.
By Sarah Osorio
Collection Overview
Title: First and Last, or Battles in Virginia Typescript, undated
ID: 001/01/MSS 0000-663
Primary Creator: Blackford, W. W. (William Willis), 1831-1905
Extent: 25.0 Folders
Arrangement: Arranged by chapter.
Date Acquired: 00/00/0000
Subjects: Norfolk (Va.), United States--History--Civil War, 1861-1865, United States--History--Civil War, 1861-1865--Personal narratives, Confederate
Forms of Material: Correspondence, Manuscripts, Memoirs, Typescripts
Languages: English
Scope and Contents of the Materials
Twenty-three chapters, an introduction, and an appendix for William W. Blackford's memoir First and Last, or Battles in Virginia. The typescript details Blackford's experience as a cavalry officer under Jeb Stuart and as a Lieutenant Colonel of the Engineer Corps. All typescript pages were typed on the back of letterhead for the Richmond, Virginia office of The Prudential Insurance Company of America. The pages include handwritten edits in both pencil and ink.
Biographical Note
William Willis Blackford was born on March 23, 1831 in Fredericksburg, Virginia. He worked as a civil engineer for the Virginia and Tennessee Railroad and later for the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad. Blackford attended the University of Virginia from 1849-1850 to study engineering. He married Mary Trigg Robertson on January 10, 1856 in Richmond, Virginia.
Blackford organized the Washington Mounted Rifles, which later became part of the 1st Virginia Cavalry. He enlisted in the Confederate army on May 14, 1861 and served as lieutenant under the command of Jeb Stuart. Blackford was promoted to captain of Company D, 1st Virginia Cavalry on October 3, 1861. In 1864, he was promoted to Lieutenant Colonel of the Engineer Corps. On April 9, 1865, Blackford mustered out of the Confederate army at Appomattox Court House in Appomattox, Virginia.
From 1880-1882, Blackford was a professor of mechanics and drawing at the Virginia Agricultural and Mechanical College in Blacksburg, Virginia, which later became Virginia Polytechnic Institute. He died on May 1, 1905 in Princess Anne County, Virginia and was buried at Sinking Spring Cemetery in Abingdon, Virginia. In 1945, his memoir War Years with Jeb Stuart was posthumously published.
Subject/Index Terms
Administrative Information
Repository:
Sargeant Memorial Collection
Access Restrictions:
This collection is open to all researchers.
Use Restrictions:
The status of copyright for these materials is governed by Copyright Law of the United States (Title 17, U. S. C.). Copyright restrictions may apply.
Acquisition Source:
Unknown
Related Materials:
Memoirs: First and Last, or Battles in Virginia, Library of Virginia, Accession 28058.
Preferred Citation:
First and Last, or Battles in Virginia Typescript, MSS 0000-663, Sargeant Memorial Collection, Norfolk Public Library, Norfolk, Virginia.
Processing Information:
Processed February 1, 2017.
Box and Folder Listing
Browse by Box:
[
Box 10: Filing Cabinet Manuscripts],
[
Box 11: Filing Cabinet Manuscripts],
[All]
- Box 10: Filing Cabinet Manuscripts
- Folder 1: Introduction, First and Last, undated
- 3 pages. Also includes handwritten paragraph from first page of introduction and the cover page.
- Folder 2: Chapter 1, First and Last, undated
- Pages 1-10. March from Abingdon to Richmond. March from Richmond to Stuart's Camp. March from Stuart's Camp to Bull Run. Page 2 includes a handwritten piece of paper pasted on the page.
- Folder 3: Chapter 2, First and Last, undated
- Pages 11-35. The Battle of Bull Run.
- Folder 4: Chapter 3, First and Last, undated
- Pages 36-53. Ride over the Battlefield. Munson's Hill. Become Captain of my Company. Am put under arrest. Winter quarters on Bull Run. Night After the Battle.
- Folder 5: Chapter 4, First and Last, undated
- Pages 54-82. The Seven Days Battles. Evacuation of Centreville. Peninsula Campaign. Seven Pines. Battle of Gaine's Mill. Stuart's raid to White House. Destruction of Supplies.
