Manuscript Database
Creator/Title
Pell, Josephus W., ca. 1845-1928. Papers, 1863-1864. 2 items.
Call No.
Mss. C P
Content
Collection consists of two documents written by Josephus W. Pell, a musician in Co. D, 12th Kentucky Cavalry regiment. One document recounts details of a rebel attack by Longstreet's forces against four Union regiments led by Col. Frank Wolford near Philadelphia, Tennessee, in October 1863. The attack took place during a truce called for an exchange of prisoners. The Union forces were severely outnumbered and when their ammunition ran out, they formed a "hollow square" formation and charged the rebel line with sabers, eventually escaping and regrouping in Louden, Tennessee. The second document describes an arduous journey of his regiment from Eastern Kentucky through Cumberland Gap in November 1864, eventually reaching the Clinch Mountains, 40 miles from Nashville, Tennessee.