Louis P. Stone Letter, 1863

Access and use

Location of collection:
University of Virginia, Special Collections Dept.
Albert and Shirley Small Special Collections Library
University of Virginia
P.O. Box 400110
170 McCormick Rd
Charlottesville, Virginia 22904-4110
Contact for questions and access:
POC: Special Collections Public Services & Reference Staff
Phone: (434) 243-1776
Fax: (434) 924-4968
Restrictions:

This collection is open for research use.

Terms of access:

Materials in this collection which were created in 1863 are in the public domain. Permission to publish or reproduce is not required.

Preferred citation:

MSS 16858, Louis P. Stone Letter, Albert and Shirley Small Special Collections Library, University of Virginia Library.

Summary

Extent:
.04 Cubic Feet 1 legal folder
Creator:
Stone, Louis P., 1843-1903
Language:
English
Preferred citation:

MSS 16858, Louis P. Stone Letter, Albert and Shirley Small Special Collections Library, University of Virginia Library.

Background

Scope and content:

This collection contains a letter from Louis P. Stone (1843-1903) to Colonel Tracy describing his exploits as a U.S. Secret Service operative and requesting payment for his services. Stone was a U.S. Secret Service operative during the first two years of the Civil War. The "Secret Service," before officially inaugurated as the investigative branch of the Treasury Department in 1865, was the unofficial name for the intelligence services in the Union Army. The letter contains Stone's account of being taken prisoner by Gen. Floid [John B. Floyd] on October 15th, 1861, one hundred miles within enemy lines while on a secret expedition for Gen. Rosencrans. He escaped from Richmond on February 22nd, 1862. He also speaks of the hunt for Stonewall Jackson and the Battle of Cross Keys (1862) in Virginia, and of being captured again and held in Lynchburg, Va.

Biographical / historical:

Louis P. Stone was born in January 1843 in New York to Lucien and Catherine Stone. He married Emma F. Hukill and they had one child together, Bessie P. Stone. He was a Secret Service operative during the Civil War. Before the war, Stone was a druggist in Cincinatti and would later become a hotel owner in Deadwood, South Dakota. He was taken prisoner in October 1861 by General John B. Floyd while across enemy lines and escaped in February 1862. He was taken prisoner again in Lynchburg, Virginia but managed to escape to Washington where he fell ill and borrowed money to return home to Cincinatti. Louis P. Stone died of pneumonia in March 1903 at the age of 50 in Deadwood, South Dakota.

Acquisition information:
Purchased from McBride Rare Books by the Small Special Collections Library at the University of Virginia Library on 9 April, 2024.
Physical description:
good
Rules or conventions:
Describing Archives: A Content Standard