Collections

A brief account of the Battle of Rich Mountain written by L. Johnson; includes drawings by the author of the Union camp, courthouse, and schoolhouse at Beverly, West Virginia.

Notes and maps related to the Civil War in West Virginia compiled by Luther E. Cole, probably in the 1930s. Handwritten notes with revisions appear to be the basis for an unfinished military history of the Civil War in West Virginia from 1861 to 1863. They chiefly describe campaigns and troop movements in the state, particularly the Battle of Rich Mountain, the Battle of Corrick's Ford, and the Jones-Imboden Raid. Also includes four battle maps with troop positions and geographical features.

Civil War diaries authored by First Lieutenant (later Major) Fabricius A. Cather from Flemington, Taylor County, West Virginia, records his experiences in the military and political conflicts of the Civil War. The six diaries, and a transcribed copy of the original 1864 and 1865 diaries, contain entries for the years 1860 to 1865 regarding western Virginia's grassroots efforts to secede from the Confederacy and establish a new state, and of the first battles and skirmishes such as Rich Mountain and Corricks Ford. He describes campaigns involving his regiment, the First West Virginia Cavalry, including the 1864 Shenandoah Valley Campaign under Sigel, Hunter, Sheridan, and Custer against Breckenridge, Early, and Mosby's Rangers; the last battles of Petersburg as Grant broke the Rebel lines; and the continuous fighting during Lee's retreat. Although most diary entries are one or two sentences in length, some entries in 1864 and 1865 are longer, perhaps due to his full involvement in combat. The collection also contains 18 items stored in pockets inside the covers of the diaries, including headquarters passes, business cards, and a complimentary pass for Lt. Cather to attend the June, 1861 "NorthWestern Virginia Convention" in Wheeling. An Addendum includes two scans of photos of Cather, two scans of Civil War military service papers, photocopies of an 1873 Kansas Land Grant, and genealogy material documenting the Cather family.

Papers mainly related to the Civil War in southern West Virginia, including correspondence, maps, photographs, newspaper clippings, muster rolls, and other material. Highlights of the collection include material regarding Captain John V. Young of the 11th West Virginia Volunteer Infantry; Captain James S. Cassady of the 7th West Virginia Cavalry; Captain W.D. Thurmond and his company of Partisan Rangers; and the 8th and 13th West Virginia Volunteer Infantry units. The collection is organized into seven series, including: 1. Correspondence (1841-1888, undated); 2. Maps (1861-1935, undated); 3. Miscellaneous (1851-1867); 4. Photographs (undated); 5. Sketches (1898, undated); 6. Newspaper Clippings (1861-1938, undated); and 7. Muster Rolls (1864, undated).

Papers of the Tavenner family of western Virginia, including correspondence, newspaper clippings, maps, and other material. Much of the material in this collection regards the Civil War. The Tavenner family was sympathetic to the Confederate cause. One member of the family, William Cabell Tavenner, served in the Confederate army; his letters are part of the collection. This collection also contains material related to families allied to the Tavenner family by marriage, particularly the Withers family, including material regarding Alexander Scott Withers and his book Chronicles of Border Warfare . The collection is organized into six series, including: 1. Genealogy (1868-1952); 2. Correspondence (1778-1953); 3. Maps (1863, 1939, undated); 4. Miscellaneous (1822-1950, undated); 5. Newspaper Clippings (1829-1931); and 6. Oversize Materials (1829-1861). Please see "Scope and Content Note" and "Historical Note" for further information.

Selected correspondence from the Salmon P. Chase and Orlando M. Poe papers include two letters from John S. Carlile of Clarksburg requesting the removal of General William S. Rosecrans and the western Virginia theater; a letter from Governor Francis H. Pierpont concerning a loan of $200,000 for the Reorganized Government of Virginia; a letter from K.V. Whaley concerning the effectiveness of Northern arms shipped to the Ceredo area; and letters from Poe, an aide to McClellan, to his wife pertaining to the fighting in the Tygarts Valley and at Rich Mountain.

William G. Brown (1800-1884) of Kingwood, West Virginia, was an attorney; member of the Virginia Assembly in the 1830s and 1840s; and a member of Congress from Virginia from 1845 to 1849 and West Virginia from 1861 to 1865. Chiefly contains deeds, plats, surveys, and other papers related to Brown's land in Preston and Monongalia counties, West Virginia, from 1860 to 1874 and items from Brown's law office concerning deeds, wills, and financial transactions from 1870 to 1883. A ledger book from Brown records the sale of dry goods items, chiefly food such as bacon, wheat flour, corn, coffee, meat, and tobacco, and notes the cost of items, debts, and account settled. Papers also include typescript essays on American history, the Constitution, and slavery, written circa 1927 and a typed copy of a letter of J.J. Phillips of Lantz, 18 July 1931, concerning the removal of Confederate remains from the Rich Mountain Battlefield.