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CONFDERATE

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CONFDERATE
CONFDERATE ARCHIVE, 9TH KENTUCKY CAVALRY. John M. Porter Papers, 1862-1865. 32 ALsS, pocket diary (1864). The son of a Presbyterian minister from Kentucky, John M. Porter was commissioned as 2nd Lieutenant in Co. E of the 9th Kentucky Cavalry Confederate, serving in the western theatre. His service in the field was curtailed, however, when he was taken as a prisoner of war in Nelson County, Ky., on June 17, 1862, and sent to the massive prisoner of war camp at Johnson's Island, Ohio, where he remained bottled up until February 1865. Writing to his father, Porter described the fate of his regiment succinctly: "H. Dulany is with the remnants of our company, I presume, under Lieut. Ed Hines -- We left them at Woodbury, Tenn. About 1st June. They were all well then -- the rest of the boys you know had a short but brilliant career." Porter's letters to his father display a high degree of education, a fine writing style, and more than a hint of conspiracy. On the surface, they provide dispassionate details of life behind bars, written in a restrained and carefully measured language, probably (as he writes) for fear of censorship. To his cousin at home, for example, he described the prison: "But the Island has no doubt some attractions for the lovers of the beautiful in nature -- yet to a Rebel it is in no wise calculated to produce pleasing emotions. In after years it may be a gratification to visit it, but not again during this strife." A letter (possibly a copy) from Porter's Captain, T. Henry Hines, adds a little detail: "Every comfort & luxury -- except liberty -- can be purchased here with sufficient amount of money," and the Porters appear to have had sufficient. But adding a touch of intrigue, Hines (also an officer of the 9th Cavalry) was one of the conspirators involved in attempting to generate a pro-Confederate uprising in the Midwest, and was in on assisting John Hunt Morgan's daring escape from prison in 1863. The sense of conspiracy deepens in one of Porter's letters. One of the most extraordinary items in the collection is an example of a secret letter written by Porter in May 1864 to his father, apparently in invisible ink (with his father tracing over in pencil). "This is the first I have tried but hope you will discover and respond the same way. You can use citric acid and always on the back of your letters -- Leave one page when you write this way. If you discover this certify by saying you are 'glad to hear from me' and write the words in quotation marks. I think all is right for the south. If we are successful the war is all most over if you write this way tell how you are all being treated... We are doing as indicated in March. Make a light impression on the paper as it will not be detected...." Confirmation that the letter was, indeed, written in invisible ink is found in his diary for May 13, but precisely what the two were writing back and forth remains to be discovered. The letters are accompanied by a pocket diary for 1864, with entries that are somewhat less restrained than the letters. Writing daily for the first five months of the year, Porter records small incidents in camp life -- the death of a comrade, the comings and goings of guards, prisoners, and soldiers, with abundant catty comments on the guards, local civilians, and Yankees in general, with interesting indications that he was able to keep in relatively good contact with prisoners from his regiment held in Delaware, Virginia, and elsewhere. Typical of his entries: "The papers rant about the cruelties heaped on the prisoners at Richmond, but say nought in regard to the manner in which we are treated by the Yanks." *** "Provision today is spoiled and can not be eaten. The generous Yankees always feed us well, they say, yet here is truth to be hurled in their teeth. Do our men at Richmond give Yankees spoiled provisions?" [well, yes]. *** On Washington's birthday: "The Yankees are celebrating the day in divers ways. Firing salutes to having a heavy time generally. Laying waste Washington's State, yet pretending to honor his name. This is sacrilege." *** After Fort Pillow: "Ft. Pillow has fallen -- Garrison put to the sword - Negroes murdered." An outstanding, unusually literate Confederate POW correspondence with potential for fascinating future research. Fine condition, with expected wear to the diary. PLEASE NOTE: THIS LOT WILL BE SOLD ON EBAY LIVE AUCTIONS BETWEEN 5:00-6:00pm EASTERN DAYLIGHT TIME ON MAY 10, 2002. REGISTER NOW TO BID LIVE ONLINE THE DAY OF THE SALE! (EST 3000-5000)
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