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 Rufus Barringer Papers #01028, Southern Historical Collection, Wilson Special Collections Library, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Alternate Form of Material

Microfilm copies of account book, 1837-1842, (M-1028/1) and diary, 1865, (M-1028/2) are available.

Provenance

Received from Paul B. Barringer of New York, N.Y., in July 1944; from Osmond L. Barringer, Sr., of Charlotte, N.C., in October 1945; from Brandon Barringer of Philadelphia, Pa., in March 1973; from Osmond L. Barringer, Jr., of Rocky Mount, N.C., in December 1980; from C. Minor Barringer of Chadds Ford, Pa., in October 1999 (Acc. 98492); and from Rufus Barringer of Lyme, Conn., in February 2000 (Acc.98575).

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.

Processed by: John Foster, October 2000

Encoded by: John Foster, October 2000

Finding aid updated for digitization by Kathryn Michaelis, September 2010

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.

• Barringer, Rufus, 1821-1895.
• College students--North Carolina--Economic conditions--19th century.
• Confederate States of America. Army--Officers--Diaries.
• Confederate States of America. Army--Officers.
• Confederate States of America. Army. North Carolina Cavalry Regiment, 1st.
• Fort Delaware (Del.)
• Law--Study and teaching--North Carolina--History--19th century.
• Lawyers--North Carolina--History--19th century.
• North Carolina--History--Civil War, 1861-1865.
• United States--History--Civil War, 1861-1865--Personal narratives, Confederate.
• United States--History--Civil War, 1861-1865--Prisoners and prisons.
• University of North Carolina (1793-1962)--Students--Social life and customs--19th century.

• Daniel Moreau Barringer Papers (#3359)

Rufus Barringer was born in Cabarrus County, N.C., on 2 December 1821. He studied ancient languages with Robert J. McDowell at Sugar Creek Church beginning in 1837. He entered the University of North Carolina in 1838 and was graduated in 1842. Barringer then studied law with his brother, Daniel Moreau Barringer, in Concord, N.C. Barringer settled in Concord, representing Cabarrus County in the North Carolina House of Commons, 1848-1850. In 1854, he married Eugenia Morrison, who died in 1858. In 1861, he married Rosalie Chunn of Charlotte; he later married Margaret Long of Orange County.

Although a Union supporter, Barringer was among the first to volunteer when North Carolina seceded. He fought with the First North Carolina Cavalry and rapidly rose through the ranks, eventually becoming brigadier general in charge of North Carolina's cavalry brigade, which included the first, second, third, and fifth regiments. Frequently cited for bravery, he was captured at Namozine Church, Va., in 1865 and confined at Fort Delaware.

After the War, Barringer moved to Charlotte while maintaining his law office in Concord. He returned to politics, urging North Carolina's acceptance of reconstruction measures and serving in the 1875 North Carolina Constitutional Convention. After his bid for election as lieutenant governor failed, he practiced law, worked on the development of North Carolina's rail system, and wrote about his Civil War experiences. Barringer died on 3 February 1895.

The papers of North Carolina lawyer, politician, and Civil War brigadier general Rufus Barringer consist of student materials, 1837-1844; diaries, 1842-1846 and 1865; correspondence, 1865-1886; and a photograph. Student materials are chiefly from when Barringer was a student at the University of North Carolina and studying law in Concord, N.C. They include a typed copy of an account book with notes from the transcriber (microfilm copy available), a composition book, and other exercises. Diaries include two, 4 July 1842-13 December 1842 (typed transcription available) and 1 January 1843-1 December 1846, from his time as a law student in Concord. There is also a diary (microfilm copy available) with entries, 1 April-8 August 1865, that Barringer kept while a prisoner at Fort Delaware, Del., after his capture at Namozine Church, Va.

Correspondence includes a letter, 10 June 1865, from Barringer at Fort Delaware to his children; a typed transcription of a letter, 27 January 1866, to Barringer's brother, V. C. Barringer, detailing his experiences during the Civil War, first with the First North Carolina Cavalry and then as commander of the North Carolina's cavalry brigade; and an 1886 circular addressed to Barringer's farm tenants about payment of rents and related matters.

Microfilm (M-1028/1-2)