More Juicy Gossip! General Hugh Judson Kilpatrick's Mulatto Mistress "Nellie"

Belle Montgomery

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Excerpts from the journal of Ella Gertrude Clanton Thomas (1848-1889)

Tuesday January 3, 1865:



Kilpatrick's  mistress Nellie (3).jpg
Kilpatrick's mistress 2 (3).jpg

Gen. Sherman was supposedly no better: I posted this too:
 
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Excerpts from the journal of Ella Gertrude Clanton Thomas (1848-1889)

Tuesday January 3, 1865:



View attachment 335421View attachment 335422
Gen. Sherman was supposedly no better: I posted this too:
Ummm... I wonder how many mulatto children were running about on Mrs. Thomas' plantation? I hope this rant made her feel better.
 
If I remember correctly Mrs. Kilpatrick died in November of 1863 and the General did not remarry until after the civil war when he was in Chili.

John
 
No intention of defending Kill Cavalry. He was as ' iew ' as anyone in history when it came to not keeping his hands to himself. But once again Ella's default is venom directed at other woman. Wish we'd knock that off. I was born 100 years later and things haven't evolved much.

From what I've read of Clanton Thomas, some pages were torn from her diary and there are references that lead later readers to think that she was angry over her husband's infidelities and relationships with women of color. What finally got through to me about this passage is that Nellie is likely a prostitute, so I went and read about Kilpatrick in Wikipedia (forgive me, but I'm reading about Civil War widows, don't have time for in-depth research on generals) and it says that his camps were known to be "frequented by prostitutes."

In this case, I think Clanton Thomas is expressing the shock of well-off women that a general brought a prostitute into the home of another woman. As I've stated elsewhere, I'm no great fan of Southern aristocratic females, but can understand the outrage over this particular incident.

Was it likely that Thomas's husband frequented prostitutes and she knew about this and was pretty irritated about it? Yeah, I'd guess so.
 
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From what I've read of Clanton Thomas, some pages were torn from her diary and there are references that lead later readers to think that she was angry over her husband's infidelities and relationships with women of color. What finally got through to me about this passage is that Nellie is likely a prostitute, so I went and read about Kilpatrick in Wikipedia (forgive me, but I'm reading about Civil War don't have time for in-depth research on generals) and it says that his camps were known to be "frequented by prostitutes."

In this case, I think Clanton Thomas is expressing the shock of well-off women that a general brought a prostitute into the home of another woman. As I've stated elsewhere, I'm no great fan of Southern aristocratic females, but can understand the outrage over this particular incident.

Was it likely that Thomas's husband frequented prostitutes and she knew about this and was pretty irritated about it? Yeah, I'd guess so.
Thank you! That is precisely WHY I posted both her journal entries regarding infidelity accusations. We talk often of fashion, food, etiquette etc. on this site but it's really unusual to read about their actual inner feelings pertaining to such a taboo subject , especially gossip regarding other women. Her emotions just pour out all over on those pages. I can just imagine what the torn out pages said!
 
From what I've read of Clanton Thomas, some pages were torn from her diary and there are references that lead later readers to think that she was angry over her husband's infidelities and relationships with women of color. What finally got through to me about this passage is that Nellie is likely a prostitute, so I went and read about Kilpatrick in Wikipedia (forgive me, but I'm reading about Civil War don't have time for in-depth research on generals) and it says that his camps were known to be "frequented by prostitutes."

In this case, I think Clanton Thomas is expressing the shock of well-off women that a general brought a prostitute into the home of another woman. As I've stated elsewhere, I'm no great fan of Southern aristocratic females, but can understand the outrage over this particular incident.

Was it likely that Thomas's husband frequented prostitutes and she knew about this and was pretty irritated about it? Yeah, I'd guess so.


SO interesting, thank you! Yes, the trouble with interpreting History is without background, we can't and without the willingness to get it then hear it, the whole thing becomes open to whatever perspective someone brings to it 150 years later.

Said this before @18thVirginia . You're responsible for me genuinely looking at women's stories through the war ( still noticably working on it ), individually and as groups. Had the easy way before that, the usual blinding filters based 150 years later. You're a teacher.
 
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