Kelly, James R. (fl. 1861-1862) to Mary Kelly
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Gilder Lehrman Collection #: GLC04197.02 Author/Creator: Kelly, James R. (fl. 1861-1862) Place Written: Cheat Mountain, Virginia Type: Autograph letter signed Date: 22-23 July 1861 Pagination: 4 p. : envelope Order a Copy
Discusses camp life, quality of troops, killing and captured rebels. His regiment has not received any mail since they came to Virginia on July 6th. He writes a description of the mountain and describes an alarm in camp. A group of "miserable Scamps" have been discharged in disgrace. [Apparently, Kelly wrote the circumstances for their disgrace in an earlier letter, not in the collection.] Continued on 7/23/1861. Scouts surprised a "Secessionist Camp" of "44 men armed & a lot of women." Thirty-four of the men were killed and Kelly expects the rest will be hanged.
22nd July 1861
Camp at Cheat Mountain Pass
My Dear Mary,
I wrote you day before yesterday & told you then all the news in Camp, but this is a dreary, wet day. It has been raining all day long so hard that we can't do anything but write to our friends, so, having three one cent stamps left, I can write you one more letter & then I am done writing until I can get stamps. Something must be terabelly [sic] rong [sic] in the post office department. There has been but 2 letters received in our Regiment since we left Indianapolis. We came into this State on the 6th inst. and have not received a single letter from home yet. Why this is, no one here can tell. I want you to continue to write to me, as usual, at least once a week. I will get them sometime. Send me the Stamps as I directed in my last, they can't be had here at all, and money does a man but little good here. I hope you are all well and doing well at home. If you can only have health, you must enjoy yourselves much better than I possibelly [sic] can. I tell you now there can be no pleasure for any man in the army & especially while on the march. I don't know what I should do if I should take sick here in these mountains. Most of the time it has been wet & cold, especially at night. A sick man has but little chance for his life here. The tops of the mountains have been completely enveloped in dense clouds all day. The high ranges of mountains in the distance have the appearance of a volcano in full blast, with the white fog curling above the dark clouds below. I would recommend you to port Crayons description of New Virginia, you will find his sketches of the cheat mountains, passes, cascades, towns & hotels [sic] on the same road we have marched over in coming here. The Old Tavern so graphically described in the mountain pass in ports sketches stands in sight of & just east of our camp & is now being used for a Hospital. It stands in the mountain pass, just as described by port. Nathan Neeld brought us the information that Capt Charles, Lieut McClellan & all the others of our one year men have been discharged & sent home. I understand they were all paid off when discharged. This is just as I expected. That is the last end of Capt Charles & Co. disgraced as I told you, I am sorry for two or three of them, but care nothing for the balance of them. It is clearly out of their power to do me any harm. Some of them are miserable scamps, who, merit nothing but disgrace. I am booked for officer of the guard for the next 24 hours, from 6 o'clock this evening. In luck for a wet day & have been ever since I came into Camp. I must close this hasty letter, as I have to go on duty at 6 o'clock this PM. I expect to have a miserable, disagreeable night of it. We had expected a fight. One of the sentinels got frightened & fired his gun & then the alarm passed all around the Camp until some 30 guns was fired. All the men was called out & placed in line of Battle, where we stood ready to fire on any one approaching the Camp. All in the most perfect silence for three long hours. When we were told the alarm was false & ordered to our quarters it was amusing to see the boys roused up & coming out half dressed. Some without their guns. Others their shoes & hats & no of them could find all their traps. I will close this evening and finish in the morning & tell you what happens tonight.
July 23rd 1861
Nothing of any importance occurred last night. I did not attempt to sleep until after 1 o'clock this AM. It was so damp cold night as every night is in these mountains. Our Scouts surprised a Secession camp yesterday morning consisting of 44 men armed & a lot of women. All the men were killed by 10 & two of them was mortally wounded. They have just been brought into our camp. They are hard looking wretches. It is thought they will all be hung. They are of the same class that killed 2 of our scouts & crippled two others a few nights since. If so, they must be hung or shot. I feel very drowsey today, tho well enough otherwise, we had a mail in camp today, but there was no letters for any of our men. This is strange. I can't understand it. We had apple dumplings today for dinner. The first I have seen. I hope you are enjoying yourselves well. Don't be in the least uneasy about me. I am doing as well as I could expect. Your most truly & consistently.
J.R. Kelly
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