Castleman, John Breckinridge (1841-1918) Papers, 1854-1911
Held by The Filson Historical Society
Creator: Castleman, John Breckinridge, 1841-1918
Title: Papers, 1854-1911
Rights: For information regarding literary and copyright interest for these papers, contact the Collections Department.
Size of Collection: 0.33 cubic feet
Location Number: Mss. A C353a
Scope and Content Note
Collection includes correspondence, 1854-1911. Some of the letters collected by Castleman were written by, to, and about Confederate agents in Canada during the Civil War. One letter contains an account of a visit to Captain John Y. Beall in prison before his execution. Other Confederate agents include Jacob Thompson, Clement C. Clay, and Bennett H. Young. Also a 1911 article entitled “The Kentucky Mounted Gun Men and the Sabine War,” written by Castleman.
Biographical Note
1841 Born in Lexington, Ky. Studied law at Transylvania University.
1862 Joined John Hunt Morgan’s command and participated in the Kentucky raid.
1864 Captured by Federal troops.
1865 Banished from the U.S. and went to France.
1866 Pardoned by President Johnson and returned to Kentucky.
1868 Graduated from the University of Louisville Law School.
1869 Married Alice Barbee and formed the Barbee and Castleman insurance company with his father.
1878 Revived the Louisville Legion.
1883 Appointed adjutant general of Kentucky.
1891 Elected first president of the American Saddlebred Horse Association; founded the Louisville Park Dept. and was made park commissioner.
1893 Won the grand championship at the Chicago Columbian Exposition World’s Fair aboard his horse Emily.
1898 Led the 1st Kentucky Volunteers in the Spanish American War.
1918 Died and was buried in Cave Hill Cemetery.
Folder List
Box 1
1 Correspondence, 1854-1865.
2 Correspondence, 1887-1911.
3 “The Kentucky Mounted Gun Men and the Sabine War.”
4 Statement of the crew of the Philo Parsons concerning Captain John Y. Beall,1864 Sept. 20.
5 Miscellaneous material.
