Marlitta H. Perkins and Milton Perkins, 14th KY

My research on the Civil War/ War Between the States began roughly four years ago when I decided to write a book about the 14th KY Infantry Regiment, a unit that boosted numerous men of my family as members. My grandfather Henry Clay Perkins and his brother Milton Perkins, both young lads 17 years of age when they enlisted, served as my inspiration.

What had begun as a simple plan for a book since then evolved into a multi-faceted project larger than life, mainly because of the sudden interest it generated...the 14th KY Heritage Society, a 14th KY reenactment unit, plans for a monument in honor of the 14th KY at Kennesaw Mountain Battlefield Park in Georgia, a brandnew living history/reenactment event at Louisa, KY...just to name a few examples.

None of this would have been possible without the many wonderful people that I have met during the course of the years...descendants, fellow researchers, SCV and SUVCW members, reenactors, etc., many of whom I am proud to call my friends. I have been given the opportunity to ask questions and receive answers so that I could learn about this great and tragic conflict that affected so many lives in adverse ways.
People have opened their homes and hearts to me and my ideas and lend their support in so many countless ways that I will never be able to repay the favor. You all have my heartfelt gratitude...I'm in debt 'til eternity. :-)

One word of caution....despite the fact that I am "true blue" and present the history of a Union regiment don't look for finger pointing on this website.... I consider myself a historian, not a judge of any kind. I strive to find and present the whole truth, not just a small part of it that may suit my needs. That is my mission!
I feel balance is a "must", without it we will never truly understand the events our ancestors were part of...thus my addition of a "Mountain Warfare" page to this website....to present a more complete picture of the character of warfare that took place in Eastern Kentucky, the main theater of operation for the 14th Ky Infantry Regiment.

I harbor no ill feelings toward those with Confederate ancestry and I wholeheartedly support the SCV and their goals to preserve their heritage just as much as I strongly support the SUVCW in their endeavors. There is no room for hate or prejudice of any kind here, I do not promote or support it in any way, shape or form nor am I looking to perpetuate a war that has ended 133 years ago. If that is what you are looking for you might as well be on your way and go someplace else!

~ My heritage is that of mutual respect - my legacy that of honor. ~

Marlitta H. Perkins, December 1998

During my studies I have found materials that influenced me significantly and serve as strong guide posts to me. You will find some of them below, an ecclectic mix of pictures and texts...they embody the spirit that I strive to uphold in my actions and my work.

Surrender at Appomattox

"Honor Saluting Honor"

Generals Gordon (CSA) and Chamberlain (US)

"As the armies were enemies no longer, there was no need of martial array that night, nor fear of surprise, nor call to arms... Hostile devisement gave place to mutual helpfulness, and the victors shared their rations with the famished vanquished.
In that supreme moment these men knew and respected each other."

William Swinton, correspondent of the New York Times, and chief historian of the Army of the Potomac.

Forrest's Farewell Speech to his Troops

(excerpt)

"Civil war, such as you have just passed through naturally engenders feelings of animosity, hatred, and revenge. It is our duty to divest ourselves of all such feelings, and as far as it is in our power to do so, to cultivate friendly feelings towards those with whom we have so long contended, and heretofore so widely, but honestly, differed. Neighborhood feuds, personal animosities, and private differences should be blotted out; and, when you return home, a manly, straightforward course of conduct will secure the respect of your enemies.

Whatever your responsibilities may be to Government, to society, or to individuals meet them like men. The attempt made to establish a separate and independent Confederation has failed, but the consciousness of having done your duty faithfully, and to the end, will, in some measure, repay for the hardships you have undergone.

In bidding you farewell, rest assured that you carry with you my best wishes for your future welfare and happiness. Without, in any way, referring to the merits of the Cause in which we have been engaged, your courage and determination, as exhibited on many hard-fought fields, has elicited the respect and admiration of friend and foe. And I now cheerfully and gratefully acknowledge my indebtedness to the officers and men of my command whose zeal, fidelity and unflinching bravery have been the great source of my past success in arms.

"I have never, on the field of battle, sent you where I was unwilling to go myself, nor would I now advise you to a course which I felt myself unwilling to pursue. You have been good soldiers, you can be good citizens. Obey the laws, preserve your honor, and the Government to which you have surrendered can afford to be, and will be, magnanimous."

N.B. Forrest, Lieut.-General
Headquarters, Forrest's Cavalry Corps
Gainesville, Alabama
May 9, 1865

...and we come at last to the afternoon of July 3, and the great reenactment of Pickett's charge, with thousands on thousands of spectators gathered all about, Union veterans on Cemetery Ridge, Southern veterans on Seminary Ridge to the west. Out of the woods came the Southerners, just as before - well, in some ways just as before. They came out more slowly this time..."We could see, not rifles and bayonets, but canes and crutches. We soon could distinguish the more agile ones aiding those less able to maintain their places in the ranks."

