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Bibliographic Essay
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401 Bibliographic Essay Bibliographic Essay Bibliographic Essay During Mosby’s twenty-five-year exile fromVirginia and for the remaining twelve years of his life, one of his favorite recreations was writing personal letters. Nearly every day he would arise before dawn, make coffee , and sit down to write. His memory remained accurate, and with vibrant nostalgia he relived the glorious times of the Civil War. His numerous letters are a biographer’s dream, providing a wealth of information and insight into his personality. The John S. Mosby Papers at the Virginia Historical Society contain highly revealing letters from Mosby to his wife during the Civil War and, for the postwar years, valuable correspondence with other persons, including many letters from him to his grandsons in the last few years of his life. In addition, the Virginia Historical Society has many extremely helpful collections such as the Joseph Bryan Papers, Amanda V. Edmonds Chappelear Diary, and Catherine Cochran Recollections. The John S. Mosby Papers in the Special Collections Department, University of Virginia Library, include postwar letters from Mosby revealing details on the war and describing his emotions and thoughts at the time.Several other helpful collections shed light on aspects of Mosby’s life and career. Archives Research Services, The Library of Virginia, has vital primary sources on Mosby’s family background, youth, education, trial, and pardon for shooting Turpin; and the William H. Payne Papers help clarify the issues in Mosby’s postwar political career. The Eleanor S. Brockenbrough Library, The Museum of the Confederacy, made available the John S. Mosby Collection, giving insight into Mosby’s Civil War activities, Gettysburg literary war, and other affairs. The collection has several letters from Mosby to his former command surgeon, Aristides Monteiro.The Special Collections Library,Duke University,has the John Singleton Mosby Papers, which contain valuable correspondence of the 402 Bibliographic Essay late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries with former Rangers Samuel and William Chapman and John S. Russell. Other collections such as the John Warwick Daniel Papers clarify the complicated issues in Mosby’s postwar political career and literary war on Gettysburg. The John S. Mosby Papers in the Library of Congress contain several Civil War letters, and the James A. Garfield Papers cast light on Mosby’s consular reform. The John S. Mosby Papers and John S. Mosby Biographical File in the Virginia Room, Fairfax County Public Library, have documents relating to Stoughton’s capture and correspondence of the 1890s. The Valentine Museum manuscripts provide information on Edward V. Valentine’s bust of Mosby. Adele H. Mitchell’s The Letters of John S. Mosby, 2d ed. (no place, 1986) is an excellent source, revealing valuable insights on Mosby’s role in the CivilWar and contributing many details on the final two decades of his life. Several collections of government documents in the National Archives were of great value. The Army Court-martial Files, 1809–1894, Records of the Office of the Judge Advocate General, RG 153, contain vital, fascinating information on the trials of Mosby’s men by military commissions. Key information on Civil War trade across the Potomac River border is contained in Treasury Department, Records of the Civil War Official Agencies of the Treasury Department, Records of the Seventh Special Agency, RG 366. Details on the impact of Sheridan’s Burning Raid are available in Treasury Department, Records of the Southern Claims Commission,RG 217.The following collections enlighten Mosby’s work for the federal government: Records of the Department of State, RG 59, Department of the Interior, General Land Office Records, RG 49, and Department of Justice Records, RG 60. The Rutherford B. Hayes Papers, Rutherford B. Hayes Presidential Center, shed light on Mosby’s participation in Hayes’s election and administration ,and Hayes’s White House Scrapbooks contain many newspaper clippings on Mosby’s work in Hong Kong. The Bartlett Richards Manuscript Collection,Nebraska State Historical Society,and the Bartlett Richards Papers,American Heritage Center,University of Wyoming,yield valuable information on fencing reform; both libraries have outstanding collections of contemporary newspapers. Perspective of Mosby’s warfare from the Union side is provided by eyewitness accounts of Union soldiers in the extensive collections of the Archives Branch, U.S. Army Military History Institute, Army War College and Carlisle Barracks.The Official Records and contemporary news- [35.171.159.141] Project MUSE (2024-03-28 15:54 GMT) 403 Bibliographic Essay papers are gold mines of information in this regard, as are Compiled Military Service Records...