HomeMy Public PortalAboutTOL PR 2012-08-07 TBL Civil War collection
Town of Leesburg
News Release
For Immediate Release
Thomas Balch Library Unveils Civil War Manuscript Collection
Leesburg, VA (August 7, 2012) – Thomas Balch Library
recently made available for research an important
manuscript collection focusing on Leesburg during the
American Civil War. The Leesburg Civil War Collection,
1861-1865, consists of nine manuscript letters and
seven cartes de visite brought together by Ben Byrnes, a
former resident of Leesburg. Byrnes began acquiring
items in the late 1990s, but purchased the bulk of the
collection after 2009. The Town of Leesburg acquired
the collection in June 2012.
Six of the letters were written by soldiers who were
present at the Battle of Ball’s Bluff on October 21, 1861.
Several of the writers were members of the 20th
Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry, who were encamped
near Poolesville, Maryland at the time of the battle. The
letters relate the details of camp life, the boredom of
the long nights, the food and economies in camp, and the routine of daily drills. Private
Danforth H. Green (1837-1870) wrote to his family that he “felt as cool as I would drinking a
glass of . . . cider” during the fight. The collection also includes a letter written by Colonel
Charles Devens (1820-1891) of the 15th Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry, who led the first
raiding party across the Potomac River in the early morning hours on the day of the battle.
In addition to the Ball’s Bluff letters, the collection includes two letters from Private Jonas Fuller
of the 141st Pennsylvania Infantry (d. 1862) to his family. A third letter is from Sergeant Joseph
H. Hurst (1836-1896), a friend of the Fuller family and fellow member of the 141st Pennsylvania
Infantry, relating the details of Fuller’s death in Leesburg. He assures the family that “Although
he died far away from home and his friends a Mother’s sympathy was evidenced towards him
by a stranger.”
The collection also contains seven cartes de visite, six of which are of soldiers who fought at
Ball’s Bluff. Cartes de visite are photographs the size of calling cards, usually 2.5 inches x 4
inches, that were very popular in the 19th century. Images include Paul Joseph Revere, the
grandson of Paul Revere (pictured above); Charles Pomeroy Stone, the officer in charge of
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TOL PR 2012-08-07 TBL Civil War collection
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Union forces at Ball’s Bluff; and Milton M. Rogers, the only Confederate soldier represented in
this collection.
A full description of the collection can be found on the Thomas Balch Library website at
www.leesburgva.gov/Modules/ShowDocument.aspx?documentid=9815.
About the Thomas Balch Library: Thomas Balch Library is a history and genealogy library owned
and operated by the Town of Leesburg. A designate Underground Railroad research site, the
Library’s collections focus on Loudoun County, regional and Virginia history, genealogy, military
history with special emphasis on the American Civil War, and ethnic history. For more
information, please visit http://www.leesburgva.gov/ThomasBalchLibrary.
Contact:
Alexandra S. Gressitt
Library Director
agressitt@leesburgva.gov
703-737-7196
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