Clayton G. Coleman Papers, 1858-1863

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

Summary

Language:
English

Background

Scope and content:

The papers consist of three letters written to Coleman's sister Lucy during the Civil War, and an autograph album containing inscriptions written by his classmates at VMI, the University of Virginia, and the Medical College of Virginia, ca. 1858-61. The letter of September 17, 1862, from Winchester, Virginia, discusses the Battle of Antietam and caring for wounded; November 4, 1862, Winchester, Virginia, discusses hospitals and care of wounded, General George Steuart, movement of Longstreet's Corps, and other troop activity in the area; Feb 25, 1863 is largely personal, discussing his mother's death.

Biographical / historical:

Clayton Glanville Coleman, physician, was born at Roxbury, New Kent County, Virginia in 1840. He entered the Virginia Military Institute in July 1856 as a member of the Class of 1859, but did not graduate. After leaving VMI in 1858, he attended the University of Virginia and the Medical College of Virginia, from which he was graduated in March 1861. He served as Lt. Col., 23rd Virginia Infantry Regiment(1861-1862) and after September 1862 as a physician in the Confederate Medical Department. After the war, he continued the practice of medicine until 1871, when he became a Civil Engineer. He married Anna Sherrard Breedin, daugher of Enoch C. and Lucy Singleton Breedin, of Winchester Virginia. They had four children: Sherrard , Robert, Lucy, and Caroline. Clayton Coleman died October 7, 1908, in Little Rock, Arkansas.

Acquisition information:
The three letters in this collection were purchased from Chesapeake Galleries in April 1981. The autograph album was donated by Lucy Singleton Coleman in 1935.
Physical description:
The papers consist of four items.