Camp Brownlow, April 13, 1862 Apr. 30, 1862, The Marysville Tribune (40th Ohio, Piketon, Buchanan)Letter from a Soldier in the 40th Regiment – The following letter from G. P. Robinson to his father, A. R. Robinson of Darby Township, has been handed us for publication. It will be found to contain some items of interest….

The plaintiff, John Dils, Jr., states that the defendants Henry May and David May on the ___________________ day of ___________, 1862 in the county of Pike with force and _____________________ entered the plaintiffs tan yard in the town of Pikeville and took therefrom leather of the value of $2,500.00. The plaintiff, John Dils, says that…

INTRODUCTION The Civil War had its roots in animosity, antagonism— call it what you may.  Peace officially came April 1865, but that did not mean that good will and brotherhood were part of the package.  This was especially true along the Big Sandy.  Lawsuits were the order of the day.  Legal complaints were being signed almost as soon as…

By Robert Baker Strange events sometimes occurred during the Civil War.  One involved a member of a Big Sandy Union regiment, the Thirty-ninth Kentucky.  Alfred Carter Hailey was one of several soldiers chosen to escort two Kentucky ladies to the Confederate capital, Richmond, Virginia.  One of the ladies had a well-known husband in the Rebel…

From the end of October 1861 forward, there was no civil rule in Pike County. The military occupations of Pikeville, first by Colonel John S. Williams’ Confederates, followed by General William “Bull” Nelson’s Union army, compounded by the January 1862 murder of Judge William Cecil, made every man a law unto himself. Many ministers had…

Beginning on the next page is an autobiography of JOHN DILS, JR. which was published in William Ely’s 1883 “The Big Sandy Valley”.  Photos are from my collection, not from Ely’s book. In the autobiography Dils concentrated on his family history, his early days in Pikeville, his marriage, his business associations, and his motivation for becoming…

        General William T. Sherman had given implied approval for General William Nelson to organize a force to drive Confederates under Colonel John S. Williams from eastern Kentucky.  Nelson’s force had marched south from the fairgrounds south of Maysville and met the State Road east of Mount Sterling.  They had followed that route through Hazel Green, then split…

Credit for these images goes to Civil War Historian, Marlitta Perkins. This first image on the left is a magnified view of the heading displayed in the next image. The beginning reads: “Buried in Public Graveyard in old cultivated field belonging to Mr. Hatcher…”

When Snakes Are Blind The history of Dog Days is practical­ly as old as Western civiliza­tion. The ancient Greeks plotted star positions and connected them with lines to form shapes. One of the images that emerged was that of a dog, called Canis Major, which included Sirius, the brightest star in the sky. These ancient…

Below is a headline and article by the late Henry Scalf from the February 14, 1952 Floyd County Times.  The Jackson- Blackburn Feud was largely forgotten during the years following the Civil War. PEACE OVERTURE SPURNED, OLD ENMITY BURST INTO FEUD ENDING IN CLAN LEADER’S DEATH “Dr. Robert Jackson, scion of an old pioneer Johns…