Biography/History:

Franklin L. Riley was born in Hebron, Jefferson Davis County, Mississippi, on February 10, 1835 to Edward Miles Riley (b. August 18, 1796 – d. March 30, 1873) and Mary Nancy Shows Riley (b. September 11, 1798 – d. May 19, 1859). Franklin was the tenth of Edward and Mary's thirteen children. Riley was educated in Lawrence County, Mississippi, schools until May 29, 1861, when he enlisted in Company B, Sixteenth Regiment, Mississippi Infantry, Confederate States of America.

Riley's military experience involved him seeing combat in the Shenandoah Valley (July 1861 – March 1865) and in the Seven Days' Battles (June 26, 1862 – July 1, 1862) around Richmond, Virginia. After recovering in a Lynchburg, Virginia, military hospital from a wound he suffered in the Battle of Antietam, Maryland, Riley was sent home to Lawrence County on a furlough. During his furlough, Riley married Balsorah Indiana Weathersby (b. September 13, 1845 – d. February 23, 1921), also of Lawrence County. Moreover, Riley was one of the few Confederate soldiers to survive the Union attack on Fort St. Petersburg, Virginia. Riley was imprisoned at Point Lookout, Maryland in April 1865, where he remained until General Robert E. Lee's surrender at Appomattox, Virginia on June 30, 1865. Riley was paroled on July 1, 1865.

Riley returned to Lawrence County where he and Balsorah had eleven children: Balsorah, Edward D., Ellen, Franklin L., Jr., James D., Jefferson D., John B., Maude E., May, Mollie E., and Robert E. Riley. Franklin L. Riley, Sr. initially pursued farming, but turned his attention to business in 1871, wherein, he operated a mercantile store and a bank in Hebron, Jefferson Davis County. When the Gulf and Ship Island Railroad, a subsidiary of the Illinois Central Railroad, wanted to build a railway near Hebron in 1903, Riley offered to donate the right–of–way if the railroad would build the depot on his land. The railroad agreed, and Riley subsequently moved his mercantile stores and bank to New Hebron, Lawrence County, Mississippi. Riley continued to operate his businesses until shortly before his death.

Franklin Lafayette Riley, Sr. died on February 19, 1907.

Franklin L. Riley, Jr. was born near Hebron, Lawrence County, Mississippi, on August 24, 1868. He attended the public schools of his rural home county before receiving a Bachelor of Arts degree from Mississippi College, Hinds County, Mississippi, in 1889. After teaching public school in Hebron for one year, Riley returned to Mississippi College to pursue a Master of Arts degree, which he received in 1891. That same year, Riley married Fanny T. Leigh (b. March 2, 1867 – d. June 23, 1959) on July 15th. The couple had seven children that included: John P., Franklin L., Walter H., Herbert A., Charles L., Frances L., and Edward M.

Riley served as principal of Hebron High School from 1891–1893. In 1893, Riley enrolled at John Hopkins University. He studied under the renowned historian – Herbert Baxter Adams. Riley earned his Ph.D. degree in 1896. After completing his graduate studies, Riley served as president of Hillman College for women, Hinds County, Mississippi, from 1896–1897. In addition, Riley held several professorships that included: history and rhetoric, University of Mississippi, 1897–1914; history, Washington and Lee University, 1914–1925; history, University of Southern California, 1925–1926; and history, Washington and Lee University, 1926–1929.

Riley's public service work involved being an early trustee of the Mississippi Department of Archives and History from 1902–1914. At the conclusion of World War I, Riley was one of several American educators commissioned by the Y.M.C.A. to foster and promote educational advancement among the American Expeditionary Force. Riley received a leave of absence from Washington and Lee University to travel to France where he served as a professor of history at the American Expeditionary Force University, Beaune, France.

In addition to being a professor of history, Franklin L. Riley, Jr. was a prolific writer. On the reorganization of the Mississippi Historical Society, Riley served as the organization's secretary from 1898 until his death in 1929. In this capacity, Riley edited fourteen volumes of the Publications of the Mississippi Historical Society, while also contributing many articles. Some of Riley's other notable works included: Spanish Policy in Mississippi after the Treaty of San Lorenzo (1897), School History of Mississippi (1900), Extinct Towns and Villages of Mississippi (1902), and The Mississippi River as a Political Factor in American History (1910).

Franklin L. Riley, Jr. died on November 10, 1929 in Lexington, Virginia.

Scope and Content:

This collection consists of Franklin L. Riley, Sr.'s Civil War diary documenting his military service as a member of Company B, Sixteenth Regiment, Mississippi Infantry, Confederate States of America, and the diary of Franklin L. Riley, Jr., which documents his service as a professor of history at The University of American Expeditionary Force University, Beaune, France in 1919. Another item of interest is an 1861 “Song Ballad” by Franklin L. Riley, Sr. Miscellaneous items include a blank postcard and news clipping.

Series Identification:

1. Series 1: Civil War Diary. 1862–1864.

   Franklin L. Riley, Sr.'s Civil War diary recounts his military experiences from November 7, 1862 – June 27, 1865. Riley's daily entries depict his company's movements, letters received, and the names of Confederate soldiers wounded or killed in battle. Most notably, Riley records the name and location of each military engagement that his company was involved in and the subsequent outcome. Those battles included: Second Manassas, Harper's Ferry, Fredericksburg, Chancellorsville, Antietam, Gettysburg, Bristoe Station, the Wilderness, the Bloody Angle Spotsylvania Court House, North Anna, and the Siege of Petersburg. Other entries within Riley's diary are biblical passages and poems.

   Folder 1.

2. Series 2: Franklin L. Riley, Jr., Diary. 1919.

   Franklin L. Riley, Jr.'s diary provides a daily account of his service as a professor of history with The American Expeditionary Force University, Beaune, France from February 3 – July 20, 1919. In his diary, Riley provides a detailed description of his voyage to and from Europe, and includes entries relating to the European cities visited, acquaintances made, his reaction to integration in the military, and lectures attended and given during his time abroad.

   Folder 2.

3. Series 3: Song Ballad. 1861.

   This series consist of a song ballad dedicated to Balsorah Weathersby. The ballad is dated March 20, 1861.

   Folder 3.

4. Series 4: Miscellany. ca. 1919.

   This series consist of a blank postcard and news clipping announcing Franklin L. Riley, Jr.'s leave of absence from Washington and Lee University following World War I.

   Folder 4.