Field, Benjamin T. Memoir, ca. 1912

Held by The Filson Historical Society 

Creator:  Field, Benjamin T.

Title:  Memoir, ca. 1912 

Rights: For information regarding literary and copyright interest for these papers, contact the Collections Department. 

Size of Collection:  1 volume 

Location Number:  Mss. A F453 

Scope and Content Note 

Collection consists of a single memoir recorded by Sgt. Field, Company E, 10th Kentucky Cavalry Regt., C.S.A. The entries were possibly copied from a diary approximately 47 years after the Civil War (ca. 1912) and are dated between his enlistment in August 1862 and his return home after the war in July 1865. Major topics include his imprisonment in two Union military prisons, Johnson Island and Camp Douglas, Ill., and his regiment’s exploits during Gen. John Hunt Morgan’s raid into Kentucky, Indiana and Ohio in July of 1863. 

Biographical Note 

Benjamin T. Field was born in March 1842 in Daviess Co., Ky. In August 1862, he enlisted in what became the 10th Kentucky Cavalry Regiment, C.S.A. Barely 3 weeks later, he surrendered to Union forces during a skirmish near Uniontown, Ky. He was transported to Johnson Island prison in Ohio where he spent the next two months. Following his release through a prisoner exchange, he rejoined his regiment now stationed in Tennessee under the command of Gen. John Hunt Morgan. In July 1863, his regiment participated in Morgan’s raid into Kentucky, Indiana, and Ohio. He was captured in West Virginia 3 weeks later and sent to Camp Douglas (Ill.) where he spent the next 18 months as a prisoner of war. After enduring considerable hardship, he was released through another prisoner exchange in February 1865. He was prevented from joining his regiment now stationed in western Virginia and spent the final months of the war at a farm near Salem, Virginia. There he met his future wife, Mattie Hurt, with whom he corresponded over the next 4 years. They were married in December 1869 and had 5 children. 

Volume List 

Volume 1: Memoir, ca. 1912; one attached sheet 

Subject Headings 

Camp Douglas (Ill.) 

Clarke, Marcellus Jerome, 1844-1865 

Confederate States of America. Army – Discipline 

Confederate States of America. Army – Military life 

Confederate States of America. Army. Kentucky Cavalry Regiment, 10th 

Confederate States of America. Army. Morgan’s Cavalry Division 

Courtship and marriage 

Indiana – History – Civil War, 1861-1865 

Johnson Island Prison 

Kentucky – History – Civil War, 1861-1865 

Morgan’s Ohio Raid, 1863 

Ohio – History – Civil War, 1861-1865 

Tennessee – History – Civil War, 1861-1865 

United States – History – Civil War, 1861-1865 – Destruction and pillage 

United States – History – Civil War, 1861-1865 – Medical care 

United States – History – Civil War, 1861-1865 – Prisoners and prisons