Conditions Governing Use

Before reproducing or quoting from any materials, in whole or in part, permission must be obtained from the Special Collections Research Center, and the holder of the copyright, if not Swem Library.

Conditions Governing Access

The 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.

Preferred Citation

Unidentified Civil War Soldier letter, Special Collections Research Center, William & Mary Libraries.

Immediate Source of Acquisition

Purchased with the Nell Richardson Tonkin Fund.

Processing Information

The collection receive container level processing. This finding aid may be updated to reflect new descriptions and acquisitions to the collection.

Biographical / Historical

The Union soldier who wrote the letter identifies hmself as "Lee." This soldier fought in the American Civil War, which lasted from 1861 to 1865. The soldier fought for the Union Army which was named for its declared goal of preserving United States'constitutional union.

Content Description

This collection contains a letter written by an unknown Union Army Civil War (1861-1865) solider in Newport News, Virginia dated Jan 9, circa 1863. The solider wrote to his sister about the conditions of the soldier's camp. In his description of the camp, he describes the amount of soldiers camped and the size of the camp. He writes that twenty soldiers were sick "with a bad cold." He also wrote the soliders were protecting five union families from the rebel forces. When he went scouting, he did not see much, except for "five or six" black people, whom he describes as "odd" looking. At the end of the letter, the soldier signed "this is from your brother Lee."

Subjects and Indexing Terms

• Newport News (Va.)
• Military
• United States--History--Civil War, 1861-1865
• Virginia -- History -- Civil War, 1861-1865