Collections of Personal Papers in the VMI Archives

The VMI Archives currently contains more than 500 manuscript collections: Letters, diaries, and other personal papers. Our holdings cover a wide range of historical eras and topics - the Civil War, modern military history, engineering history, military oral histories, cadet life and Institute history, and material relating to the history of local region. Many of our collections are available online in full-text format, and complete descriptions of all manuscript collections are located in the Archives Online Catalog.

Digital Manuscripts

A growing collection of our manuscript holdings are available online.  The digital collections typically include scans of the original documents as well as full text transcriptions.

About the Online Catalog

The online catalog is the best resource for complete collection guides (finding aids),  detailed searching, direct links to full text, and the most up-to-date manuscripts information.

Quick Guides: Browse by Category

For browsing manuscript holdings in a brief list format.  The Online Catalog is better for complete information.

• Institute History and Cadet Life
• Civil War
• Military History and Oral History Project
• Faculty and Alumni Papers
• Local and Regional History, and Miscellaneous