F. H. Smith Letter
Scope and Content
This collection contains a carbon copy of a 1867 letter written to Captain M. F. Maury from Francis Henney Smith at Virginia Military Institute. The letter discusses Smith’s recent visit to Richmond where he spoke on the behalf of the Virginia Military Institute. During the visit, he was concerned with the issue of a land-grant endowment for a school that would concentrate on agriculture and mechanic arts. Later, two land-grant schools were established in Virginia - Virginia Agricultural and Mechanical College (now Virginia Tech) and Hampton Normal and Agricultural Institute (now Hampton University). (In 1920, what-is-now Virginia State University took over the land grant status from Hampton Institute.)
Dates
- 1867
Creator
Language of Materials
The materials in the collection are in English.
Conditions Governing Access
The collection is open for research.
Conditions Governing Reproduction and Use
The copyright status of this collection is unknown. Copyright restrictions may apply. Contact Special Collections and University Archives for assistance in determining the use of these materials. Reproduction or digitization of materials for personal or research use can be requested using our reproduction/digitization form: http://bit.ly/scuareproduction. Reproduction or digitization of materials for publication or exhibit use can be requested using our publication/exhibition form: http://bit.ly/scuapublication. Please contact Special Collections and University Archives (specref@vt.edu or 540-231-6308) if you need assistance with forms or to submit a completed form.
Biographical Note
Francis Henney Smith was the first Superintendent of Virginia Military Institute (VMI). He served there from 1839 to 1889. In the Civil War, Smith was a Colonel in Companies F and S of the 9th Virginia Infantry. Smith was also the President of the United States Military Academy Board of Visitors.
Captain M. F. Maury may be Matthew Fontaine Maury (1806-1873), a former U.S. Navy commander and Confederate commander who taught at VMI starting in 1868. Maury advocated for the establishment of an agricultural and mechanical arts college in Virginia and was offered the presidency of Virginia Agricultural and Mechanical College (now Virginia Tech) but declined.
Sources:
“VMI Archives,” http://www.vmi.edu/archives.aspx?id=6287, archived at https://web.archive.org/web/20150908010843/http://vmi.edu/archives.aspx?id=6287, accessed Nov. 28, 2022.
Trask, Benjamin H. 9th Virginia Infantry. 1984. Print.
DuVal, Captain Miles P., Jr. "Matthew Fontaine Maury: Benefactor of Mankind", Naval History and Heritage Command, U.S. Navy (A Naval Historical Foundation Publication), Nov. 13, 2017. https://www.history.navy.mil/content/history/nhhc/research/library/online-reading-room/title-list-alphabetically/m/matthew-fontaine-maury-benefactor-of-mankind.html, accessed Nov. 28, 2022.
Extent
0.1 Cubic Feet (1 folder)
Abstract
This collection contains a carbon copy of a 1867 letter written to Captain M. F. Maury from Francis Henney Smith at Virginia Military Institute, describing his time in Richmond and discussing a state agricultural and mechanical arts school.
Source of Acquisition
This collection was acquired by Newman Library prior to 1964.
Existence and Location of Copies
Rights Statement for Archival Description
The guide to the F. H. Smith Letter by Special Collections and University Archives, Virginia Tech, is licensed under a CC0 (https://creativecommons.org/share-your-work/public-domain/cc0/).
Processing Information
The processing, arrangement, and description of the F.H. Smith Letter was completed prior to January 2011. Additional description was completed in January 2011 and November 2022.
- Title
- F. H. Smith Letter, 1867
- Status
- Completed
- Author
- Stephanie Wenger and LM Rozema, Archivist
- Date
- 2022 (CC0 1.0)
- Description rules
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
- Language of description
- English
- Script of description
- Latin
Revision Statements
- 2025-03-24: Ella Winterling added Existence and Location of Copies.
Repository Details
Part of the Special Collections and University Archives, Virginia Tech Repository
Special Collections and University Archives, University Libraries (0434)
560 Drillfield Drive
Newman Library, Virginia Tech
Blacksburg Virginia 24061 US
540-231-6308
specref@vt.edu