Inventory of the William Nelson Pendleton Papers, 1798-1889

Collection Number 1466


Manuscripts Department, University Library of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Collection Information


Contact Information:
Manuscripts Department
CB#3926, Wilson Library
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Chapel Hill, NC 27514-8890
Phone: 919/962-1345
Fax: 919/962-3594
Email: mss@email.unc.edu
URL: http://www.lib.unc.edu/mss/

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Descriptive Summary

Repository
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Library. Southern Historical Collection.
Creator
Pendleton, William Nelson, 1809-1883.
Title
William Nelson Pendleton Papers, 1798-1889.
Call Number
1466
Language of Materials
Materials in English
Extent
About 2,400 items (3.0 linear feet).
Abstract
Pendleton was a graduate of the United States Military Academy, an Episcopal clergyman and schoolmaster in Pennsylvania, Maryland, and Virginia, a Confederate brigadier general, serving under Joseph E. Johnston and Robert E. Lee, and rector of Grace Episcopal Church, Lexington, Va., 1853-1883. Family letters to and from William Nelson Pendleton and his wife, and from his children and Page, Nelson, Pendleton, and other relatives, giving an extensive picture of the private and public life of Virginians through most of the 19th century. The 35 items dated earlier than 1837 are Nelson and Page family letters. Approximately 1,400 items were written during the Civil War years, including military communications among officers in the Virginia theatre of war, correspondence concerning promotions, personal rivalries and criticism among Confederate officers, letters to and from Mrs. Pendleton at Lexington, Va., and other members of the family. There is correspondence before, during, and after the war concerning the Episcopal Church and specifically the affairs of the Lexington church and threats to Pendleton's tenure as rector, and (from 1870 onwards) Pendleton's work in raising a Robert E. Lee memorial fund. There are also some papers relating to Pendleton's life in Pennsylvania, Delaware, and Maryland before he came to Lexington in 1853.


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Administrative Information

Acquisitions Information
Purchase 1957
Processing Information
Processed by: SHC Staff
Encoded by: Noah Huffman, December 2007
Additional Descriptive Resources
A more complete finding aid for this collection is available at the Southern Historical Collection.
Preferred Citation
[Identification of item], in the William Nelson Pendleton Papers, #1466, Southern Historical Collection, The Wilson Library, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Copyright Notice
Copyright is retained by the authors of items in these papers, or their descendants, as stipulated by United States copyright law.
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Online Catalog Headings

These and related materials may be found under the following headings in online catalogs.

Clergy--Virginia--History--19th century.
Confederate States of America. Army of Northern Virginia--Records and correspondence.
Confederate States of America. Army--Officers--Correspondence.
Episcopal Church--Clergy--Appointment, call, and election.
Episcopal Church--Virginia--History--19th century.
Family--Virginia--Social life and customs.
Grace Episcopal Church (Lexington, Va.)--History.
Lee, Robert E. (Robert Edward), 1807-1870--Tomb.
Lexington (Va.)--Church history--19th century.
Lexington (Va.)--Social conditions--Civil War, 1861-1865.
Nelson family.
Page family.
Pendleton family.
Pendleton, William Nelson, 1809-1883.
Virginia--History--Civil War, 1861-1865.
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Related Material

William Nelson Pendleton Papers, Duke University Library, Durham, N.C.
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Biographical Note

Pendleton was a graduate of the United States Military Academy, an Episcopal clergyman and schoolmaster in Pennsylvania, Maryland, and Virginia, a Confederate brigadier general, serving under Joseph E. Johnston and Robert E. Lee, and rector of Grace Episcopal Church, Lexington, Va., 1853-1883.

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Collection Overview

Family letters to and from William Nelson Pendleton and his wife, and from his children and Page, Nelson, Pendleton, and other relatives, giving an extensive picture of the private and public life of Virginians through most of the 19th century. The 35 items dated earlier than 1837 are Nelson and Page family letters. Approximately 1,400 items were written during the Civil War years, including military communications among officers in the Virginia theatre of war, correspondence concerning promotions, personal rivalries and criticism among Confederate officers, letters to and from Mrs. Pendleton at Lexington, Va., and other members of the family. There is correspondence before, during, and after the war concerning the Episcopal Church and specifically the affairs of the Lexington church and threats to Pendleton's tenure as rector, and (from 1870 onwards) Pendleton's work in raising a Robert E. Lee memorial fund. There are also some papers relating to Pendleton's life in Pennsylvania, Delaware, and Maryland before he came to Lexington in 1853.