Hannibal A. Johnson Letters,
Scope and Content
The collection contains two letters from Hannibal A. Johnson to his friend, Samuel, written from Camp Fessenden, Alexandria, Virginia, in August and September 1861. Johnson's letters include descriptions of his experiences concealing himself in a cornfield to evade Rebel troops, meeting with General Jeb Stuart's cavalry in a skirmish at Chain Bridge, and how men were detailed to cut down trees between the fort and the enemy.
Dates
- Creation: 1861 - 1861
Creator
Access Restrictions
Collection is open for research.
Use Restrictions
Permission to publish material from Hannibal A. Johnson Letters must be obtained from Special Collections, Virginia Tech.
Biographical Information
Hannibal Augustus Johnson was born on June 4, 1841, to Mark and Sarah (Simmons) Johnson, in Hallowell, Maine. Before the Civil War, Johnson worked in a dry-goods store. He enlisted with Company B, 3rd Maine Volunteer Infantry in April 1861. By 1864, he was a lieutenant with the company. During the war, he was captured at Gettysburg and spent seven weeks at Belle Island prison camp near Richmond, Virginia. He was captured again the Battle of the Wilderness, confined at several prisons, and escaped in November 1864. He returned to his regiment, mustered out, and reenlisted with the 1st Maine Battalion in April 1865. In 1866, he mustered out again, and returned to the business world. In 1868, he married Emma Watts Lombard. They had one son, Walter. Johnson died in Lynn, Massacusetts, on July 3, 1913.
Further biographical information can be found online.
Johnson was the author of The Sword of Honor: A Story of the Civil War, available online at https://archive.org/details/swordofhonorstor01john. The book details his experience during the war.
Full Extent
0.1 Cubic Feet (1 folder)
Language of Materials
English
Abstract
The collection contains two letters from Hannibal A. Johnson to his friend, Samuel, written from Camp Fessenden, Alexandria, Virginia, in August and September 1861.
Acquisition Information
The Hannibal A. Johnson Letters were acquired by Special Collections in 1990.
Processing Information
Initial processing and description of the Hannibal A. Johnson Letters was completed in 1990. Additional description was completed in December 2014.
- Title
- Hannibal A. Johnson Letters, 1861
- Status
- Completed
- Author
- Kira A. Dietz, Archivist
- Date
- © 2014 Virginia Tech. All rights reserved.
- Language of description
- Undetermined
- Script of description
- Code for undetermined script
- Language of description note
- English
Repository Details
Part of the Special Collections, Virginia Tech Repository
Special Collections, University Libraries (0434)
560 Drillfield Drive
Newman Library, Virginia Tech
Blacksburg Virginia 24061 US
540-231-6308
specref@vt.edu