79

Papers of John Quincy Dickinson, a West Virginian Confederate merchant and cavalryman.

Various places, bulk 1858-1865
Several hundred items (0.4 linear feet), including 16 letters from J.Q. Dickinson to his manager Snell from the Virginia front, 1862-1864; one letter from Dickinson to his wife Mary while in prison, 1865; 111 other letters to Dickinson or Snell, 1860-1865 (many accompanied by postal covers); approximately 100 receipts for freight shipped by Dickinson on the Virginia & Tennessee Railroad, 1860-1863; and hundreds of receipts and invoices relating to Dickinson's business, 1855-1865. Condition varies, mostly strong with a few worn or dampstained.

  • Notes: John Quincy Dickinson (1831-1925) of Malden, WV helped manage his family's salt works in West Virginia. During the war he served the Confederacy as a private in the 2nd Virginia Cavalry, leaving the family property in Liberty, WV under the management of Philip Snell. Dickinson was captured in March 1864 and spent the remainder of the war in Union prisons.

    Some of Dickinson's Civil War letters have strong military content. On 13 June 1862 he recounted the battles of Cross Keys and Port Republic: "On Sunday last near this place we fought Fremont & drove him some 3 or 4 miles, loss heavy on both sides, & on Monday we fought Shields below Port Republic a mile, routed his army & captured good many prisoners & some 6 or 8 pieces of artillery." On 4 January 1863 he wrote: "We have just returned to camp after an absence of 10 days in one of Stuart's grand raids into the enemy's country. We met up with and attacked the Blue Jacket Boys on two occasions. . . . On Sunday we pitched into some 250 Yankee cavalry & had a complete fox chase of it, killing some, capturing others & scaring the rest out of their witts." 

    He wrote one letter while imprisoned at Fort Delaware, 28 February 1865 to his wife Mary: "I fondly hoped to be at least on the way home by this day. . . . The day of departure for the Virginians remains in doubt. We may get off in a week or 10 days. . . . We Virginians were the last paroled."

    In some of Dickinson's other letters home, the management of the family's enslaved people was on his mind. On 8 February 1864, he told Snell: "Ask Mary to send me Jet. . . . Say nothing to Jet but get all things ready & let him leave for town in the morning & for camp on the evening of the same day. . . . I hope you will make an effort to hire out  the surplus women & children to good homes at an early day as possible." Snell received a message on 12 February from a local official that "J.Q. Dickinson is required to send one Negro . . . to Richmond under the requisition of the governor." On 24 February, Dickinson was worried how to satisfy this Confederate labor levy: "Jet must go to Richmond if nothing better can be done. Whit nor Giles I don't want sent off. If Ellis was appraised, it strikes me that he was then in the hands of Confederate agts & if he ran off, it was their loss & not ours." A receipt of the same date shows that "a slave named Alex" was sent as "a laborer on works of public defence." 

    Several of his letters from 1862 and 1863 are accompanied by their postmarked envelopes, clearly addressed from a Confederate regiment to Liberty in West Virginia, demonstrating that this region remained firmly under Confederate control. He was still paying Virginia state taxes (as opposed to West Virginia) as late as October 1864.

    At least 25 of the other letters sent to Dickinson and Snell and 23 receipts also relate to slavery, many of them arranging for the annual hire of enslaved people. On 31 December 1862, P.C. Sutphin writes from Amherst County, VA: "I shall start the girl Clara to Lynchburg today. . . . She was very desirous to remain with us during Christmas. . .  . She ought to get home in time tomorrow for her to go to her new home, if she has again been hired out. . . . I have provided her with a very thick serviceable cotton coat." In an undated letter, Sarah E. Cundiff asks where "thare can be enny alteration about the woman Charlot. She has not renderd me no service in three months and no moar prospecks. . . . I wood be moar than glad if you wood take her home and send me some one." 
  • Condition:
    Please contact the Specialist for the auction to request a condition report.

    Condition reports and additional images are provided as a courtesy and should be used by you to aid in the formation of your own opinion regarding condition. All material is sold subject to Swann's standard Terms and Conditions of Sale as published in our catalogues and posted on our website, and include the following terms: (1) all property is sold "as-is"; and (2) works cannot be returned on the basis of condition.

Accepted Forms of Payment:

Money Order / Cashiers Check, Personal Check, Wire Transfer

Shipping

Upon request, Swann will facilitate the shipping of purchases to out-of-town buyers at an additional charge for packing, shipping and insurance, but will not be responsible for any loss, damage or delay resulting from the packing, handling and shipping thereof. Unless specific instructions are received, Swann is the sole judge of the method to be used for shipment. Packing and shipping costs will be noted on the invoice mailed to successful bidders after the sale, and are based on the actual costs involved. Be advised that a full commercial invoice must accompany any purchase shipped outside the US.

November 20, 2025 10:30 AM EST
New York, NY, US

Swann Auction Galleries

You agree to pay a buyer’s premium, as outlined below, and any applicable taxes and shipping.
Buyer's Premium
$0 - $100,000:
27.00%
$100,001 - $1,000,000:
22.00%
$1,000,001+:
12.00%

View full terms and conditions

Bid Increments
From: To: Increments:
$0 $149 $10
$150 $499 $25
$500 $999 $50
$1,000 $1,999 $100
$2,000 $5,999 $200
$6,000 $9,999 $500
$10,000 $19,999 $1,000
$20,000 $49,999 $2,000
$50,000 $99,999 $5,000
$100,000 $199,999 $10,000
$200,000 $499,999 $20,000
$500,000 + $50,000