Manuscript Database
Creator/Title
McKinney, David, 1829-1903. Letters, 1862-1863. 13 items.
Call No.
Mss. C M
Content
This collection consists of the Civil War letters of Lt. David McKinney, who served as quartermaster of the 77th Illinois Infantry in Kentucky and the Mississippi River Valley. McKinney's unit was stationed in Covington, Cynthiana, and Richmond, Ky. during the closing phase of the Perryville Campaign. His letters describe these communities and their residents as well as the fugitive slaves who flocked into camp. In a letter from Cynthiana, Ky. to his sister Betty dated 24 Oct. 1862, he writes, "We have been travelling since leaving Covington on one of the worse roads...on the face of the earth." He adds, the sentiment of this section of the state is rather secession - the town of Cynthiana is mostly Union."