Manuscript Database
Creator/Title
Bodley Family. Papers, 1773-1939. 9.33 cu. ft.
Call No.
Mss. A B668e 66, 67, 58, 59, 70, 72, 73
Content
Maria Church writes in a 20 Mar. 1861 letter to Wm. Bodley that there had been some secession meetings in Frankfort but they had not been going well and she expects nothing to come from them; Charles Bodley writes in a 22 Aug. 1861 letter that there had nearly been a battle in Lexington the previous day as secessionists tried to block a train full of arms; Thomas Bramlette arrived with 200 mounted troops to escort the train but John Breckinridge called for men to disband "Lincoln' s soldiers"; after Bramlette sent a message claiming he was there peacefully, Breckinridge believed him and disbanded this troops; writing from N.Y. in a 27 Aug. 1861 letter to Wm. Bodley, Ben Johnson agrees that the administration is not supporting the Union cause enough in the border states and feels that Ky. could be the sight on bloody battles unless the lines are pushed Louisville but poor roads thankfully delayed his arrival; Fosdick caims this is good for the city as the North probably would have fought hard to keep it out of Confederate hands; Martha Stanard writes in her 12 Dec. 1861 letter that Nelson's Brigade recently passed through Louisville along Walnut Street and it was the longest procession she had ever seen; she describes the 4 hour parade and says that the men, on their way to New Haven to enter hard service, were well-clothed and armed; 19 July 1862 letter from Maria Church talks of the alarm in Frankfort due to the recent nearby raids; she claims not be worried however because the city is well protected; also writes of Confederate troops being in Owenton and Cynthiana but that the Union soldiers had gone after them; in his 24 July 1862 letter Edward Church writes that Frankfort had been put under martial law; he also tells of a fight that broke out because one man accused another of joining Maj. Gay's company to avoid being arrested; in his 6 Aug. 1862 letter, Edward Church asks Wm. Bodley's advice on joining a group of men that had organized under Bob Taylor of Branch Bank per Lincoln's call for 300,000 men; Church writes in his 9 Aug. 1862 letter of the enlistment activities in Frankfort; George Jones writes from Iowa in a 6 Oct. 1862 letter that he had heard that Federal soldiers were preparing to retake control of Frankfort and allow J.J. Crittenden and other Union supporters to return after they had been forced to flee because of Confederate advances; in her 10 Oct. 1862 letter, Maria Church writes of a skirmish between John Scott's Confed. Cavalry and some Union soldiers; states that Scott lost one and had several wounded while the Feds. lost no one; Eb. Dumont was going after the Confeds.; she also wonders how everyone can sleep with thousands of soldiers around ready to do battle at any time; Maria Church writes from Frankfort in her 13 Oct. 1862 letter to Wm.Bodley in Louisville with hopes that he is "free from rebels"; she states the Versailles had been taken the previous day and that Lexington was being evacuated; Charles Bodley writes in a 27 Oct. 1862 letter of John Hunt Morgan's raids claiming that his thievs" had caused Lexington and the surrounding county to suffer; claims that the group stole several horses while the regular Confederate army took or paid for a large amount of foods from merchants, manufacturers, and farmers; in his 26 Jan. 1863 letter to Wm. Bodley, George Kinkead writes that although many troops were leaving Lexington, those remaining are extreme abolitionists; Maria Church writes in her 12 June 1864 letter from Frankfort that the town was still under martial law and that there had been many arms recently as the number of Confederate and Union troops in the area increased; she also heard the confeds. were getting "whipped" the previous day in Georgetown; Wm. Bodley writes in a 15 June 1864 letter that he had been in Frankfort recently when Morgan and his men passed through; although he claims it was a small affair, he describes shells passing over their heads and talks of hiding in the milk cellar; Sarah Comstock writes in her 2 July 1864 letter that she thinks all Kentuckians must want J. H. Morgan annihilated; Pearce Bodley writes in his 28 July 1864 letter that some federal soldiers had confiscated several horses in Louisville for the army and had branded 140 within an hour; he also mentions a runaway slave who stole his former owner's winter clothes valued at $2000; Ann Bodley writes from Louisville in a 29 July 1864 letter that Dr. Bayless had been kicked out of his house by the military but claims the excitement in the city was dying down; however, she says the prices are still high and houses and servants are in high demand; in her 23 Aug. 1864 letter, Martha Bodley writes about the capture of a slave who ran off with her children and states that African Americans were no longer allowed to cross the Ohio River at Louisville ; she also relays the outcome of several imprisoned citizens stating that Alfred Harris had been released and relieved of the charge that he conspired to burn down the city, A. J. Brannon had been paroled and was not allowed to speak to anyone outside of his family, Joshua Bullitt was sent to Tortugas, and Jordan Clarke was under house arrest; in a 29 Aug. 1864 letter, Addy Smith writes from Providence, RI her belief that northerners don's think of Kentuckians as traitors because most know how they've kept their rebellious brothers in check"; claims that the only thing the people of her area know about the war is the sorrow they experience when soldiers die on the battlefield.