Francis H. Smith - George W. Cullum Correspondence, 1865. Full Text Transcriptions [Digital]

A few months after the end of the Civil War, two old friends and West Point classmates--one a southerner and the other from the north--exchanged letters. The correspondents were General Francis H. Smith, Superintendent of the Virginia Military Institute, and General George W. Cullum, Superintendent of the United States Military Academy. Both were members of the USMA Class of 1833. Once close friends, the war had made them enemies. In November 1865, Smith contacted Cullum, hoping to visit West Point and renew the ties that had been broken by war.