David W. Fentress, a Confederate physician from Texas, exchanged letters with his family during the Civil War. He served in the Confederate army in Arkansas (1862-1863), Louisiana (1864), and Texas (1862, 1865). Dr. Fentress is listed as one of 24 Assistant Surgeons from Texas in the "Journal of the Congress of the Confederate States of America, 1861-1865 [volume 3], Friday March 13, 1863." There were also nine Surgeons on the list, a total of 33 physicians from Texas.
This small collection consists of correspondence in which Dr. Fentress details his army experiences in both Arkansas and Texas, noting deaths in his unit and the short supply of physicians to treat the sick and wounded. Also included in this collection are notes the doctor made of telegrams received by his unit with news of progress in the war. He corresponded with his mother, Mrs. Maud C. Fentress, who lived in Bolivar, Tennessee, and wrote to his wife, Clara, who lived somewhere in Texas. There are a few other letters from other family members. Dr. Fentress wrote from several locations in Texas, Arkansas, and Louisiana, including: Camp Groce near Hempstead, Texas; Camp Perry near Austin, Texas; Bastrop, Texas; Houston, Texas; Little Rock, Arkansas; Pine Bluff, Arkansas; Bayou Bluff in "Landry Parish", Louisiana; and Alexandria, Louisiana. Consisting of only thirteen folders of letters, this small collection has not been divided into series.
The letters in this collection have been grouped by the person who wrote them. This includes Dr. David W. Fentress, Maud C. Fentress, and other unidentified family members of the Fentress family.
Open for research.
For reproduction of any copyrighted materials, permission must be obtained from the owner of the copyright. This is a responsibility of individual researchers, not the University Archives.
Materials are available for research only in the University of North Texas Archives, during its normal hours of operation. Materials are not loaned out. Depending upon how fragile the materials are, they may or may not be allowed to be photocopied or scanned.
The collection was donated to UNT in 1976 by M. C. Fentress.
Dr. David W. Fentress Family Papers, University of North Texas Archives, Denton, Texas.