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Wiley Sword Collection at Pamplin Park
Wiley Sword, regarded as an esteemed scholar, respected as a gentleman, and known for authoring many Civil War books, also collected period documents and letters. Wiley passed away in November 2015. This writer misses conferring with a trusted source and friend. On several occasions, when working on a project, a call to Wiley would always yield fruit; a never seen quote from a soldier who just managed to survive an engagement, an observation from an officer regarding thoughts on one of his peers.
The list could continue, as will the legacy of Wiley Sword! Before Sword's death, the Pamplin Historical Park and The National Museum of the Civil War Soldier worked out an arrangement to secure, archive, and eventually enable researchers, globally, to benefit from the several thousand documents in Wiley's collection. In late May 2020, Pamplin Park announced completion of the initial digitization effort and the creation of a new section on the park's website. Please see the respective page,
shown above, and visit https:// phparchives.wordpress.com/civil-war-documents/ to view the first crop of letters. As the park staff continues to digitize additional letters and documents, the harvest will only ripen! As of this writing (late May 2020), 45 letters exist on the site; Federal accounts thus far. Wiley had a soft spot for the common soldier and compiled his collection to augment his research and writing. Do not let the absence of “big names” from the war disappoint. Is anyone familiar with Colonel William R. “Pecos Bill” Shafter of the 17th U.S. Colored Troops? If not, thanks to Wiley and Pamplin, he lives on. Shafter’s letter after the December 1864 Battle of Nashville, one written to his sister, carried the unfortunate news of the death of her husband, Job. The letter captures the pain and suffering families experienced, North and South, after the loss of a loved one. Remembering the fallen, the colonel lamented, "He was as dear to me as either of my own brothers. It was an awful battle, Sis, and we are of the many who are called to mourn.” In closing, he noted, “The good die first, while those whose hearts are dry as summer dust burn to the socket.” For each of the letters populating the site, Pamplin staff and interns have provided an image of the actual document and an overview of the letter’s content. (Also included, in bold print, a synopsis of the soldier’s career – thank you, Wiley!) Bookmark this site and check back frequently, as the digitization work continues. For those researchers who may wish to use a letter image in work for publication, the site provides an image-use request form and contact instructions to obtain additional information. Whenever safe to do so (COVID-19), plan a visit to this beautiful historic site,
July 2020
Image of Shafter letter.
Transcription of Shafter letter. and explore (in addition to the excellent museum and battlefield site) their research library of over 3,000 volumes. For more information on Pamplin, visit www. pamplinpark.org. Next month, we will investigate additional primary sources. Until then, good luck in researching the Civil War!
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Michael K. Shaffer is a Civil War historian, author, lecturer, instructor, and a member of the Society of Civil War Historians, the Historians of the Civil War Western Theater, and the Georgia Association of Historians. Readers may contact him at mkscdr11@gmail.com, or to request speaking engagements, via his website www.civilwarhistorian.net. Follow Michael on Facebook www.facebook.com/ michael.k.shaffer and Twitter @ michaelkshaffer.
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