Biographies of the leaders of the Orphan Brigade are few and of varying usefulness. Arndt M. Stickles’ Simon Bolivar Buckner, Borderland Knight is an excellent biography that offers much on the State Guard, but little on the Orphans. William C. Davis’ Breckinridge: Statesman, Soldier, Symbol, published in 1974, is the fullest biography of that colorful figure. In 1943 R. Gerald McMurtry published his brief Ben Hardin Helm, which, though the best source available on this gentle man, sheds no light on the story of his brigade.
Of soldier reminiscences there are several, but their quality varies greatly. Unquestionably the finest is John S. Jackman’s Journal in the Library of Congress, a source rivaling the official papers and Thompson’s books in importance. This is a copy Jackman began in the summer of 1865, working from and often expanding his actual wartime notes from the 9th Kentucky. The work was finished sometime prior to 1868, for he loaned it to Thompson when the latter was writing his first book. Jackman’s journal captured the human element of the Orphans better than any other single source, and as well provides vital illumination on several subjects—notably the mutinies in the 6th and 9th Kentucky regiments—for which the official records are too brief, and Thompson altogether silent. Additionally, Jackman includes two wartime letters he wrote to southern editors for publication, and the last portion of the journal is a scrapbook of his postwar articles, clippings describing reunions, copies of speeches, and other material of great interest. It is fortunate that Jackman’s ill health prevented his performing greater service in the field, for it saved him to the larger work of leaving this outstanding record of his command.
The only completely contemporaneous soldier account we have is from the 6th Kentucky, the Squire Helm Bush Diary at the Hardin County Historical Society. It covers only the period October 1, 1862, to December 1, 1863, and is more often than not frustratingly brief, but still it provides occasional glimpses of the Orphans’ life and attitudes.
Of a completely different character are the reminiscences written in later years. Gervis Grainger’s Four Years with the Boys in Gray was not published until 1902, and is almost worthless. His dates and accounts of battles are invariably wrong, and much of the major action of the brigade he missed due to illness or imprisonment. His book is useful only for occasional anecdotal material, and for his admitted part in the mutiny of the 6th Kentucky. Much the same is the case with Lot Young’s 1912 edition of Reminiscences of a Soldier of the Orphan Brigade, his record of service with the 4th Kentucky.
A special case is Albert D. Kirwan’s edition of Johnny Green of the Orphan Brigade, published in 1956. Regarded since its appearance as an important work on the Kentucky Brigade, it too is highly unreliable. Kirwan states that Green wrote it chiefly from memory and some wartime notes, starting around 1890. As with most memoirs written years after the fact, it is often wrong in its chronology. More than this, however, Johnny Green incorporated into his work as his own, accounts of events that he actually borrowed from others. It is clear that he drew much from Jackman’s 1866 articles and his later publications in the Southern Bivouac, his accounts sometimes matching Jackman’s almost word for word. Indeed, it is clear that Green was an avid reader of the Bivouac, for several anecdotal episodes described therein he appropriated into his own narrative, in the process making himself the protagonist. As a result, while Green’s memoir is useful only for its colorful incidents and episodes of the 9th Kentucky, one must be careful even with them, not knowing whether they really happened to Johnny or he just borrowed them from someone else.
The first three volumes of the Southern Bivouac are in a class of their own. Intended to memorialize all Kentuckians in the Confederacy, its articles reflect chiefly a preoccupation with the 4th Kentucky, not surprising since two of its editors came from that unit. Articles by Jackman, John Marshall, Pirtle, Owens, Tydings, and others give an outstanding picture of the spirit of these men, and do more to add flesh to an account of their camp and field life than any other source. A special note must be made of the contributions of “Fred Joyce” to the Bivouac. They make up nearly half of the total Orphan Brigade articles published during those three years. Yet no man of that name served in the brigade! The name does not appear in Thompson’s rosters, nor among the service records in the National Archives, but the writing rings too true to be fabricated. Clearly, Fred Joyce was a nom de plume, but a study of his articles gives enough clues to identify the real author. He served in Company D, 4th Kentucky. He was a member of the glee club. He was wounded at Chickamauga, recuperated at Dalton and Atlanta, and served in the mounted engagements as a captain. Happily there is one, and only one, Orphan who fits these criteria, Captain John Weller. And he happened to be one of the editors of the Bivouac, which explains the use of a sobriquet. Clearly it did not look good for an editor to contribute too often to his own journal, yet frequently Weller and Marshall had to write their own recollections in order to fill out an issue. Marshall used a pen name, “Nondescript,” so there was no reason for Weller not to do likewise. How and why he chose Fred Joyce, however, was and is a mystery.
