Manuscript Database
Creator/Title
Pell, John P., b. 1820. Letter, 6 May 1864. 1 item.
Call No.
Mss. C P
Content
A letter written by John P. Pell (1820-unknown), a Methodist minister from Owensboro, Kentucky who served as a Union Chaplain for the 12th Kentucky Cavalry. The letter was written to his wife and family from a camp near Kingston, Tennessee, on May 6, 1864. In the letter Pell writes about the journey he made to reach his regiment in lower Tennessee. He mentions passing through Camp Nelson, Camp Dick Robinson, Summerset, Point Burnsides (a military post in the forks of the Cumberland River), and Montgomery. He ends by writing that the regiment is destined for Dalton, Georgia. He tells stories about some of the people he encountered or whose hospitality he accepted along the way: a hungry soldier with whom he shared his crackers, the widow of a wealthy man whose husband was murdered by guerrillas, and General George Stoneman, who was resting with his escort by a river when Pell passed. A partial transcription is included.