Mary Willis Lewis ? to "My dear brother," George Washington Lewis ?, 1861

Containers:

Box 2, Folder 4

Extent:

1 folder(s)

Scope and content:

Mary discusses the Civil War activity in her state of Kentucky where forces had already begun to break the neutrality established by the governor. She mentions hostile forces under Union General Johnson near Paducah, Kentucky and forces under Confederate General Leonidas Polk; the arrest of ex-Governor Charles S. Morehead and other prominent men; and the numbers of local men who have left the county to join the Confederate army. They have plenty of food but clothing and other goods are hard to get and they are making do with old clothes thought past mending. Mary has also sold eggs for the first time and bought a lamp made in Pittsburgh.

Biographical / historical:

The correspondent was probably Mary Willis Lewis (1812-1886), daughter of Major Samuel Lewis, who married John Casey, Union, Kentucky, in 1829. The recipient is probably her brother, George Washington Lewis.

According to a Wikipedia article about Kentucky in the Civil War, "Kentucky was a border state of key importance in the American Civil War. It officially declared its neutrality at the beginning of the war, but after a failed attempt by Confederate General Leonidas Polk to take the state of Kentucky for the Confederacy, the legislature petitioned the Union Army for assistance."

Access and use