Manuscript Database
Creator/Title
Thurman, Wayne, ca. 1840-1862. Letter, 11 November 1861. ALS, 4 pp.
Call No.
Mss. C T
Content
A Sgt. in Company C of the 42nd Indiana Infantry, Thurman writes his brother Marion from Camp Denby, Henderson, Ky. He describes the regiment's march from Evansville, Ind. to Kentucky, noting that the men crossed the Ohio River to Henderson aboard the steamboat Mattie Cook. "We were crowded so tight," he wrote, "that we had to stand up with our knapsacks on our backs." He reported Henderson was under martial law and described his duties as picket guard. He describes two false reports of Confederate attacks that greatly alarmed the men. He added that some of his comrades were so shaken they "puked like buzzards."