Conditions Governing Use

Manuscript collections in the VMI Archives are made available for educational and research use. The VMI Archives should be cited as the source. The user assumes all responsibility for identifying and satisfying any copyright holders. Materials from our collections may not be redistributed, published or reproduced without permission from the VMI Archives. Contact the VMI Archives for additional information.

Conditions Governing Access

There are no restrictions

Preferred Citation

Raleigh E. Colston papers, 1866-1878. MS 0386. VMI Archives, Virginia Military Institute, Lexington, Virginia.

Biographical / Historical

Raleigh Edward Colston was born in 1825 in Paris, France. He graduated from VMI in 1846. From 1846 to 1861 he was a Professor of French at VMI. During the Civil War he was a Brigadier General with the Confederate States of America. From 1873-1879 Colston was a Colonel in the Egyptain Army, and from 1882 to 1894 he was a clerk with the War Department. He died in 1896 in Richmond, Virginia.

Scope and Contents

This collection consists of two items related to Raleigh E. Colston. The first item is a letter of recommendation (dated July 7, 1866) written by General Robert E. Lee on behalf of Colston. The second item is a volume (appoximately 100 pages) titled "Report on the Northern and Central Kordofan" (Cairo: printing Office of the General Staff, 1878). Attached to this volume are photographs of Colston wearing his Egyptian Army uniform (circa 1878) and of Major H. G. Prout, Egyptian Army, and other reports (1876-1878).

Subjects and Indexing Terms

• Africa -- Description and travel -- 19th century
• American Confederate voluntary exiles -- Egypt
• Americans -- Egypt -- History -- 19th century
• Correspondence
• Egypt -- Armed Forces -- History -- 19th century
• Letters of recommendation
• Reports
• Virginia Military Institute–Class of 1846