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Funding from the Watson-Brown Foundation, Inc., supported the microfilming of this collection.
Size | 7 items |
Abstract | Captain T. G. Popham (b. 1842?) was a Confederate soldier from Rapphannock County, Va. Popham's family owned a cotton plantation and slaves. From June 1863 to April 1865, Popham commanded Company B of the 7th Virginia Infantry Regiment. Popham had joined the regiment on the first day of the battle of First Manassas. Popham saw service at Williamsburg; Seven Pines; Frayser's Farm; Second Manassas; South Mountain; Antietam; Fredericksburg; at the garrison at Smithville, N.C.; near New Bern; during the North Carolina campaign; Gettysburg; in the second North Carolina campaign; Drewry's Bluff; Milford Station; Cold Harbor; on the Petersburg-Howlett Line; Dinwiddie Court House; Five Forks; and Sayler's Creek. The collection consists of five letters, 1863-1864 and undated, from T. G. Popham to his mother, Mrs. E. A Popham; a torn piece of paper giving his mother's address at Slate Mills in Rappahannock County, Va.; and a tintype of T. G. Popham and his wife Cara, both in civilian clothes, she wearing his kepi. In his letters, Popham expressed concern for the welfare of his family in northern Virginia and hoped there had not been much devastation of crops or stock in the Rappahhanock and Culpeper regions. Popham described the New Bern, N.C., area as pleasant, but poor. At Smithville, N.C., he noted the relative ineffectiveness of the Federal blockade to prevent Confederate ships from reaching Nassau or Bermuda. Popham discussed General Robert E. Lee and General Richard Ewell's harassment of Federal troops near Warrenton, Va., in 1863 and the Confederates' defense of Richmond, Va., in 1864. Popham also discussed military life, lamenting the scarcity and inflated prices of provisions and the scarcity and value of horses in the Confederacy. |
Creator | Popham, T. G. (Thomas G.). |
Curatorial Unit | Southern Historical Collection |
Language | English |
Processed by: Aletha Andrew, July 2000
Encoded by: Aletha Andrew, July 2000
Revisions: Finding aid updated in May 2005 by Nancy Kaiser.
Funding from the Watson-Brown Foundation, Inc., supported the microfilming of this collection.
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Captain T. G. Popham (b. 1842?) was a Confederate soldier from Rapphannock County, Va. Popham's family owned a cotton plantation and slaves.
From June 1863 to April 1865, Popham commanded Company B of the 7th Virginia Infantry Regiment. Popham had joined the regiment on the first day of the battle of First Manassas. Popham saw service at Williamsburg; Seven Pines; Frayser's Farm; Second Manassas; South Mountain; Antietam; Fredericksburg; at the garrison at Smithville, N.C.; near New Bern; during the North Carolina campaign; Gettysburg; in the second North Carolina campaign; Drewry's Bluff; Milford Station; Cold Harbor; on the Petersburg-Howlett Line; Dinwiddie Court House; Five Forks; and Sayler's Creek.
Popham addressed his letters to his mother, Mrs. E. A. Popham, and mentions a sister named Annie. He married a Miss Mallory (called "Cara" in his letters) from Hanover County, Va., whom he met during the War and with whom he had a son during the war. According to Popham, his wife's brother was provost marshall at Charlottesville, Va., in 1863.
Back to TopThe collection consists of five letters, 1863-1864 and undated, from T. G. Popham while serving in the Confederate Army with the 7th Virginia Infantry Regiment during the Civil War, to his mother, Mrs. E. A Popham; a torn piece of paper giving his mother's address at Slate Mills in Rappahannock County, Va.; and a tintype of T. G. Popham and his wife Cara, both in civilian clothes, she wearing his kepi. The letters are dated between 15 October 1863 and 11 October 1864. Popham wrote from various camps, including Taylorsville, Va.; Smithville, N.C. (now Southport); near Bermuda Hundred, Va.; and near Chester Station, Va.
In his letters, Popham expressed concern for the welfare of his family in northern Virginia and hoped there had not been much devastation of crops or stock in the Rappahhanock and Culpeper regions. Popham described the New Bern, N.C., area as pleasant, but poor. At Smithville, N.C., he noted the relative ineffectiveness of the Federal blockade of the nearly impregnable port of Smithville to prevent blockade-running Confederate ships from reaching Nassau or Bermuda. Popham discussed General Robert E. Lee and General Richard Ewell's harassment of Federal troops near Warrenton, Va., in 1863 and the Confederates' defense of Richmond, Va., opposing General Grant's advance from the Rapidan in 1864. Grant's advance had effectively cut off communications between Popham's family in Rappahannock County and himself in Beauregard's fortifications at Bermuda Hundred, just outside Petersburg, Va. Popham also discussed military life, lamenting the scarcity and inflated prices of provisions and the scarcity and value of horses in the Confederacy.
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Folder 1 |
Papers, 1863-1864 and undated |
Special Format Image SF-P-5001/1 |
Tintype, undatedT. G. Popham and his wife, both in civilian clothes, she wearing his kepi |