The Fr. Abram J. Ryan Archive at Belmont Abbey College

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“Fr. Abram J. Ryan was a 19th century poet and priest who served as a chaplain for the Confederacy. His writings garnered increasing attention after the Civil War, gaining him the epithet lsquo;Poet-Priest of the South.rsquo; Numerous editions of his collected poems were published nationally. Margaret Mitchell included Fr. Ryan in her novel Gone with the Wind, and upon his death in 1886 his obituary was carried by newspapers across the nation, including the New York Times. His life and works continue to be topics of articles in the popular press and scholarly literature. This website describes and selectively illustrates the contents of the Fr. Abram J. Ryan Archive, located in the Abbot Vincent Taylor Library on the campus of Belmont Abbey College, near Charlotte NC. The archive includes photographs, original handwritten letters, unpublished poems, unpublished autobiographical notes, early newspaper clippings, and memorabilia.”