110. Kelley, D.O.
Civil War Letter: Upon the Death Of His Brother Rush Kelley

Harpers Ferry, West Virginia: October 4, 1864(?)
This letter is dated October 4, 1864 erroneously. A more accurate date is November 4, 1864. D.O. Kellley's brother, Rush, died on October 27, 1864; D.O. Kelley received a letter from his sister about the death on October 30th. In his grief, he may have mistakenly dated his response to her letter. Assumably, Rush is D.O. Kelley's younger brother as he did not enlist until August of 1864, more than two years after D.O. Kelley enlisted. Rush joined the Army in early August and by October 3rd had already contracted rheumatic fever. (For a detailed account of Rush's wartime experiences, illness, death, and tributes from his friends, see other letters in this collection; regarding Rush Kelley's opinion about African-Americans in the Union Army, see Past Auctions: August Books, Maps and Prints.) D.O. Kelley is grief-stricken, angry that no one told him how sick his brother really was. Then, he turns to typical Victorian-era philosophizing and religiosity. In a more original turn reflecting his bitterness toward the war, D.O. Kelley writes: "And that his last resting place is here he might have desired it even though he should picked the spot himself when Living. Not as many thousands have been since this cruel war commenced whose body may have been mangled by some poisonous Shell or ball + left to decay in some unmarked spot in this tratorous country." A powerful letter about the sometime pointlessness of war.

100/200     SOLD: $138.00

Condition: Very Good