Restrictions to Access

No restrictions. Open for research.

Copyright Notice

Copyright is retained by the authors of items in these papers, or their descendants, as stipulated by United States copyright law.

Preferred Citation

[Identification of item], in the J. Kelly Bennette Papers, #886, Southern Historical Collection, Wilson Special Collections Library, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Alternate Form of Material

Microfilm, photo, and typed transcript copies of the diary are available. The letters are also on microfilm.

Sensitive Materials Statement

Manuscript collections and archival records may contain materials with sensitive or confidential information that is protected under federal or state right to privacy laws and regulations, the North Carolina Public Records Act (N.C.G.S. § 132 1 et seq.), and Article 7 of the North Carolina State Personnel Act (Privacy of State Employee Personnel Records, N.C.G.S. § 126-22 et seq.). Researchers are advised that the disclosure of certain information pertaining to identifiable living individuals represented in this collection without the consent of those individuals may have legal ramifications (e.g., a cause of action under common law for invasion of privacy may arise if facts concerning an individual's private life are published that would be deemed highly offensive to a reasonable person) for which the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill assumes no responsibility.

Processed by: SHC Staff

Encoded by: Noah Huffman, December 2007

Updated by: Kathryn Michaelis, March 2011

This collection was processed with support from the sponsorship of a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities, Office of Preservation, Washington, D.C., 1990-1993.

The following terms from Library of Congress Subject Headings suggest topics, persons, geography, etc. interspersed through the entire collection; the terms do not usually represent discrete and easily identifiable portions of the collection--such as folders or items.

Clicking on a subject heading below will take you into the University Library's online catalog.

• Bennette, J. Kelly, fl. 1861-1864.
• Chambersburg (Pa.)--History--Civil War, 1861-1865.
• Confederate States of America--Politics and government.
• Confederate States of America. Army--Military life.
• Confederate States of America. Army--Recruiting, enlistment, etc.
• Confederate States of America. Army. Virginia Cavalry Regiment, 8th.
• Lewisburg (W. Va.)--History--19th century.
• Maryland--History--Civil War, 1861-1865.
• Pennsylvania--History--Civil War, 1861-1865--Campaigns.
• Soldiers--Confederate States of America--Diaries.
• Tochman, G., fl. 1865.
• United States--History--Civil War, 1861-1865--Participation, Foreign.
• United States--History--Civil War, 1861-1865--Personal narratives, Confederate.
• Virginia--History--Civil War, 1861-1865.
• West Virginia--History--Civil War, 1861-1865.

J. Kelly Bennette (fl. 1861-1864) of Wythe County, Va., served with the medical corps, 8th Virginia Cavalry, Confederate States of America.

The collection contains a diary, 30 May-4 September 1864, of Bennette, describing movements through the Valley of Virginia and into Maryland and Pennsylvania, mentioning a number of skirmishes and the burning of Chambersburg, Pa., 30 July 1864. The entries also describe the countryside through which the troops passed, the acquaintances made, and daily camp life. Also included are two letters, one dated 22 September 1861, from Bennette at Camp Arbuckle, Greenbriar County, Va., to a Mrs. Graham (no location given), discussing the lack of support for the Confederate cause among the citizens of Lewisburg, Va. [now W. Va.], and a recent skirmish in the area; and another dated 18 February 1865, to Miss Margaret H. Graham (no location given), from G. Tochman, a Richmond, Va., lawyer, discussing his plan for recruiting exiled Poles and other foreign nationals into Confederate military service and the political finagling that resulted in its demise.