In light of all of the foregoing, and the general high quality of it, how unfortunate it is that no comparable sources exist for either the 2d or 5th Kentucky infantries. Aside from only one or two very brief articles in the Bivouac, the veterans of those units remained silent. And we have nothing from the men of Byrne, Cobb, or Graves.
For general background on Kentucky during the war, the best single source is E. Merton Coulter, Civil War and Readjustment in Kentucky. Also useful is J. Stoddard Johnston’s Kentucky, Volume IX in the Confederate Military History. And for the story of the State Guard, the best recent work is Richard G. Stone’s A Brittle Sword. And, of course, for any book on any aspect of the Civil War, the U. S. War Department’s War of the Rebellion: Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies is indispensable. It is particularly full for the early years of the Kentucky brigade’s service.
Bibliography
MANUSCRIPTS
Breckinridge Family Papers, Library of Congress.
Breckinridge, John C. Papers, in possession of Mrs. J. C. Breckinridge, Summit Point, W.Va.
—–. Chicago Historical Society.
—–. Henry E. Huntington Library, San Marino, Calif.
—–. New-York Historical Society, New York, N.Y.
—–. Western Reserve Historical Society, Cleveland, O.
Breckinridge, Mary C. Letters, in John C. Breckinridge Compiled Service Record, Record Group 109, National Archives.
Buck, Samuel D. Papers, William Perkins Library, Duke University, Durham, N.C.
Buckner, Simon B. Papers, Henry E. Huntington Library.
—–. “To the People of Kentucky,” University of Kentucky Library, Lexington.
Bush, Squire Helm. Diary, 1862–63, Hardin County Historical Society, Elizabethtown, Ky.
Chap. II, Vol. 305, Military Departments. Orders Received by the 1st Kentucky Brigade, Apr.–Oct. 1862, Record Group 109, National Archives.
—–. Vol. 306, Orders and Circulars Received by 1st Kentucky Brigade, Nov. 1862–May 1863.
—–. Vol. 307, Military Departments. Orders and Circulars Received by 1st Kentucky Brigade, Nov. 1861–Apr. 1864.
—–. Vol. 308, Military Departments. Orders Received and Orders Issued by 1st Kentucky Brigade, 1862–63.
—–. Vol. 309, Orders Received, Morning Reports and Returns, 1st Kentucky Brigade, Jan. 1863–May 1864.
—–. Vol. 310, Military Departments. Orders Received, Orders Issued, and Morning Reports, 1st Kentucky Brigade, Aug. 1862–Oct. 1864.
—–. Vol. 311, Letters, Telegrams Received and Sent by Gen. Breckinridge’s Command, Dec. 1861–Nov. 1863.
—–. Vol. 312, Military Departments. Orders and Circulars Received, 1st Kentucky Brigade, 1862–63.
—–. Vol. 313, Military Departments. Orders and Circulars Received, 1st Kentucky Brigade, 1862–63.
—–. Vol. 314, Military Departments. Orders and C
irculars Received, 1st Kentucky Brigade, Aug. 1863–Jan. 1865.
—–. Vol. 315, Military Departments. Special Orders Received and Record of Details, Discharges, Furloughs, and Transfers, 1st Kentucky Brigade, 1862–63.
—–. Vol. 316, Military Departments. Special Orders Received, 1st Kentucky Brigade, Nov. 1861–Oct. 1862.
—–. Vol. 317, Military Departments. Morning Reports, 1st Kentucky Brigade, Nov. 1861–Feb. 1862.
Chap. VI, Vol. 663, Medical Department Register of Patients of 2d Kentucky Infantry Hospital and of Hospitals at Tunnel Hill, Ga., and Miscellaneous Data Pertaining to Other Hospitals, 1863–65, Record Group 109, National Archives.
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—–. Vol. 68, Miscellaneous Quartermaster Accounts, 2d, 4th, 5th, 6th, and 9th Kentucky regiments.
—–. Vol. 69, Clothing Account Book, Company C, 4th Kentucky Volunteers, 1862–64.
—–. Vol. 70, Miscellaneous Quartermaster Accounts, 4th Kentucky Volunteers.
