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Special Collections and University Archives, Virginia Tech
Special Collections and University Archives, University Libraries (0434)LM Rozema, Archivist, and Tyler Williams, Student Assistant
The copyright status of this collection is unknown. Copyright restrictions may apply. Contact Special Collections and University Archives for assistance in determining the use of these materials.
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The collection is open for research.
Researchers wishing to cite this collection should include the following information: [identification of item], [folder], Lilburn O. Byers Diary, 1864-1865, Ms2023-114, Special Collections and University Archives, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, Va.
The Lilburn O. Byers Diary was purchased by Special Collections and University Archives in November 2018.
The processing, arrangement, and description of the Lilburn O. Byers Diary was completed in February 2025. Initial description was completed in October 2023.
Lilburn Owen Byers (also Byars) was a farmer born to Benjamin Burkhart Byers and Mary B. Owen on June 25, 1825, in Tennessee. He was baptized the following year at Bristol. During the Mexican-American War, Byers enrolled in Company D of the 5th Tennessee Infantry of the U.S. Army on November 7, 1847, in Knoxville. He mustered out on July 20, 1848, at Memphis. Byers married Olivia King on December 20, 1849, in Washington County, Virginia, and the couple had at least one child.
During the American Civil War, Byers served in the 21st Virginia Cavalry of the Confederate Army. In November 1869, Byers married a woman named Elizabeth, and by the 1880 census, They had two children and were living in Johnson County, Missouri. Byers passed away on January 2, 1889, and is buried alongside Elizabeth in the Leesburg Presbyterian Church Cemetery in Washington County, Tennessee.
Sources:
U. S. Federal Census, 1850-1880
"Lilburn O. Byers," Findagrave.com, https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/46934521/lilburn-o-byers , accessed February 27, 2025.
"Lilburn O. Byars" in the Virginia, U.S., Select Marriages, 1785-1940, Ancestry.com, https://www.ancestrylibrary.com/search/collections/60214/records/3162520 , accessed Feb. 27, 2025.
"Lilburn O Byers" in the U.S., Compiled Military Service Records for American Volunteer Soldiers, Mexican War, 1845-1848, Ancestry.com, https://www.ancestrylibrary.com/search/collections/2058/records/88972 , accessed Feb. 27, 2025.
"Lilburn Owen Byars" in the U.S., Presbyterian Church Records, 1701-1970, Ancestry.com, https://www.ancestrylibrary.com/search/collections/61048/records/1934986 , accessed Feb. 27, 2025.
"Byers, L.O.", National Park Service's Civil War Soldier Database, https://www.nps.gov/civilwar/search-soldiers-detail.htm?soldierId=BDAD138A-DC7A-DF11-BF36-B8AC6F5D926A , accessed Feb. 27, 2025.
"Byars, L.O.", National Park Service's Civil War Soldier Database, https://www.nps.gov/civilwar/search-soldiers-detail.htm?soldierId=6BAA138A-DC7A-DF11-BF36-B8AC6F5D926A , accessed Feb. 27, 2025.
This collection contains the 1864 diary kept by Confederate soldier Lilburn O. Byers during the American Civil War. Byers writes about battles, troop movements, and events happening in camp. Byers' diary also covers the death of Confederate General William E. Jones. A page at the end contains a letter from Byers to his wife in February 1865 to give the diary to her. The front of the diary contains an almanac for 1864, and there are lists of names and money from people at the back.
The guide to the Lilburn O. Byers Diary by Special Collections and University Archives, Virginia Tech, is licensed under a CC0 ( https://creativecommons.org/share-your-work/public-domain/cc0/ ).