Born in Missouri, John Dudley Fitzhugh (b. ca. 1839) was the son of John Fitzhugh (b. ca. 1796) and Sarah Shelton (b. ca. 1797). As a child, he moved with his family to McKinney, Texas, where his father was a farmer. Along with his brothers, William F. (1818-1883), George S. (b. ca. 1833), and Gabriel (1831-1862), John Fitzhugh enlisted as a soldier in the 16th Texas Cavalry Regiment in the Confederate Army during the Civil War. John and his brother Gabriel were enlisted in Company H, while William and George were in Company B. William was also a colonel in the 16th Cavalry Regiment. Of the four brothers, only Gabriel died during the war. After the war, John returned to McKinney, where he was a farmer by profession.
Sources:
Fitzhugh, Lester Newton.
Consisting of correspondence, legal papers, and financial documents, the J.D. Fitzhugh Papers, 1845-1886, chronicle Fitzhugh’s experiences as a Confederate soldier in Company H of the 16th Cavalry Regiment during the Civil War, and as a farmer in McKinney following the war. Letters written during enlistment describe military life while the regiment marched through Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Mississippi, and Tennessee. The majority of correspondence is between Fitzhugh and his parents, although some letters also concern his brothers (1857-1886). Financial documents consist primarily of tax receipts (1845-1876), and legal documents include Gabriel Fitzhugh’s death notice, discharge notices of soldiers in the 16th Cavalry Regiment, and voter registrations for members of the Fitzhugh family (1860-1878).
This collection is open for research use.
J.D. Fitzhugh Papers, 1845-1886, Dolph Briscoe Center for American History, The University of Texas at Austin.
This collection was processed by W.H. Richter, April 1967.
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