DeLancey Floyd-Jones Letters

This collection, in one manuscript box containing six folders, consists primarily of 31 letters written by De Lancey Floyd-Jones during his service in the United States Army in the Mexican War, eight letters written during his service shortly after the Mexican War, and one letter written during his service in the Civil War. Also included are three captured Mexican documents (in Spanish) and one manuscript map showing the relative positions of American and Mexican troops during the fighting at and around Mexico City in August and September 1847. The recipients of the 39 letters dated from 1846 to 1850 were his father, Major General Henry O. Floyd-Jones; his mother, Helen Floyd-Jones; his sisters, Sarah (“Sis”), Helen (“Nel”), and Cate Floyd-Jones; and his brother, Edward Floyd-Jones (“Ned”). Over 40% of the letters were written to his sister Sarah, with whom he appears to have been especially close. The 1862 letter from Virginia was written to a person named “John” whose last name and exact relationship to De Lancey Floyd-Jones are unknown, but who, based on the closing of the letter, likely was a brother-in-law. Also included is a manuscript map drawn by De Lancey Floyd-Jones showing the relative positions of American and Mexican troops during the fighting at and around Mexico City during August and September, 1847. This map was likely sent to one of his family members as an enclosure to a letter, but since it could not be definitively associated with any particular letter in the collection, it was housed in a separate folder.

Finding aid available here. Materials provided by Special Collections and Archives at the University of Texas at Arlington.