Nearer they came, until finally they raised their frightening falsetto scream. "As the Rebel yell broke out after half a century of silence, a moan., a gigantic sigh, a gasp of unbelief, rose from the onlookers." So "Pickett's men" came on, getting close at last, throwing that defiant yell up at the stone wall and the clump of trees and the ghosts of the past.

"It was then that the Yankees, unable to restrain themselves longer, burst from behind the stone wall, and flung themselves upon their former enemies. The emotion of the moment was so contagious that there was scarcely a dry eye in the huge throng. Now they fell upon each other - not in mortal combat, but re-united in brotherly love and affection."

The Civil War was over.

"...The War Between The States is now a matter of history and is more than 130 years in our past. It was an era of tragedy and of glory that brought unity to our nation and eventually, while enduring the pains of Reconstruction, laid the groundwork for posperity and new life for thousands of our citizens. The War gave a particular sense of place and purpose to the Southern portion of our nation.

At the end of the war, the veterans of the war of 1861-1865 took the lead in bringing peace and reconciliation among all sections of the country. They left a pattern for us, an example for their descendants in the Stars and Bars and the SCV to follow and that was the example of the Blue and Gray reunions with hands across the wall at the high-water mark at Gettysburg.

We can do no better than follow them in making this new century one of peace and good will with our counterparts in the Sons of Union Veterans and the Military Order of the Loyal Legion.

Now, so many years after the events which we commemorate, many of us count among our ancestors men and women who served loyally the cause in which they so passionately believed, be it of the South or of the North. We, literally, embody their future which lives in us as upholders of the causes for which they strove. Who among us does not take pride in, and care about, our ancestors who took part on either side of the War Between the States.

It is not our place to re-fight a war which was decided in 1865 and brought to a conclusion at Appomattox Court House. As General Robert E. Lee said to a woman who made a bitter remark about the outcome of the war, "Madam, dont bring up your sons to detest the United States Government. Recollect that we form one country now. Abandon all these local animosities and make your sons Americans..."

"Confederate Veteran" (Volume 3 - 1996), Father Robert G. Carroon, Chaplain General MOS&B

~ My heartfelt thanks to Capt. Champ Ferguson (aka Terry E. Holmes), of
"Ferguson's KY and TN Mountain CAV, CSA", for this contribution. ~

On one of the great battlefields the body of a young Confederate soldier was found that could not be identified. However the search through his pockets yielded a scribbling which has been handed down as "The Prayer of the Unknown Confederate Soldier". It reads....

I asked God for strength, that I might achieve,
I was made weak, that I might obey.
I asked for health, that I might do greater things,
I was given infirmity that I might do better things.
I asked for riches, that I might be happy,
I was given poverty, that I might be wise.
I asked for power, that I might have the praise of men,
I was given weakness, that I might feel the need of God.
I asked for all things that I might enjoy life,
I was given life that I might enjoy all things.
I got nothing I asked for -
but everything I hoped for.
Almost despite myself, my unspoken prayers were answered.
I am, among all men, most richly blessed.

Courtesy of SCV - Camp # 1507 The Camp Douglas Memorial Camp

Giving Thanks

Some of the people that I have met deserve special mention here...

Bart Johnson...my webmaster "extraordinaire"...computer wizard...49th IND historian...die-hard "Yankee"...(g)...and humble friend...
Thank you for all the countless hours spent working with me, despite being the busy webmaster for the 49th IND, 11th IND and Daviess County INDGenWeb websites; for making the 14th KY website one of the most wonderful ones out there on the www, for giving me "wings" (teaching me html) to take my work even further...and for your unlimited patience...I could have never done it without you...(VVBG)

Howard Swarts...my friend in the Kentucky Mountains...and a "brother" in a band of brothers....
Thank you for your sage wisdom and eloquence that shines so brightly upon us all who know you...and for being a true friend

Champ (aka Terry E. Holmes)...my Mountain Cherokee Warrior friend...and die-hard "Rebel"...(g)...
Thank you for all the love, support and faith you have shown for all my undertakings, inspiring my belief again in a life full of endless possibilities.. :-)

John Wells...historian and genealogist "extraordinaire"...
Thank you for being such an inspiration to all of us.

Jimmie and Lisa Epling...two of the kindest people I am proud to call my friends...
Thank you for all the friendship and hospitality you have shown me since that day that Lisa "just had to take me home to her house"...(smile)...for sharing my enthusiasm for Eastern Kentucky WBTS history and reenacting...and for "letting me sleep with the cat"...hahahaha...:-)

Robert Baker and Pamela L. Norman...my "true blue" friends in Eastern Kentucky...:-)
Thank you for opening your home and hearts ...and for all the insight, help and support I've received from you in the relative short time that I have known you two...I am glad we've met...:-)

Famous Last Words

"When the people...want to do something I can't find anything
in the Constitution expressingly forbidding them to do I say,
wether I like it or not, Goddammit, let 'em do it!"

~ Oliver Wendell Holmes ~

My Home ~ The Eastern Kentucky Mountains

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34th Texas Cavalry

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