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Single leaf with two documents on front and back (recto and verso) respectively. On one side is an apparently unsent letter authored by Colonel John Castelli Rathbone, 11th West Virginia Volunteer Infantry, from Spencer (West) Virginia to the commanding officer at Ravenswood, (West) Virginia, dated 2 September 1862. Rathbone urgently requests reinforcements against an expected attack by Confederate cavalry. The verso is a "true copy" of the parole pledge signed by Rathbone and other members of his unit after their surrender to Confederate General Albert G. Jenkins, dated 2 September 1862. Rathbone's unit was captured during Jenkins' Raid on western Virginia. See historical note for further information concerning Colonel Rathbone.

Typescript of a paper written by Dr. Matthew Tyler Foulds titled "Enemies of the State: Political and Religious Secession in Western Virginia, 1844-1863". The paper regards the political and social influence of the Methodist Church and its various branches on the area that would become West Virginia, particularly those Methodists that supported the political and economic interests of western Virginia and, at the beginning of the Civil War, the unionist cause and statehood movement.

This collection contains documents and other material regarding the Civil War, including a diary, letters, reports, clippings, a muster roll, and other material. The majority of items in the collection regard the Civil War in West Virginia. Items within the collection are facsimiles and photocopies. Highlights of the collection include: the diary of Alex McGraw, who served with the West Virginia First Light Artillery; a letter from Captain Robert Coles of Virginia Fortieth Infantry, Wise Legion to Colonel Lucius Davis requesting certification to purchase necessary equipment; a letter from General John B. Floyd to A.W.G. Davis giving authorization to raise supplies for the Confederate Army of the Kanawha; a morning report of the Fifth Brigade, Confederate Army of the Northwest commanded by William Booth Taliaferro; and a muster roll of the Second Virginia Volunteer Cavalry, Company G. See "Scope and Content Note" for more detail.

Records relating to the history of southeastern West Virginia. Most of the items in the collection relate to Greenbrier and/or Monroe County. Includes antebellum (1833-1850; 7 items), Civil War (1861-1863; 4 items), and postbellum (1886-1933; 9 items) materials. Antebellum material includes a land suit, an estate report and schedule, other financial documents, and personal letter. Civil War material includes four letters authored by Confederate soldiers. Two of these letters describe the battle of Carnifex Ferry. Family names Sharitz and Yonce appear in three of the letters. Postbellum material includes pharmacy receipts, personal letters, programs, and a photograph.

A letter written by a Sergeant Thomas King to a friend. The letter is dated March 4, 1862, and was written from Camp Charleston, Virginia. King was a soldier with the 27th Regiment, Company K, of the Indiana Volunteer Calvary under Col. Colgrove. A typed transcription of the letter, prepared by the donor, is attached to the original copy.

Microfilm copy of assorted books, speeches, and pamphlets related to early West Virginia history. Includes: On The Plains In '65 by George H. Holliday; Heyward Shepherd, Victim Of Violence, by Matthew Page Andrews; and The Harpers Ferry Insurrection by J. Ewing Glasgow. For a complete listing, see the control folder.

Diary of Uz Barns of Ritchie County, a volunteer in the Union Army who served as a private in the 10th West Virginia Infantry. The diary covers the years 1862 through 1865 and contains daily entries, mainly regarding weather conditions. Barns also wrote about marches and distances marched per day; encampments at various places in eastern West Virginia and in Winchester, Virginia; and engagements with Confederate forces at Beverly, (West) Virginia, Harpers Ferry, (West) Virginia, and Deep Bottom, Henrico County, Virginia. He also records number of prisoners taken. Barns was in Richmond at the time of Lee's surrender and mentions the number of cannon and the supply of shells and powder left there by the Confederates.

Includes enlistment papers of the 4th regiment of WV Calvary from July to August 1863.

Ten letters and one telegram concerning military and civilian activities in western Virginia from May to September, 1861. Correspondents include H. W. Benham, Robert E. Lee, George A. Porterfield (recipient), J. B. Anderson, Thomas M. Harris, J. D. Cox, Winfield Scott, George B. McClellan, and F. W. Lander.