A Guide to the Charles Thomas Haigh notebook-diary 1863
A Collection in
Virginia Military Institute Archives
Accession Number MS 0016
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Virginia Military Institute Archives
Virginia Military Institute ArchivesPreston Library
Virginia Military Institute
Lexington, Virginia 24450-0304
USA
Phone: (540) 464-7566
Fax: (540) 464-7279
Email: archives@vmi.edu
URL: http://www.vmi.edu/archives
© 2001 By Virginia Military Institute
Funding: Web version of the finding aid funded in part by a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities.
Processed by: Diane B. Jacob
Administrative Information
Access
There are no restrictions.
Use Restrictions
There are no restrictions.
Preferred Citation
Charles Thomas Haigh Notebook-Diary, MS 0016, Virginia Military Institute Archives, Lexington, Virginia.
Acquisition Information
Received from the Virginia Military Institute Museum in April 1966 (Museum #B-1923-1031)
Alternative Form
A typewritten transcription is available.
Provenance
The collection was originally donated to the VMI Museum by Mrs. Daingerfield, February 1923.
Alternative Form
This collection has been digitized. It is viewable online at http://digitalcollections.vmi.edu/ .
Biographical/Historical Information
Charles Thomas Haigh was born March 1845 at Fayetteville, North Carolina. He attended the Hillsboro (North Carolina) Military Academy and served as a drillmaster in North Carolina at the beginning of the Civil War. He subsequently enrolled at the Virginia Military Institute, where he was a cadet from late 1861 through part of 1863.
Haigh resigned his cadetship in order to join the Confederate Army, and in October 1863 he began service in Company B, 37th North Carolina Infantry Regiment. He was killed in battle at Spotsylvania on May 12, 1864, while leading a charge. His brigade commander wrote that "Lieutenant Haigh was among the foremost in the charge upon the battery, and won the admiration of all who saw him."
Scope and Content Information
The collection consists of a one volume notebook-diary kept by Virginia Military Institute Cadet Charles T. Haigh in 1863. The volume provides insight into the life and concerns of a VMI cadet during the Civil War. It primarily contains poetry written by his classmates, as well as poetry by Sarah Henderson Smith, the wife of VMI's Superintendent, Francis H. Smith.
The diary portion contains sparse entries for the period March-May 1863. Included are occasional references to wartime cadet life, as well as a brief account of General Stonewall Jackson's wounding, death, and funeral in May 1863.