STATE ARCHIVES CATALOGS NEGLECTED CIVIL WAR DOCUMENTS

(04/18/2005)

A 140-year-old collection of West Virginia Civil War records have been cataloged at the state archives, covering everything from letters signed by American Red Cross founder Clara Barton to rosters listing soldiers in dozens of West Virginia units, including men from Calhoun County. A quick look at the list showed Calhoun resident George Hardman and a list of prisoners taken by Capt. John Boggs in Roane County in 1861. The West Virginia Adjutant General's Papers include 6,070 documents contained in 34 boxes that have rarely been opened since the end of the Civil War. Virgil Lewis, the first state historian, acquired the papers from state military officials in 1911, but Lewis died a year after receiving them. Terry Lowry, a Civil War author and library assistant at the State Archives said "It was such a hodgepodge of material, and there was so much of it," that most folks who have tried to organize the papers probably got overwhelmed. It has taken Lowry four years to complete the project. To view the portions of the adjutant general's collection now available online, go to the Division of Culture and History's Web site at www.wvculture.org, then click on "Archives and History." Once on the Archives and History page, click "History Center" near the bottom of the page, and then enter the Civil War section and click on "Civil War Adjutant General Papers." Adjutant General Papers

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