Collections : [Virginia Military Institute Archives]

Virginia Military Institute Archives

Preston Library
411 Letcher Avenue
Virginia Military Institute
Lexington, VA 24450
Primary Collecting Areas:
Military history, Civil War, Shenandoah Valley history, Stonewall Jackson Papers, genealogy
Description:
The VMI Archives include significant manuscript and Institute records holdings, with a focus on military history and the Civil War. Our extensive digital archives allow for easy online access to many of our collections.
POC: Jeffrey S. Kozak
Phone: (540) 464-7516
Start Over Repository Virginia Military Institute Archives Date range 1855 Creator Smith, Francis H. (Francis Henney), 1812-1890

Barton family papers, 1855/1869 10 items

Barton, Charles M. (Charles Marshall), 1836-1862

The Barton family papers consist of the papers of three members of the Barton family who attended VMI during the mid-19th century. Papers related to Charles M. Barton (VMI Class of 1856) include a letter (dated September 28, 1855) from Charles to his cousin Joseph M. Barton in which he complains about VMI life and about his instructor Thomas J. "Stonewall" Jackson (Jackson is described as a "hell of a fool"). Other Charles Barton material is found in a notebook (approximately 250 pages) that contains poetry copied by Charles, including "The Faculty of the VMI," which describes Francis H. Smith, John T.L. Preston, and other early faculty members; class notes from lectures given by Francis H. Smith; autographs of his VMI classmates, and a resolution on the death of Cadet Thomas Blackburn.

  1. Virginia Military Institute Archives

Charles P. Deyerle papers, 1842/1855 12 items

Deyerle, Charles P. (Charles Peter), 1820-1853

The Charles P. Deyerle papers consist of the personal papers (12 items) from the career of Deyerle. Included are documents dating from his medical studies and his service in the United States Army, clippings, books, and notebooks.

  1. Virginia Military Institute Archives

Correspondence, incoming, 1839/1870 20 Linear Feet

Incoming correspondence of VMI's first Superintendent, Francis H. Smith, for the period 1839-1870. The original 19th century filing order has been retained. Each incoming letter was assigned a number by Smith's secretary; these letters were then filed numerically by letter number within each year. Some years were further broken down into alphabetical sections (A-K; L-Z etc.) and thus have more multiple numerical sequences within an individual year. It is therefore the case that some years have more than one letter number 1, 2 etc. Some letters for the year 1870 are missing; occasional other missing letters are identifed on the index; however the series is largely complete. These letters are indexed by name of sender. Outgoing letters for the period are located in bound letter books, which are arranged chronologically.

  1. Virginia Military Institute Archives
  2. Records of Superintendent Francis H. Smith, 1839-1889, 1839/1889

Francis H. Smith speeches and publications, 1841/1879 .5 Linear Feet

A chronological file containing originals and copies of Smith's published addresses, speeches, discourses. These were published in pamphlet form. VMI owns originals for many; for those not found in the VMI Archives, the staff obtained photocopies from the Library of Virginia.

  1. Virginia Military Institute Archives
  2. Records of Superintendent Francis H. Smith, 1839-1889, 1839/1889

George A. Goodman papers, 1848/1865 11 items

Goodman, George A. (George Augustus), 1828-1884

The George A. Goodman papers consist of 11 items related to George A. Goodman, including:

  • VMI Diploma and Cadet Dialectic Society certificates
  • Letters of recommendation (1859) from Francis H. Smith and Thomas H. Williamson
  • Civil War documents, including commissions, oaths of allegiance, and a prison parole

  1. Virginia Military Institute Archives

James H. Waddell papers, 1855/1879 4 items

Waddell, James H. (James Henry), 1833-1884

The James H. Waddell papers consist of four items, including:

  • A letter (dated 1855) from Waddell to his sister that contains a detailed description and pencil drawing of his room (#14) in barracks and of his roomates (Barksdale, Penn, Magruder, Shepherd, and Wilson)
  • A drawing of a barracks room and roommates
  • Pencil map, 8 inches x 10 inches, labeled "Plan of Battle of Bethel Church, June 10, 1861"
  • Letter of recommendation (dated 1879) written by VMI's Superintendent Francis H. Smith and endorsed by Board of Visitors President John Letcher

  1. Virginia Military Institute Archives

Personal papers, 1833/1890 3 Linear Feet

Miscellaneous Francis H. Smith and Smith family personal records. Includes 2 volumes of personal letters written while on his trip to Europe in 1858, along with a scrapbook containing engravings of places visited; misc. personal correspondence, including one letter from Scott Shipp thanking Smith for his condolences upon the death of Shipp's wife.

  1. Virginia Military Institute Archives
  2. Records of Superintendent Francis H. Smith, 1839-1889, 1839/1889
  3. Personal and biographical material, 1858

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