Finding Aid to the Allen Family Civil War Letters

JONES MEMORIAL LIBRARY
2311 MEMORIAL AVENUE
LYNCHBURG, VA 24501
(434) 846-0501
ALLEN FAMILY CIVIL WAR LETTERS
The collection consists of photocopies of letters, mostly from William P. and Tinsley
L. Allen to their mother during the period of 1861-1865. The originals belong to Stella B.
Allen, of Lynchburg, VA. There are also letters of other brothers who fought for the
CSA: James Henry, Thomas O., and Richard Harrison Tinsley.
TINSLEY L. ALLEN (1831-1909)
Tinsley L. Allen was born in April of 1831, the son of Thomas and Mary G. Tinsley
Allen of Amherst County, VA. He enlisted and served in the 58th VA Infantry, Co. F.,
being elected a 2nd Lt. in 1862, and 1st Lt. two months later. He was elected Captain on
27 March 1865. Tinsley's brothers William P., Richard Harrison, Thomas O., and James
Henry also served in Confederate forces.
On 18 May 1865, in Lynchburg, he married Margaret Gilmer. Mrs. Allen was the
daughter of John and Margaret Mathews Gilmer and was born in Dublin, Ireland. Allen
was a merchant and Vice President of Amherst National Bank. He died in Roanoke, VA,
on 23 August 1909, and was buried in the Presbyterian Cemetery in Lynchburg, VA.
WILLIAM P. ALLEN (1833-1865)
William P. Allen was born c. 1833, the son of Thomas & Mary G. Tinsley Allen of
Amherst County, VA. He enlisted on 1 May 1861, at Massie's Mill, Amherst Co., VA, in
the 19th VA Infantry. He was listed as a POW in May of 1862. The history of the 13th
VA Infantry lists William P. Allen as enlisting at Gordonsville, VA on 22 April 1862.
He deserted in July of 1863, but was either arrested or returned voluntarily, because he
was wounded at the Battle of the Wilderness in 1864. He was killed at Petersburg on 26
March 1865, according to the letters of his brother Tinsley.
THOMAS O. ALLEN (c.1835-aft1880)
Thomas O. Allen was born c. 1835, the son of Thomas & Mary G. Tinsley Allen, of
Amherst co., VA. He, too, enlisted at Gordonsville on 22 April 1862, conscripted from
the Amherst Co. militia into Co. E, 13th VA Infantry. He was AWOL in November of
1862, court-martialed and forfeited 4 months pay. He was wounded at Fredericksburg in
1863, a POW at Petersburg and released on 23 June 1865.
(Continued)
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JONES MEMORIAL LIBRARY
2311 MEMORIAL AVENUE
LYNCHBURG, VA 24501
(434) 846-0501
ALLEN FAMILY CIVIL WAR LETTERS (Contd)
THOMAS O. ALLEN (c.1835-aft1880) (Contd)
Mr. Allen was married to Rebecca M. Howl, of Amherst Co., VA, in 1859. They
appear in the 1880 U.S. Census in Amherst County, VA.
JAMES HENRY ALLEN (c.1838-aft1869)
James Henry Allen was born c.1838, the son of Thomas & Mary G. Tinsley Allen, of
Amherst Co., VA. He enlisted as a private in Co. E of the 13th VA Infantry on 22 April
1862, at Gordonsville, VA, conscripted from the Amherst Co. militia. He was AWOL
from November 1862 to May/June of 1863. Allen was court-martialed in 1863, and
forfeited four months pay. He deserted on 8 December 1864.
RICHARD HARRISON ALLEN (c.1842-1864)
Richard Harrison Allen was born c.1842, the son of Thomas & Mary G. Tinsley
Allen, of Amherst Co., VA. He served in Co. E of the 13th VA, suffered a head wound
at Winchester and died in 1864.
[Davis, Bailey F. Amherst County, Virginia, Courthouse Miniatures, An Abstract of All A Items in Wills
from 1761 to 1919…Amherst, VA: Author, 1961; Driver, Robert J., Jr. 58th Virginia Infantry. Lynchburg,
VA: H.E. Howard, Inc., 1990; Jordan, Ervin L, Jr. & Herbert A. Thomas, Jr. 19th Virginia Infantry,
Lynchburg, VA: H.E. Howard, Inc., 1987; Riggs, David F. 13th Virginia Infantry, Lynchburg, VA: H.E.
Howard, Inc., 1988; 1860 U.S. Census, Amherst Co., VA, p. 273, family #335, National Archives
Microfilm M-653, Roll #1332; 1880 U.S. Census, Amherst Co., VA, p. 263, National Archives Microfilm
T-9, Roll #1353.]

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