Kentuckiana Genealogy: Interesting Stories: Letter from M. Benham to Isabel Benham

By Board Administration (Admin) on Wednesday, June 28, 2000 - 03:32 pm:

Lexington, Kentucky
May 6, 1862

Dear Companion,

I improve this opportunity of sending you a few lines to let you know that
I left Louisville this morning Tuesday, and arrived in Lexington about 11
o'clock and found a good many of our boys in the hospital in short time. david
is here and on the mend. Albert Bird is here and well except for rheumatism
and is better of that. John Denbo is here and is something better. Newton
Wright is here, tolerably well.

Andy Goodson is here and able to travel over town. Harvey Denbo is here and
James Grannel, both complaining but are able to go about town. There are
several others of our boys here but none of them very sick. Lamford is the
worst of any of the boys from here. I have seen all of the above boys here
that I have mentioned
before twelve o'clock today, Tuesday. I have been trying to get furlough for
Dave but have not succeeded, yet, for they say their general has sent orders
to the hospitals to give no furloughs. So I don't know whether I will get any
of them home with me, but I am going to stay with them till next week before I
return home, and rest
and live off Uncle Sam a few days. You need not make yourself uneasy about
me. I will look out No.1.

John M. Benham is with the regiment. Try and get your crop of corn in as
early as possible. Sometime next week I will be home if nothing henders and if
I don't come you will hear from me. If I can't get Dave along I will stay with
him till he is better than he now is. He is weak, had cough and pain inside;
yet looks better he was when he came here. They were hauled here in their
brigade wagons and were 9 days making the trip, which was very hard on sick
men over a miserably rough road. So nothing of importance to write. Do the
best you can till I come.

M. Benham to Isabel Benham
Source:
These letters are copies from letters taken out
of an old saddle bag at the home of Marcus Benham,
Grantsburg, Indiana. (There is another letter from John M. Benham)
I received this from my Gr-Aunt (Marcus Benham was her Gr-grandfather, David
S. Benham was her Grandfather), she received it from her 96 year old cousin -
Fern Orr Scouden (Scoudan?)
Fern Orr Scouden, worked on our family tree (BENHAM)
for over 30 years. Before the days of computers.
Dave Benham son of Marcus Benham. Submitted by Dee Belz