The Irby Goodwin Scott letters will appeal to scholars and Civil War enthusiasts who have an interest in Thomas J. “Stonewall” Jackson’s Valley Army and Robert E. Lee’s Army of Northern Virginia. Scott wrote frankly and intelligently about the aspects of the common soldier. The company roster will be most valuable because of the additional material included from the Scott letters and other primary sources. This roster will also provide a thumbnail image of a group of men from the black belt of the Deep South.

Serving in the major campaigns in Virginia, Scott began his field service in the northwestern section of Virginia, a campaign where little is written. It was during this service that his letters provide vivid descriptions of the hardships and suffering he and the men endured during the winter of 1861 –1862 in a harsh mountain environment. Throughout Scott’s service, 1861-1865, his letters are filled with the vivid descriptions of the happenings of the men in camp, on the march and in battle.

Irby Scott’s letters reveal the relationship between a Confederate soldier and his body servant. Initially no body servant accompanied Irby to the army. His early letters, while in the mountains of Virginia, reveal the valuable service body servants provided sick men in the company and suffered alongside the men. It was only after Scott’s election to the officer ranks that he felt it necessary for a body servant to come to the army. His letters will be of valuable to anyone interested in the subject of African-Americans who accompanied a Confederate soldier into the army.