Joseph Rule Letter
Scope and Contents
The collection contains a letter written by Joseph Rule from his camp at Petersburg, Virginia, December 15th, 1864 to his friend Silas. The letter details Rule's Company B, 50th New York Engineers involvement in the December, 1864 raid on the Weldon Railroad which was a major supply line for Robert E. Lee's Confederate Army of Northern Virginia. Rule writes that they had plenty to eat from the surrounding countryside including turkey, chicken, geese, and pigs. Applejack was drank by some cavalry and infantrymen accompanying the engineers. The engineers, including Rule, tore up 21 miles of track on the Weldon Railroad. On their return march they burned every house and barn on their way in retaliation. Rule writes, "I dont think that we would of burnt anything if the Rebbels had not brutily murdered some of our men on the line of march."
Dates
- 1864
Creator
- Rule, Joseph (Person)
Access Restrictions
The collection is open for research.
Use Restrictions
Permission to publish material from Joseph Rule Letter must be obtained from Special Collections, Virginia Tech.
Extent
0.1 Cubic Feet (1 folder)
Language of Materials
English
Abstract
Letter written by Joseph Rule from his camp at Petersburg, Virginia, December 15th, 1864 to his friend Silas. Letter details Rule's Company B, 50th New York Engineers involvement in the December, 1864 raid on the Weldon Railroad which was a major supply line for Robert E. Lee's Confederate Army of Northern Virginia.
Acquisition Information
The Joseph Rule Letter was purchased by Special Collections in February 2016.
Alternate Form Available
This collection has been digitized and is available online.
Processing Information
The processing, arrangement, and description of the Joseph Rule Letter was completed in September, 2018.
- Civil War
- History of Food and Drink
- Petersburg (Va.) -- History -- Siege, 1864-1865
- United States -- History -- Civil War, 1861-1865
- United States -- History -- Civil War, 1861-1865 -- Regimental Histories
- United States -- History -- Civil War, 1861-1865 -- Regimental Histories -- New York Engineers -- 50th Regiment
- Title
- Joseph Rule Letter, 1864
- Status
- Completed
- Author
- Jeff Felton, Graduate Intern and Kira A. Dietz, Archivist
- Date
- 2018 (CC0)
- Language of description
- Undetermined
- Script of description
- Code for undetermined script
- Language of description note
- English
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