—–. Vol. 71, Miscellaneous Quartermaster Accounts, 4th Kentucky Volunteers.
—–. Vol. 72, Miscellaneous Record of Quartermaster Stores Issued to the 4th, 5th, 6th, and 9th Kentucky Volunteers, 1864–65.
Chap. IX, Vol. 26, Secretary of War. Register of Letters Received Sept. 1862–Apr. 1863, A–L, Record Group 109, National Archives.
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Breckinridge, John C.
Breckinridge, Joseph Cabell
Buckner, Simon B.
Caldwell, John W.
Cobb, Robert
Cofer, Martin H.
Graves, Rice E.
Hanson, Roger W.
Hawes, Joseph M.
Hawkins, Hiram
Helm, Ben Hardin
Hewitt, James W.
Hunt, Thomas H.
Johnson, Robert A.
Kenshattentyeth (Flying Cloud)
Lee, Philip Lightfoot
Lewis, Asa
Lewis, Joseph H.
Moss, James W.
Nuckols, Joseph P.
O’Hara, Theodore H.
Thompson, Ed Porter
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Davis, Jefferson. Collection, Tulane University, New Orleans, La.
Dearborn, Frederick M. Collection, Houghton Library, Harvard University, Cambridge, Mass.
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Flagg, Samuel G. Collection, Yale University Library, New Haven, Conn.
General Order No. 22, Dec. 10, 1862, Record Group 109, National Archives.
Hanson, Roger W. Papers, Library of Congress.
Haydon, Otho. Recollections, in possession of Ruby T. Rabey, Franklin, Ky.
Heustis, J. F. Letter, Kentucky Library, Western Kentucky University, Bowling Green, Ky.
Jackman, John S. Journal, Library of Congress.
Johnston, J. Stoddard. Papers, Filson Club, Louisville, Ky.
Lewis, Joseph H. Scrapbook, in possession of Helene Lewis Gildred, San Diego, Calif.
Marckmann, Mrs. George. Diary, in possession of W. Maury Darst, Galveston, Tex.
Polk, Leonidas. Papers, Southern Historical Collection, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, N.C.
Preston, William. “Memoranda of A. S. Johnston’s Death, Battle of Shiloh &c,” Record Group 94, Box 2, Special File, Item 16, National Archives.
Randolph, A. W. Letters, Kentucky Library, Western Kentucky University, Bowling Green, Ky.
Reed, Grace E. Papers, Franklin, Ky.
Ulmer L. B. “A Glimpse of Johnstone Through the Smoke of Shiloh,” Choctaw County Public Library, Butler, Ala., 1901.
Voucher 4, Dec. 8, 1862, Manuscript 1,526, Record Group 109, National Archives.
Wade, Sadie M. Letter to author.
Winstead, Thomas. Papers, in possession of Mr. Thomas D. Winstead, Elizabethtown, Ky.
Yerger, William. Papers, Mississippi Department of Archives and History, Jackson, Miss.
Young, A. E. Letters, in possession of Mrs. Howard Jones, Glasgow, Ky.
NEWSPAPERS
Baltimore American
Frankfort Weekly Kentucky Yeoman
Lexington, Ky., Morning Herald
Lexington Sunday Leader
Louisville Courier-Journal
Louisville Times
New York Turf, Field & Farm
Richmond Daily Dispatch
Richmond Enquirer
BOOKS
Anderson, John Q., ed. Brokenburn: The Journal of Kate Stone. Baton Rouge, La., 1955.
Baird, Nancy D. David Wendel Yandell, Physician of Old Louisville. Lexington, Ky., 1978.
Byers, S. M. H. Iowa in War Times. Des Moines, Ia., 1888.
Castleman, John B. Active Service. Louisville, Ky., 1917.
Coleman, J. Winston, Jr. Famous Kentucky Duels. Lexington, Ky., 1969.
Coulter, E. Merton. Civil War and Readjustment in Kentucky. Chapel Hill, N.C., 1926.
Crabtree, Beth Gilbert, and Patton, James W., eds. “Journal of a Secesh Lady”: The Diary of Catherine Ann Devereux Edmondston, 1860–1866. Raleigh, N.C., 1979.
Davis, Reuben. Recollections of Mississippi and Mississippians. University, Miss., 1972.
Davis, William C. Breckinridge: Statesman, Soldier, Symbol. Baton Rouge, La., 1974.
