Administrative Information

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Preferred Citation

Christopher Valentine Winfree. Letters, 1853-1856. Accession 38478, Personal papers collection, The Library of Virginia, Richmond, Virginia.

Acquisition Information

Purchased 11 June 2001.

Biographical/Historical Information

Christopher Valentine Winfree was born 14 November 1826 in Lynchburg, Virginia, to Christopher Winfree (1785-1858) and Cornelia Meyer Tilden. Winfree grew up just outside of Lynchburg in Campbell County, Virginia. He attended the Virginia Military Academy, graduating in 1848. A civil engineer, he worked for the East Tennessee and Virginia Railroad, then worked on railroads in Mississippi, before returning to Lynchburg in 1858. Winfree then became involved in tobacco manufacturing. When the Civil War began, he was a lieutenant in the Lynchburg Rifles, which became Company E, 11th Virginia Infantry. He served in the Confederate army in 1861, rising to the rank of captain. In 1862, he returned to Lynchburg as a major in the Virginia service and commanded the home guard around Lynchburg. In 1863, he entered the engineering corps of the army and served until the end of the war. After the war, he returned to his tobacco manufacturing interests. He also served as a director of the People's National Bank, of the Lynchburg Cotton Mill, and of the Glamorgan Pipe and Foundry Company. Winfree married first Virginia A. Brown (d. 1884) 14 November 1860, and they had 6 children. He married second Sarah C. Doniphan (b. ca. 1851) 13 October 1886, and they had no children. Winfree died 18 June 1902 in Lynchburg, Virginia.

Scope and Content Information

Letters, 1853-1856, from Christopher Valentine Winfree (1826-1902) of Campbell County, Virginia, to C. S. Brown consisting of: a) letter, 6 October 1853, discussing the hiring of slaves, efforts to construct a railroad from Lynchburg, Virginia, to Richmond, Virginia, and Brown's visit to a stockholders' meeting in Lynchburg; b) letter, 9 January 1854, informing Brown of Winfree's arrival in Lynchburg by rail and stage, discussing the bridge the rail line will cross, mentioning the hiring of slaves, and asking Brown to give his regards to the family; and c) letter, 9 January 1856, concerning the hiring and clothing of slaves and sending his regards to the family.