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Collection Number: 02866-z

Collection Title: William Beverley Pettit Papers, 1850-1928 (bulk 1862-1865)

This is a finding aid. It is a description of archival material held in the Wilson Library at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Unless otherwise noted, the materials described below are physically available in our reading room, and not digitally available through the World Wide Web. See the Duplication Policy section for more information.

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Size 200 items
Abstract William Beverley Pettit (1825-1905) was a lawyer of Fluvanna County, Va. In 1851, he married Arabella (Bella) E. Speairs of Columbia, Va., with whom he had six children. During the Civil War, he served in the Fluvanna Light Artillery, enlisting as a private and later becoming a lieutenant. The collection is chiefly Civil War letters, exchanged by William Beverley Pettit, serving in Virginia, with his wife, Arabella Speairs Pettit, who was at her father's house in Columbia, Va. Letters concern their feelings for one another; activities in and near Columbia, Va.; camp life; battles and other military activities; and other matters. Papers before 1862 are chiefly to Arabella Speairs Pettit from relatives and friends. Post-war items include information about Confederate veterans' activities and letters from the Pettits' son Pembroke, a student in Ashland, Va. All original materials are on microfilm; there is also one transcribed letter.
Creator Pettit, William Beverley, b. 1825.
Curatorial Unit University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Library. Southern Historical Collection.
Language English
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Restrictions to Access
No restrictions. Open for research.
Copyright Notice
Copyright is retained by the authors of items in these papers, or their descendants, as stipulated by United States copyright law.
Preferred Citation
[Identification of item], in the William Beverley Pettit Papers, #2866-z, Southern Historical Collection, The Wilson Library, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Location of Originals
Originals returned to private owner in 1952.
Additional Descriptive Resources
Original detailed finding aid to microfilmed materials in folder 1.
Sensitive Materials Statement
Manuscript collections and archival records may contain materials with sensitive or confidential information that is protected under federal or state right to privacy laws and regulations, the North Carolina Public Records Act (N.C.G.S. § 132 1 et seq.), and Article 7 of the North Carolina State Personnel Act (Privacy of State Employee Personnel Records, N.C.G.S. § 126-22 et seq.). Researchers are advised that the disclosure of certain information pertaining to identifiable living individuals represented in this collection without the consent of those individuals may have legal ramifications (e.g., a cause of action under common law for invasion of privacy may arise if facts concerning an individual's private life are published that would be deemed highly offensive to a reasonable person) for which the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill assumes no responsibility.
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Processed by: SHC Staff

Encoded by: Noah Huffman, December 2007

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The following terms from Library of Congress Subject Headings suggest topics, persons, geography, etc. interspersed through the entire collection; the terms do not usually represent discrete and easily identifiable portions of the collection--such as folders or items.

Clicking on a subject heading below will take you into the University Library's online catalog.

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expand/collapse Expand/collapse Biographical Information

William Beverley Pettit (1825-1905) was a lawyer of Fluvanna County, Va. In 1851, he married Arabella (Bella) E. Speairs of Columbia, Va., with whom he had six children. During the Civil War, he served in the Fluvanna Light Artillery, enlisting as a private and later becoming a lieutenant.

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expand/collapse Expand/collapse Scope and Content

The collection is chiefly Civil War letters, exchanged by William Beverley Pettit, serving in Virginia, with his wife, Arabella Speairs Pettit, who was at her father's house in Columbia, Va. Letters concern their feelings for one another; activities in and near Columbia, Va.; camp life; battles and other military activities; and other matters. Papers before 1862 are chiefly to Arabella Speairs Pettit from relatives and friends. Post-war items include information about Confederate veterans' activities and letters from the Pettits' son Pembroke, a student in Ashland, Va. All original materials are on microfilm; there is also one transcribed letter.

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Contents list

expand/collapse Expand/collapse William Beverley Pettit Papers, 1850-1928.

About 200 items.
Folder 1

Original finding aid and typed transcription of letter of 16 December 1862

The finding aid gives details of the materials found on the microfilm of the collection. The typed transcription is of a letter, 16 December 1862, from William Beverley Pettit to his wife, written from camp three miles from Fredericksburg, Va. The letter gives a full description of the fighting at Fredericksburg and incudes descriptions of General Lee and General Longstreet during the progress of the battle.

Reel M-2866/1

Papers

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