Records of ante-bellum southern plantations - LexisNexis

to Charles William Dabney from B. F. Watson and B. W. Richardson at Richmond, and from
Henry C. Spicer, overseer, at one of Dabney’s plantations; also letters, 1864–1865, to Robert
Lewis Dabney relating to his manuscript biography of Thomas Jonathan “Stonewall” Jackson.
Items for 1861 are mostly correspondence between Charles William Dabney, Robert Lewis
Dabney, Lavinia (Morrison) Dabney, and James Morrison, with some military papers. In a letter
dated 18 January 1861, Elizabeth (“Betty”) Dabney wrote to her brother Robert Lewis Dabney
about the household servants, domestic news, and the gloomy state of national affairs. In a letter
dated 30 January 1861, James Morrison at Christianburg wrote to Lavinia (Morrison) Dabney
about personal and family matters. In a letter dated 14 February 1861, B. W. Richardson at
Richmond, Virginia, wrote to Charles Dabney about state politics, the safety of an unnamed
bridge, and fashions. In a letter dated 14 March 1861, Charles William Dabney wrote to Robert
Lewis Dabney about public affairs, divine providence, and the household servants. In a letter,
dated 23 April 1861, Elizabeth Dabney wrote to Robert Lewis Dabney that Charles William
Dabney’s company, the “Patrick Henry Riflemen”, had been ordered to Richmond; she also
mentioned the States Rights Convention in Richmond and plans for the Dabney family in the
event of a lengthy war. In a letter, dated 1 May 1861, Charles William Dabney at “Camp of
Instruction” [near Richmond] wrote to Robert Lewis Dabney about family matters and mentioned
camp life. Dated 6 June 1861, there are special orders to Robert Lewis Dabney, chaplain in the
18th Virginia Volunteer Regiment under Colonel Robert E. Withers, “by order of Maj. Genl.
[Robert E.] Lee,” signed by Richard Garnett (1817–1863); also special orders (a travel pass)
dated 10 June 1861, “by order of Brigadier General [Pierre Gustave Toutant] Beauregard,” signed
by Thomas Jordan. There are letters from James Morrison at Christianburg, and “Bellevue,”
Virginia, to Lavinia (Morrison) Dabney at Hampden Sydney, Virginia, mostly about family matters.
In a letter, dated 18 June 1861, James wrote that Rutherford Morrison had survived the
engagement at Phillippi, [West] Virginia, unharmed, but had lost all his clothes except those he
was wearing; in a letter, dated 25 September 1861, he mentioned a visit he made to Monterrey,
Highland County, Virginia, also Rutherford Morrison, Colonel Robert Frederick Baldwin of the
31st Virginia Militia Regiment, and his desire to see his sons educated before he died; in a letter
of 18 November 1861 he also mentioned that his son Samuel Morrison had joined the 58th
Virginia Infantry Regiment as regimental surgeon; another son, Robert Morrison, had also joined
the Confederate army. There are letters from Lavinia (Morrison) Dabney at Hampden-Sydney to
Robert Lewis Dabney about her duty, the family, finding a servant for him, gardening, and
agricultural work. There are also letters from Robert Lewis Dabney to Lavinia (Morrison) Dabney
at Hampden Sydney: 1 July 1861, at Fairfax Court House, Virginia, about the situation in camp,
and his health; 20 July 1861 at Manassas, Virginia, with details of the engagement at Blackburn’s
Ford on 18 July 1861; 5 September 1861 at Manassas, on his way home having resigned, about
the pay of chaplains, and rampant illnesses in the 18th Virginia Regiment. There are also letters
from Charles William Dabney at Aldingham, Montpelier, Virginia, to Robert Lewis Dabney, with
plans to evacuate his family. There are letters from Charles William Dabney in the Virginia
Peninsula as a captain in the 15th Virginia Volunteer Infantry Regiment to Robert Lewis Dabney,
serving with the 18th Virginia Volunteer Infantry, mentioning in a letter of 19 July 1861 the latter’s
friend, general Daniel Harvey Hill (1821–1889); in a letter of 24 August 1861, he discussed
soldiering and a rumor that general John Bankhead Magruder (1810–1871) had requested a
transfer which would leave Daniel Harvey Hill in charge; 20 October 1861, about the kindness of
Magruder, his (Dabney’s) desire for promotion to the rank of major, and the 15th Virginia
Regiment being down to 280–300 effectives. 3 September and 2 October 1861, Garrett F.
Watson at Richmond to Charles William Dabney about the latter’s investments and his business
account with Ludlow and Watson.
For 1862, items include family correspondence of Robert Lewis Dabney, Lavinia (Morrison)
Dabney, James Morrison and his wife [name unstated], and Charles William Dabney near
Yorktown, Virginia. There are 16 letters from Charles William Dabney to Robert Lewis Dabney,
mostly about family matters, the war, and financial arrangements. In a letter, dated 22 April 1862,
James Morrison at an unknown location to Robert Lewis Dabney at Hampden-Sydney requested
the latter to use his influence with general Thomas Jonathan “Stonewall” Jackson to secure
Rutherford Morrison’s transfer from infantry service to Turner Ashby’s cavalry, with a mention of
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