John E. Roller papers

Access and use

Location of collection:
Virginia Military Institute Archives
Preston Library
Virginia Military Institute
345 Letcher Ave.
Lexington, VA 24450-0304
Contact for questions and access:
POC: Jeffrey S. Kozak
Phone: (540) 464-7516
Phone: (540) 464-7566
Fax: (540) 464-7089
Restrictions:

There are no restrictions.

Terms of access:

Manuscript collections in the VMI Archives are made available for educational and research use. The VMI Archives should be cited as the source. The user assumes all responsibility for identifying and satisfying any copyright holders. Materials from our collections may not be redistributed, published or reproduced without permission from the VMI Archives. Contact the VMI Archives for additional information.

Preferred citation:

John E. Roller personal papers, 1862-1910. MS 0171. VMI Archives, Virginia Military Institute, Lexington, Virginia.

Background

Scope and content:

The John E. Roller papers include:

  • Civil War era letters from cadet friends concerning life at VMI
  • Civil War dispatches and telegrams that date from Roller's service with the Confederate States of America engineers, including one document signed by General Robert E. Lee
  • One scrapbook (circa 1910) that contains clippings about Civil War battles, veterans, unit reunions, monument dedications, and other related information
  • Two photographs, one of Confederate soldier Lieutenant Colonel Samuel T. Walker (10th Virginia Infantry Regiment) and one of the Virginia Legislature Centennial Committee (1871)
  • Holograph text of a cadet literary-debating society speech delivered by Cadet Norwood B. Randolph in 1870
  • Other items

Biographical / historical:

John Edwin Roller was born in Rockingham County, Virginia on October 5, 1844 to Peter Samuel Roller and Frances Allebach. In the summer of 1861, although underage for service, he briefly served with Company I of the First Virginia Cavalry, Confederate States of America. On December 31, 1861, Roller entered VMI as a second classman and graduated in July 1863. He subsequently taught mathematics at VMI for a few months, and then was appointed as a 2nd Lieutenant, Company G, 2nd Confederate States Engineers in October 1863. He served as an engineer officer in the Army of Northern Virginia until the end of the Civil War, and was paroled at Appomattox, Virginia.

After the War, Roller he studied law at the University of Virginia and practiced law in Harrisonburg, Virginia. He also served in the Virginia State Legislature and was a Brigadier General in the state militia. Roller was widely known in the Harrisonburg community as "General Roller." He died in Harrisonburg on August 10, 1918.

Physical location:
Manuscripts stacks