Category Archives: Southern Historical Collection

14 April 1865: “Mayo’s bridge was fired by incendiaries long before orders were given. none of this is to be published”

Posted on 14 Apr ’15 by

Item Description: Two letters dated 14 April 1865.  The first is a letter from Mary C. Gantt to Lizinka Campbell Ewell.  She discusses Hariett “Hattie” Ewell’s adjustment to living with the Gantts in St. Louis.  She also implores Lizinka to … Continue reading →

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April 13 1865: “it would be simply lunacy for Dick Ewell to go to Nashville. Whatever you may think of it I donot believe he would be safe from mob violence.”

Posted on 13 Apr ’15 by

Item Description: Letter from Thomas T. Gantt  to his cousin Lizinka Campbell Ewell. He advise her not to bring Richard Ewell or Campbell Brown to Nashville once they were paroled. Richard Ewell and Campbell Brown were captured by Federal troops … Continue reading →

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12 April 1865: “Owing to events in his own country Genl Alexander desires to exercise his talents in some other”

Posted on 12 Apr ’15 by

Item Description: Letter dated 12 April 1865 from William Nelson Pendleton to the Emperor of Brazil. He writes regarding Edward Porter Alexander’s abilities and recommending him for the service in the Brazilian army following the defeat of the Confederate Army. … Continue reading →

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11 April 1865: “your favor to its defenseless inhabitants generally”

Posted on 11 Apr ’15 by

Item Description: Letter dated 11 April 1865 from Zebulon B. Vance to General William T. Sherman authorizing the surrender of Raleigh. He requests protection for many vulnerable entities of the city. Item Citation: Folder 2, Cornelia Phillips Spencer Papers, #683, … Continue reading →

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11 April 1865: “Should the future offer no chance of service in our cause, I trust you will take to some other country that zeal, intelligence, energy, and courage which have so illustrated the brief history of this.”

Posted on 11 Apr ’15 by

Item Description: Letter dated 11 April 1865 from General James Longstreet to General Edward Porter Alexander from Gen. Longstreet. Longstreet writes to commend Alexander on his service throughout the war. Item Citation: Folder 22b, Edward Porter Alexander Papers, #7, Southern … Continue reading →

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10 April 1865: “the conviction had become established in the minds of a large majority of our best officers, + men that the army in its extremely reduced state could not be extricated from its perilous condition”

Posted on 10 Apr ’15 by

Item description: Three items from the day after the surrender at Appomattox Court House. The first is a paroled prisoner’s pass. Upon surrender, Confederate soldiers received paroles allowing them to return home without fear of arrest as long as they did … Continue reading →

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9 April 1865: “I propose to receive the surrender of the Army of N. Va on the following terms”

Posted on 9 Apr ’15 by

Item Description: Letter from General Ulysses S. Grant to Robert E. Lee laying out the terms of surrender for the Army of Northern Virginia at Appomattox Court House. Item Citation: Folder 22b, in the Edward Porter Alexander Papers, #7, Southern … Continue reading →

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7 April 1865: “The evacuation of Richmond Petersburg on Sunday last was a hard blow to our cause but I am not discouraged God will yet save us from our Enemies”

Posted on 7 Apr ’15 by

Item Description: A letter from a concerned father in Greensboro to his daughter in Chapel Hill who is staying with her Aunt and Uncle. He fears that if Raleigh falls, Chapel Hill will become violent, and is expresses concern that she … Continue reading →

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4 April 1865: “I think the end of the great conflict between the North and the South is close at hand.”

Posted on 4 Apr ’15 by

Item Description: Letter from William Horn Battle to his son Kemp Battle.  He writes about hearing that Petersburg and Richmond had been evacuated and he feels the war will soon be over.  He also mentions that Kemp’s mother is almost … Continue reading →

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2 April 1865: “have been serving on guard at town every third night & have been as much as two weeks without taking off my clothes”

Posted on 2 Apr ’15 by

Item Description: Letter from J. C. Norwood to Walter Waightstill Lenoir regarding Stoneman’s raids through North Carolina and into Virginia.  He writes about how a detachment of soldiers burned buildings in the town and about rumors where Stoneman and his … Continue reading →

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