![[logo]](https://host.lib.wvu.edu/images/logos/wvrhc.jpg)
West Virginia and Regional History Center
1549 University Ave.Staff of the West Virginia & Regional History Center
Permission to publish or reproduce is required from the copyright holder. For more information, please see the Permissions and Copyright page on the West Virginia and Regional History Center website.
No special access restriction applies.
[Description and date of item], [Box/folder number], William C. Tavenner, Civil War Correspondence and Other Material, A&M 3763, West Virginia and Regional History Center, West Virginia University Libraries, Morgantown, West Virginia.
William Cabell Tavenner was the eldest child of Cabell Tavenner and Jennet S. (Withers) Tavenner. During Tavenner's childhood the family lived in Weston, (West) Virginia. The extended family had ties to Lewis County, Harrison County, and Wood County. Tavenner had three siblings, a younger brother, Thomas Alexander (referred to as "Tat" in the letters), and two sisters, Elizabeth M. and Jennet A. (who is often referred to as "Jen" in the letters). William Tavenner's paternal grandfather was Colonel Thomas Tavenner, one of the early settlers of Wood county and a prominent man in local affairs. Tavenner's maternal grandfather was Alexander Scott Withers, the author of "Chronicles of Border Warfare", an important early history of the settlement of western Virginia. Two of Tavenner's maternal aunts also appear in the collection's correspondence, including Mrs. Mary T. Owen of Galveston, Texas (referred to as "Poca" in letters), and Elizabeth Ann Thornhill of New Orleans (referred to as "Bettie").
The exact date and circumstances of Tavenner's entry into the military are unknown. He was stationed in New Orleans during the first years of the war, later moving northward to Virginia sometime between the spring of 1862 and January 1863. He was elected Lieutenant Colonel of the newly formed 17th Virginia Volunteer Cavalry Regiment in January 1863. Tavenner was fatally wounded at the Battle of Monocacy on 9 July 1864. He died of his injuries on 11 July 1863 at the nearby Gambrill Mill, which was used as a field hospital after the battle.
For more genealogical and historical information regarding the Tavenner family, see: A&M 81; Cook, Roy Bird (1886-1961), Collector. Tavenner Family Papers and Other Material; Folder 1a.
Letters of William C. Tavenner and members of his family. The family had ties to Lewis and Harrison County. Tavenner's letters include both personal and military correspondence from the Civil War, most relating to his service as a soldier in the Confederate Army (as Lieutenant Colonel of the 17th Virginia Volunteer Cavalry Regiment) and his death at the Battle of Monocacy. There are also letters from other members of Tavenner's family from before and after the Civil War.
Series include:
Series 1. Correspondence of Jennet S. (Withers) Tavenner; 1846-1858, undated; Folder 1
Series 2. Correspondence of William C. Tavenner; 1860-1864; Folder 2
Series 3. Correspondence Regarding Battle of Monocacy and William C. Tavenner's death; 1864; Folder 3
Series 4. Postbellum Correspondence; 1865-1873, 1940; Folder 4
Series 5. Artifact; undated; Folder 5
Series 6. Miscellaneous; undated; 10 fragments, Folder 6
See Also:
A&M 81, Cook, Roy Bird (1886-1961), Collector. Tavenner Family Papers and Other Material
A&M 858, Cook, Roy Bird (1886-1961), Collector. Tavenner Family Papers and Other Material
This series contains letters between William C. Tavenner's mother Jennet and her father, Colonel Thomas Tavenner, and her siblings, mostly regarding the death of Jennet's husband Cabell Tavenner and the disposal of his property. Mentioned in one of the letters is the steamship Landis, which was part of the Confederate Navy during the Civil War.
This series includes correspondence between William C. Tavenner and his mother, sister, and other family members, mostly concerning Tavenner's military service and the Civil War; and correspondence between Tavenner and members of the Confederate Army. Letters dating between 1860 and 1862 were sent while Tavenner was living in or stationed in New Orleans. Letters between Tavenner and his family discuss the possibility that western Virginia will secede along with other Southern states and Tavenner's willingness to fight. Tavenner also asks for more frequent letters from his family, news from western Virginia, and local newspapers. While in New Orleans he remarks upon railroad transportation, food prices, health conditions, and the mood of residents in their speculation of imminent attack. Military correspondence includes a letter from a Colonel Ferguson (most likely Milton J. Ferguson) informing Tavenner of his election to the position of Lt. Colonel (28 January 1863). An unsigned letter, believed to be in Tavenner's hand, describes skirmishing with Union troops (31 May 1864).
This series contains letters between Tavenner and other members of the Confederate army prior to the Battle of Monocacy, as well as personal correspondence between members of Tavenner's family and those who had witnessed Tavenner's injury and subsequent death. Military correspondence includes a pencil copy of an order from Brigadier General John McCausland, Jr. (4 July 1864) and a list of horses for the use of the 17th Virginia Cavalry (5 July 1864). Personal correspondence includes letters between Tavenner's mother, brother, and other relatives, as well as several letters from James H. Gambrill, who was with Tavenner when he died. Also included in the series is a letter from Lemuel Thomas Foote, a Chaplain in the Union Army who was entrusted with passing a "wallet" (or notebook) of Tavenner's onto his family (10 September 1864). The notebook is included with the letter.
This series includes letters between members of the Tavenner family dating after the Civil War regarding miscellaneous financial assets of William C. Tavenner, among other topics. Also includes one letter addressed to Roy Bird Cook regarding the history of the Tavenner family (15 April 1940).
This series contains a lock of William C. Tavenner's hair.