Charles A. Townsend Letter
Scope and Content
This collection contains a short letter from Charles A. Townsend, Chief Clerk of the United States, while at Guantánamo, Cuba, on August 14, 1898, to his brother, Joseph Townsend in Colorado City, Texas, detailing events about the Spanish American War with remarks about the causalities during the "invasion of Puerto Rico" and the actions of Theodore Roosevelt at San Juan Hill. Charles hopes to reunite with his brother soon. The end of the letter contains racist remarks about the "colored" troops participating in the war.
N.B.: The document contains offensive and racist language.
Dates
- 1898
Creator
- Townsend, Charles A. (Person)
Language of Materials
The materials in this 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
There is not much information to identify Charles A. Townsend. A Charles A. Townsend enlisted as a private in the U. S. Army's 9th Infantry, Company C, enlisting on December 7, 1897. A Charles A. Townsend served in the 8th Infantry.
Sources:
"Charles A. Townsend" entry in the database "U.S., Returns from Regular Army Infantry Regiments, 1821-1916", Ancestry.com, from the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA)'s "Returns from Regular Army Infantry Regiments, June 1821 - December 1916", Microfilm Serial: M665; Roll: 106, https://www-ancestrylibrary-com.ezproxy.lib.vt.edu/discoveryui-content/view/13066435:2229
"Charles A Townsend" entry in the U.S., Returns from Regular Army Infantry Regiments, 1821-1916, Ancestry.com, https://www.ancestrylibrary.com/discoveryui-content/view/13407928:2229
Extent
0.1 Cubic Feet (1 folder)
Abstract
This collection contains a short letter from Charles A. Townsend, chief clerk of the United States of America, while at Guantánamo, Cuba, on August 14, 1898, during the Spanish American War, to his brother, Joseph Townsend. The letter discusses events during the Spanish-American War in Puerto Rico, including racist remarks about the "colored" troops fighting in the war.
Source of Acquisition
This collection was acquired by Special Collections and University Archives prior to 2012.
Rights Statement for Archival Description
The guide to the Charles A. Townsend 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 Charles A. Townsend Letter was completed in April 2022.
- Title
- Charles A. Townsend Letter, 1898
- Status
- Completed
- Author
- Kiana Wilkerson, Graduate Assistant
- Date
- 2022 (CC0 1.0)
- Language of description
- English
- Script of description
- Latin
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