- Folder 6: Chapter 5, First and Last, undated
- Pages 83-103. Battle of Frazier's Farm. Battle of Malvern Hill. Cavalry Headquarters at Atlee Station. Cavalry Headquarters at Hanover Court House.
- Folder 7: Chapter 6, First and Last, undated
- Pages 104-122. Pope's Campaign. Cedar Mountain Battle. Affair at Verdiersville. Catlett's Station Raid. Page 108 includes a handwritten piece of paper pasted on the page.
- Folder 8: Chapter 7, First and Last, undated
- Pope's Campaign. Jackson's March to Bristoe Station. Capture of Manassas. Battle of Groveton 1st day.
- Folder 9: Chapter 8, First and Last, undated
- Pope's Campaign. Battle of Groveton 2nd day. Battle of Groveton 3rd day. Battle of Chantilly.
- Folder 10: Chapter 9, First and Last, undated
- Maryland Campaign. Lee Enters Maryland. Cavalry Headquarters at Urbana. Battle of South Mountain. Capture of Harper's Ferry. Battle of Antietam. Williamsport.
- Folder 11: Chapter 10, First and Last, undated
- The Bower. The Pennsylvania Raid. Federal Army Crosses Potomac.
- Folder 12: Chapter 11, First and Last, undated
- Army Moves to Fredericksburg. Preliminaries to Battle of Fredericksburg.
- Folder 13: Chapter 12, First and Last, undated
- The Battle of Fredericksburg. Mud Campaign. Death of Pelham.
- Folder 14: Chapter 13, First and Last, undated
- Battle of Chancellorsville.
- Folder 15: Chapter 14, First and Last, undated
- Lee's Army Begins Movement Towards Pennsylvania. Reviews of Cavalry Near Culpeper Court House. Fleetwood Fight.
- Folder 16: Chapter 15, First and Last, undated
- Gettysburg Campaign. Hooker's Army Leaves Fredericksburg. Capture of Winchester. Lee Crosses Potomac. One page includes a handwritten piece of paper pasted on the page.
- Box 11: Filing Cabinet Manuscripts
- Folder 17: Chapter 16, First and Last, undated
- Stuart's March to Gettysburg.
- Folder 18: Chapter 17, First and Last, undated
- Battle of Gettysburg. First Day - Second Day - Third Day. Retreat across Potomac. Includes newspaper clipping "An Account of the Battle of Gettysburg" by Colonel William W. Blackford, dated July 4, 1913 from The Evening Sun in Baltimore, Maryland.
- Folder 19: Chapter 18, First and Last, undated
- Sick Furlough. Meade Reaches the Rappahannock. Reorganization of the Cavalry. Bristoe Campaign. Mine Run. Promoted to Lieutenant Colonel Engineer Corps. Father's Death.
- Folder 20: Chapter 19, First and Last, undated
- The Battle of the Wilderness. The Overland Campaign.
- Folder 21: Chapter 20, First and Last, undated
- Sheridan's Raid upon Richmond. Battle of Spotsylvania. Stuart's Death. North Anna.
- Folder 22: Chapter 21, First and Last, undated
- Totopotomy. Cold Harbor. Preliminary Fighting at Petersburg. Chapin's Bluff. Description of Lines at Petersburg. Wilson's Raid.
- Folder 23: Chapter 22, First and Last, undated
- The Crater. Counter Mining. Taken Sick - Return to Abingdon.
- Folder 24: Chapter 23, First and Last, undated
- Winter at Petersburg. The Retreat. The Surrender. Return to Abingdon. Siege of Petersburg. Military Execution.
- Folder 25: Appendix, undated
- Correspondence at Appomattox. Lee and Grant. Correspondence Lee, Longstreet and Stuart. Gettysburg Campaign. "To be added or left out by the publisher as he may think best."
Browse by Box:
[
Box 10: Filing Cabinet Manuscripts],
[
Box 11: Filing Cabinet Manuscripts],
[All]
