A Guide to the A. B. Fairfax Papers, 1862-1863

Biographical Note

Archibald Blair Fairfax (1809-1867) was one of seventeen children born to Ferdinando Fairfax (b. ca. 1765) and Elizabeth Blair Cary (b. ca. 1770), in Alexandria, Virginia. Fairfax married twice, first to Sarah Carlyle Herbert (1812-1850), with whom he had five children. Following Sarah’s death, he married Elizabeth Mary Norris (b. 1816) with whom he had two children. During the Civil War, Fairfax was Confederate Inspector General of the Naval Ordnance at Norfolk Navy Yard. He was placed in charge of the steam tugboat CSS Harmony on April 24, 1861. Under Fairfax’s command, the Harmony successfully attacked the Union sloop-of-war Savannah on August 30, 1861. Fairfax died on January 3, 1867, and is buried in Baltimore, Maryland.

Source:

Wylie, Arthur. The Confederate States Navy. Lulu.com Publishers. Accessed on November 29, 2010.

Scope and Contents

Correspondence and a letterpress comprise the A. B. Fairfax Papers, 1862-1863, which document Fairfax’s career as Confederate Inspector General of the Naval Ordnance between 1862 and 1863. Letters between Fairfax and George Minor, Chief of Ordnance and Hydrography, discuss the building of a naval cannon foundry and machine shop in Richmond, Virginia. Copies of correspondence in the letterpress concern naval affairs.

Restrictions

Access Restrictions

This collection is open for research use.

Administrative Information

Preferred Citation

A. B. Fairfax Papers, 1862-1863, Dolph Briscoe Center for American History, The University of Texas at Austin.

Processing Information

Basic processing and cataloging of this collection was supported with funds from the National Historical Publications and Records Commission (NHPRC) for the Briscoe Center’s "History Revealed: Bringing Collections to Light" project, 2009-2011.

Detailed Description of the Papers