De Fontaine, Felix G. Marginalia, or Gleanings from an Army Note-Book. Columbia, S.C., 1864.
Duke, Basil W. A History of Morgan’s Cavalry. Cincinnati, O., 1867.
—–. Reminiscences of General Basil W. Duke, C.S.A. New York, 1911.
George, Henry. History of the 3d, 7th, 8th, and 12th Kentucky, C.S.A. Louisville, Ky., 1911.
Gordon, John B. Reminiscences of the Civil War. New York, 1904.
Grainger, Gervis D. Four Years with the Boys in Gray. Franklin, Ky., 1902.
Hartje, Robert G. Van Dorn: The Life and Times of a Confederate General. Nashville, Tenn., 1967.
Hodge, George B. Sketch of the First Kentucky Brigade. Frankfort, Ky., 1874.
Hundley, David R. Prison Echoes of the Great Rebellion. New York, 1874.
Johnston, J. Stoddard. Kentucky. Volume IX of Clement A. Evans, ed., Confederate Military History. New York, 1962.
Johnston, William P. The Life of Gen. Albert Sidney Johnston. New York, 1879.
Jones, John B. A Rebel War Clerk’s Diary at the Confederate States Capital, 2 vols. Philadelphia, Pa., 1866.
Jordan, Thomas, and Pryor, J. P. The Campaigns of Lieut.-Gen. N. B. Forrest, and of Forrest’s Cavalry. Dayton, O., 1973.
Journals of the Congress of the Confederate States of America, 7 vols. Washington, D.C., 1904–5.
Kirwan, Albert D., ed. Johnny Green of the Orphan Brigade. Lexington, Ky., 1956.
Lindsley, John B., ed. The Military Annals of Tennessee (Confederate). Nashville, Tenn., 1886.
Lord, Walter, ed. The Fremantle Diary. Boston, Mass., 1954.
McMurtry, R. Gerald. Ben Hardin Helm. Chicago, Ill., 1943.
Mathias, Frank F., ed. Incidents & Experiences in the Life of Thomas W. Parsons from 1826 to 1900. Lexington, Ky., 1975.
Moore, Frank, comp. Rebellion Record, 11 vols. New York, 1862–68.
Murray, W. J. History of the Twentieth Tennessee Regiment Volunteer Infantry, C.S.A. Nashville, Tenn., 1904.
Polk, William M. Leonidas Polk, Bishop and General, 2 vols. New York, 1915.
Resolution of the [Confederate] Congress [in Kentucky]. Lyndon, Ky., 1970.
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he War Between the States, 2 vols. New York, 1884.
Smith, John David and Cooper, William, Jr., eds. Window on the War: Frances Dallam Peter’s Lexington Civil War Diary. Lexington, Ky., 1976.
Stevenson, Alexander F. The Battle of Stones River near Murfreesboro, Tenn. Boston, Mass., 1884.
Stevenson, William G. Thirteen Months in the Rebel Army. New York, 1864.
Stickles, Arndt M. Simon Bolivar Buckner, Borderland Knight. Chapel Hill, N.C., 1940.
Stone, Richard G. A Brittle Sword: The Kentucky Militia, 1776–1912. Lexington, Ky., 1978.
Thomas, Edison H. John Hunt Morgan and His Raiders. Lexington, Ky., 1975.
Thompson, Ed Porter. History of the First Kentucky Brigade. Cincinnati, O., 1868.
—–. History of the Orphan Brigade. Louisville, Ky., 1898.
Townsend, William H. Lincoln and the Bluegrass. Lexington, Ky., 1955.
U. S. Congress. Congressional Record. 67th Cong., 1st sess., Vol. 61, Part 7. Washington, D.C., 1921.
U. S. War Department. War of the Rebellion. Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies, 128 vols. Washington, D.C., 1880–1901.
Wilson, LeGrand J. The Confederate Soldier. Memphis, Tenn., 1973.
Wyeth, John A. That Devil Forrest. New York, 1959.
Young, Lot D. Reminiscences of a Soldier of the Orphan Brigade. Louisville, 1912.
ARTICLES
“A.B.” “The Eighth Kentucky at Pearl River,” Southern Bivouac, I, New Series, Oct. 1885, p. 313.
“A Certain Captain,” Southern Bivouac, II, June 1884, p. 468.
The Orphan Brigade: The Kentucky Confederates Who Couldn't Go Home Page 39
