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Conditions Governing Access

The collection is open for research.

Preferred Citation

Researchers wishing to cite this collection should include the following information: [identification of item], [box], [folder], John H. Black Letter, Ms1989-089, Special Collections and University Archives, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, Va.

Source of Acquisition

The John H. Black Letter was donated to Special Collections and University Archives in 1989.

Processing Information

The processing and description of the John H. Black Letter commenced and was completed in February 2022.

Biographical Note

John Henry Black, son of Jacob and Mary M. Swoveland Black, was born in Canan (Blair County), Pennsylvania on July 28, 1834. After attending Tuscarawa Academy, Black worked as a schoolteacher. On April 22, 1861, he enlisted as a corporal in Company H, 14th Pennsylvania Infantry, a three-month regiment, which mustered out on August 7. On December 10, he enlisted in Company G, 12th Pennsylvania Cavalry. Following two years' service, he re-enlisted as a veteran in the same company as a veteran with the rank of first sergeant and was later promoted to first lieutenant and eventually captain. He married Susan Jane "Jennie" Leighty during the war; the couple would have two daughters. Seriously wounded on March 21, 1865, Black was discharged on July 20. Returning to Blair County following the war, Black resumed teaching and later served a a member of the Duncansville Board of Education and as Blair County treasurer. John H. Black died in Duncansville on May 10, 1922, and was buried in Carson Valley Cemetery, Duncansville.

Scope and Content

This letter consists of a single letter written by Lieutenant John H. Black of Company G, 12th Pennsylvania Cavalry during the American Civil War. Written from the headquarters of Company G at Bolivar Heights, Virginia (now West Virginia) on October 21, 1864, the letter is addressed to Black's wife, Jennie Leighty Black. Black expresses appreciation for his wife's letters and for his own good health, "the best earthly gift a soldier can possess." Black then relays news of the Battle of Cedar Creek, noting the personnel and equipment captured by Union forces and concluding that "Sheridan is the man for the Shenandoah Valley." After discussing news of personal acquaintances, Black notes that the regiment is receiving recruits to replace casualties of the summer's campaign.

Related Material

See also A Yankee horseman in the Shenandoah Valley : the Civil War letters of John H. Black, Twelfth Pennsylvania Cavalry , edited by David J. Coles and Stephen Douglas Engle, Knoxville : University of Tennessee Press, 2012.

Subjects and Indexing Terms

• Civil War
• Local/Regional History and Appalachian South
• United States -- History -- Civil War, 1861-1865

Rights Statement for Archival Description

The guide to the John H. Black Letter by Special Collections and University Archives, Virginia Tech, is licensed under a CC0 ( https://creativecommons.org/share-your-work/public-domain/cc0/ ).