Lunsford Cherry papers

Cherry family correspondence (dating between 1839 and 1845) between Joseph J. George (in Texas) to his sister and brother-in-law Mary and Lunsford R. Cherry in North Carolina. George writes about living in the Texas territory and discusses a variety of topics including: N.C. slave prices; relations between Texas, Mexico, and Great Britain; the Methodist Church; Texas economic conditions; the reaction of Texans to annexation by the U.S.; and his opinions of Andrew Jackson. The collection also contains letters from James and George W. Cherry to their family. George W. Cherry, Lunsford Cherry's son, enlisted in the Confederate Army in 1861 and served with the 15th Regiment, North Carolina State Troops. His letters discuss conditions in North Carolina and Virginia and the battles of Fredericksburg, Gettysburg, and Fort Sumter. James Cherry's letters indicate his unwillingness to fight in the Civil War and his efforts to get his father to use his influence in Raleigh to get a discharge for him. A post-war letter from the Freedmen's Bureau to Lunsford Cherry, then serving as justice of the peace for Edgecombe County, N.C. to issue a warrant for the arrest and trial of a freedman accused of assault.