This letter was written by Charles F. Bentley who enlisted on 5 August 1861 in Co. E, 41st Illinois Infantry. When he reenlisted as a veteran later in the war, he was transferred to Co. A. Charles was born in Utica, New York, but at the time of his enlistment he was residing in Decatur, Macon county, Illinois. He was single, employed as a farmer, and described as standing 5 and half feet tall with gray eyes and dark hair.

Charles’ letter describes the march towards Columbus, Kentucky, under the command of Brig. Gen. Charles Ferguson Smith. Grant’s orders to Smith were to advance his troops to within a few miles of Columbus and to await further orders while Grant attacked the Confederate base across the river at Belmont which took place on 7 November 1861. Though Charles clearly believed that Gen. Smith had been negligent of his duty, he was not and later proved quite useful to Grant in his campaign in Tennessee the following Spring.

Charles wrote the letter to his cousin, John Ryant Bentley (1842-1899) of Albion, Calhoun county, Michigan.

Transcription

Paducah, Kentucky
November 10, 1861

Dear Cousin,

I think it is about time to answer your letter that I received last night. I am very well at present and hope that these few lines will find you the same. I got back last night after taking a good march. We was marching on Columbus but did not get there in time fort the fight. Our side done very well. They whipped them out but the rebels got reinforced before we got there and whipped our men. If we had got there we could have held the place but our side got four cannon and spiked two of them and threw them in the river and kept two of them.

Our General [Charles Ferguson] Smith is going to be court martialed for not doing his duty. He had the dispatch inn his pocket for us to march twenty-four hours before he started us out and now he will suffer the consequences of it. If we had been there one day sooner, we would have held the place but I think that we will have another tramp before long now.

Dear cousin, I hope that we may see each other some time. I may get killed and I may not but I can’t tell nor anybody else. write soon. — Charles F. Bentley

Paducah, Kentucky, Col. [Isaac C.] Pugh’s [41st Illinois Infantry] Regiment