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xv ACKNOWLEDGMENTS After the Civil War, Thomas Henry Carter’s letters passed to his youngest daughter, Anne Willing Carter Dulany. They then went to her son, Henry Rozier Dulany Jr., and then to his widow, Kate Weems Dulany, known to the family as “Tolly.” At some point, Tolly gave the box of letters to her late husband’s cousin, Eda Atkinson Carter Williams, the oldest daughter of Tom Carter’s youngest son, Spencer Leslie Carter. When Eda Williams moved into a retirement community in Richmond, the undisturbed letters came into the possession of Eda’s younger sister, Susan Roy Carter Williams. In 1995 the wartime letters of Thomas Henry Carter were donated in the name of the two sisters to the Virginia Historical Society (VHS) by Eda’s daughter, Eda Carter Williams Martin, and Susan’s son, Fielding Lewis Williams Jr. I must acknowledge several of the living descendants of Colonel Carter. Eda Martin and Fielding Williams, his great grandchildren, deserve my sincerest gratitude, not only for preserving the letters for future generations by giving them to the VHS but also for helping me many times during the project by answering a steady stream of questions. I owe Fielding, in particular, a tremendous debt for allowing me to take on the task of publishing his great-grandfather’s letters. Fielding’s nephew, the Reverend Dr. James F. Turrell of Sewanee, did an early version of the transcription of Carter’s letters, which he generously shared with me and for which I am very grateful. Jim saved me a lot of time in the initial phase of the project. Finally, I wish to thank Robert E. L. deButts Jr., whose greatgrandfather , Robert Edward Lee Jr., married Tom Carter’s oldest daughter , Juliet. Rob graciously shared information and copies of materials relating to his Carter ancestors. Colonel Carter would be very proud of his descendants. Tracking down all the bits and pieces of information about Tom Carter xvi • Acknowledgments was often challenging but always a rewarding experience. What made it much easier than it could have been was the help I received from the following individuals and their institutions: George K. Combs, manager of Special Collections at the Barrett Branch Library in Alexandria, Virginia; John Coski, historian, and Teresa Roane, archivist, at the Museum of the Confederacy; Diane B. Jacob, head archivist at the Virginia Military Institute ; C. Jared Loewenstein, reference librarian at the Alderman Library of the University of Virginia; and Mary Thomason-Morris, archivist at the Clarke County Historical Association. All of these folks were generous not only with their valuable time but also with the materials they shared with me. Several of my colleagues at the VHS helped me throughout the process of transcribing the letters, researching the annotations, and writing Carter ’s biography. First and foremost, Nelson Lankford, my boss and mentor, helped make this a much stronger work through his constant support and editorial advice. I owe him my warmest thanks. Frances Pollard runs one of the best research libraries in the country. She and her staff—Katherine Wilkins, John McClure, Brenna McHenry Godsey, and Amber Jones—assisted me over the past several years. Lee Shepard let me catalog the Carter papers soon after they arrived at the VHS, which first brought them to my attention. And Jamison Davis granted me the permission necessary to include in this book Carter family images from the society’s collections. The field of Civil War history, particularly the part of it that deals with the Army of Northern Virginia, is rich in scholars, many of whom are willing to offer advice and lend a hand. I was fortunate to have several of them help me with my project. Gary W. Gallagher and Robert K. Krick, both having seen Jim Turrell’s transcription, encouraged me to edit Carter’s letters for publication. Throughout the process, they shared advice and information and read the manuscript. Robert E. L. Krick, a good friend and Civil War scholar, offered plenty of help. With his keen eyes and vast knowledge of General Lee’s army, Bobby caught various mistakes and identified several individuals in the annotations. Keith S. Bohannon and Joseph Pierro both answered numerous questions and sent along bits of information that proved very helpful. To all of these scholars, I say thank you. At UNC Press, I wish to thank the editors of the Civil War America series—Peter Carmichael, Carrie Janney, and Aaron Sheehan-Dean—and the anonymous readers of my...

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