William Lovelace Foster letter

Collection

Identifier: MSS-0538

Scope and Contents

The collection contains typescript copies of a lengthy and detailed letter to his wife from Vicksburg, Mississippi, begun before communications were cut off and continued at intervals throughout the siege (June 1863) until the city's surrender to Union forces on 4 July 1863.

Dates

1863 June 20

Creator

Foster, William Lovelace (Person)

Conditions Governing Access

None

Biographical / Historical

Son of Robert Savidge and Ann Tompkins Foster, William Lovelace Foster was born on 29 January 1830 in Tuscaloosa County, Alabama. He was an ordained Baptist minister with a B.A. and an M.A. from the University of Alabama. He married Sarah Mildred Maxwell on 8 July 1856 in Greene County, Alabama. The couple had six children: (1) Martha; (2) Elizabeth; (3) Annie; (4) Simeon Maxwell; (5) Josephine "Josie" A.; and (6) Willie M. In 1862 he enlisted as a Private in Co. F 35th Mississippi Volunteer Infantry Regiment, served as chaplain during the Civil War, and was stationed in Vicksburg, Mississippi, during the Union Army's siege of Vicksburg in June and July 1863.

After the war, Foster accepted a professorship of mathematics at Waco University (now Baylor), but only stayed 6 months, leaving to follow his true calling, that of the ministry. In 1868 he became pastor of the First Baptist Church in Ladonia, Fannin County, Texas, and died there less than a year later on 5 August 1869 at the age of 39.

Extent

0.075 Linear Feet (2 items, 90 pieces ; typescript)

Language of Materials

English

Additional Description

Overview

Typescript copies of a lengthy and detailed letter from Foster during the siege of Vicksburg, to his wife, begun before communications were cut off and continued at intervals throughout the siege (June 1863) until the city's surrender to Union forces on 4 July 1863.

Provenance

Gift of James G. Blair, 1960

General

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