Conditions Governing Use

Before publishing quotations or excerpts from any materials, permission must be obtained from the Curator of Manuscripts and Rare Books, and the holder of the copyright, if not Swem Library.

Conditions Governing Access

Collection is open to all researchers. Manuscript collections and archival records may contain materials with sensitive or confidential information that is protected under federal or state right to privacy laws and regulations, such as the Virginia Public Records Act (Code of Virginia. § 42.1-76-91); and the Virginia Freedom of Information Act (Code of Virginia § 2.2-3705.5). Confidential material may include, but is not limited to, educational, medical, and personnel records. If sensitive material is found in this collection, please contact a staff member immediately. The disclosure of personally identifiable information pertaining to a living individual may have legal consequences for which the College of William and Mary assumes no responsibility.

Scope and Contents

This collection is a typed carbon copy of the letterbook of Captain Daniel Messinger, Provost Marshall of Portsmouth, dated November 9, 1863 to June 27, 1864. It contains correspondence between Messinger and various military personell including Brigadier General Wild, Brigadier General Barnes, General Butler, Colonel Shaffer, Colonel Holman, as well as Portsmouth's Mayor Collins. Photographs are included in the copy. It was transcribed by Jno. C. Emmerson, Jr. in 1946.

Subjects and Indexing Terms

• Portsmouth (Va.)--History--19th century
• United States--History--Civil War, 1861-1865
• United States--History--Civil War, 1861-1865--Personal narratives