Scope and Content Note
The papers of Jubal Anderson Early (1816-1894) span the years 1829-1930 and include correspondence, diaries, military papers, speeches and articles, clippings, a scrapbook, printed matter, and maps relating to his military, legal, and political careers.
The papers are divided into three series, Chronological File, Addition, and Oversize. Material prior to the Civil War reflects Early’s years as a cadet at the United States Military Academy, his army service, law practice, and Virginia political activities. Included are letters from John J. Cabell to his wife Henry Ann Cabell. Papers relating to Early’s experiences during the Civil War include items concerning his participation in the battles of First Bull Run and Williamsburg, the Gettysburg Campaign, and the Shenandoah Valley Campaign of 1864. Also in the papers are a report on the performance of General Isaac Trimble’s brigade in the Battle of Second Bull Run, reports by Generals Harry T. Hays and Clement A. Evans on skirmishes in the Mine Run Campaign, a list of units in G. T. Beauregard’s I Corps, Army of Northern Virginia (1862), and a return of troops commanded by Joseph E. Johnston in the spring of 1862. Postwar material, which comprises the bulk of the collection, includes papers on Early’s business affairs, especially the Louisiana lottery, his activities at the Southern Historical Society, and aid extended to Confederate families, including that of Jefferson Davis.
Correspondents include G. T. Beauregard, Raleigh E. Colston, John W. Daniel, Jefferson Davis, Varina Davis, Daniel Harvey Hill, Stonewall Jackson, Bradley T. Johnson, Joseph E. Johnston, Fitzhugh Lee, Robert E. Lee, Dabney Herndon Maury, John Singleton Mosby, and Earl Van Dorn.