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Special Collections and University Archives, Virginia Tech
Special Collections and University Archives, University Libraries (0434)John M. Jackson
The copyright status of this collection is unknown. Copyright restrictions may apply. Contact Special Collections and University Archives for assistance in determining the use of these materials.
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The collection is open to research.
This collection has been digitized and is available online.
Researchers wishing to cite this collection should include the following information: [identification of item], [box], [folder], Fenner Wilson Letter, Ms1988-082, Special Collections and University Archives, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, Va.
The Fenner Wilson Letter was purchased by Special Collections and University Archives in 1988.
The processing and description of the Fenner Wilson Letter commenced and was completed in April, 2021.
Thomas Fenner Wilson Jr., son of Thomas Sr. and Nancy Key Wilson, was born in North Carolina, on February 27, 1835. Wilson enlisted in Company D of the 45th North Carolina Infantry on May 8, 1862. He was wounded at the Battle of Spotsylvania Courthouse on May 15, 1864, and was paroled at Greensboro, North Carolina, on May 18, 1865. He married Adeline Simmons (1843-1928), and by 1870, the Wilsons were living in Madison (Rockingham County), North Carolina, with 10 children, with Fenner Wilson working as a farmer. He continues to be listed as a Rockingham County farmer through 1910. Thomas Fenner Wilson Jr. died March 5, 1916 and was buried in Sardis Primitive Baptist Church Cemetery, Madison, North Carolina.
This collection consists of a single letter written by Fenner Wilson, a private in Company D, 45th North Carolina Infantry during the American Civil War. Writing to his brother B. G. (Basley Graves) Wilson from Danville, Virginia, on December 24, 1863, Wilson describes his health and the overall health of his company, noting that Hiram Newnom "has bin trying to die but he cant," that Henry Elet [Ellett] is recovering from smallpox, and Sam Michel [Mitchell] recently died of the same disease. He also mentions the recent desertion of James Proctor and his wish to "take Christmas" with his brother. Wilson then complains that, though there is plenty of brandy available in camp, he cannot afford to buy any because he did not get as much as he thought he should in a recent trade with his brother. He then writes at length of this transaction, the prospects of selling his corn at a fair price, and of his relationship with his brother.
The guide to the Fenner Wilson Letter by Special Collections and University Archives, Virginia Tech, is licensed under a CC0 ( https://creativecommons.org/share-your-work/public-domain/cc0/ ).
This letter had long been identified as the "B. G. Wilson Letter," but a closer inspection and further research in 2021 revealed it to have been written by Fenner Wilson.