Biography
Soldiers' monuments -- Virginia
Slavery -- United States -- Controversial literature
Southern Cross of Honor
Application forms
Pamphlets
Booklets
Letters (correspondence)
Names:
Harrisonburg-Rockingham Historical Society
United States. Army. Infantry -- Subject
Confederate States of America. Army. McNeill Partisan Rangers
Confederate States of America. Army -- Biography
Boyd, Belle, 1844-1900
Lincoln, Abraham, 1809-1865
Kelly, Benjamin Franklin, 1807-1891
Foster, George A.
McNeill, John Hanson, 1815-1864
Crook, George, 1829-1890
Places:
Camp Chase (Ohio) -- History
Confederate States of America -- History, Military
United States -- History -- Civil War, 1861-1865 -- Regimental histories
United States -- History -- Civil War, 1861-1865 -- African American troops
United States -- History -- Civil War, 1861-1865 -- Secret service, Confederate
United States -- History -- Civil War, 1861-1865 -- Poetry
United States -- History -- Civil War, 1861-1865 -- Prisoners and prisons
United States -- History -- Civil War, 1861-1865 -- Personal narratives, Confederate
United States -- History -- Civil War, 1861-1865 -- Regimental histories
Virginia -- History -- Civil War, 1861-1865 -- Registers
Virginia -- History, Local -- 19th century
Rockingham County (Va.) -- History -- Civil War, 1861-1865