Captain John H Crutchfield

[Barrycdog]

Corinth, Miss May 22/64
Mrs. L.M. Crutchfield
Dear Wife & Family. It is with pleasure that I have an opportunity to inform you that I am well at this time & hope when this comes to hand it will find you all well. I have nothing new to write. The boys are all well, there is some sickness in camp. One poor fellow died this morning after an illness of 12 hours. The water where our brigade is camped is tolerably good. I send you two news papers with this letter, you can get all ...the news from them. I expect we will leave here in a few days. Our destination I can only conjecture. Reports say our next field of operation is Middle Tenn, others reports say we will go to Memphis. All I know is that Gen Forrest will not be idle long. We have been in camp here 6 days. I have traveled over some of the old encampment. There is nothing to be seen but destruction. All the old encampment is covered with clover, timothy & blue grass. Our horses are faring fine. I have had news from old carol we hear that guerillas are stealing all our horses that is left for the citizens to make a support. We know the names of those Pretended Southerners who are stealing & pillaging in that county. Their time will come ere long. I think we will get back before long & woe unto some of those thieves. I hope to get home soon should I not get home by harvest I hope that I have friends enough there to help save my grain, but do the best you can. There is some prospects of a speedy peace. I think if you see any chance write to me.
I will close, yours respectfully,
Direct yours to Bell's Brigade, Reynolds Regt, Co. F
J. Crutchfield
P.S. I also send you a song ballad
The above letter was written by 1st Lt. John A. Crutchfield of the 20th Tennessee Cavalry. It is an unusual letter as few exist that were written from a Confederate pen in the months following the lengthy Union occupation. John's mention of the condition of the encampment indicates he was in Corinth prior to the Union occupation but it is unknown what regiment he was serving in at the time as the 20th Cavalry was not organized until January, 1864.
John wrote several letters to his wife Lucinda who waited for him on the family farm in Carroll County with their two children. The couple were never reunited however, as John was killed in action at Athens, Alabama on September 24, 1864. At the time of his death he had a bay horse valued at $700, a blanket, bridle, saddle, one navy pistol, and $181 in Confederate currency.
The "song ballad" he included in the letter to Lucinda was the hand-written lyrics to the popular son "When This Cruel War is Over."
The letter and photo come via the Tennessee Virtual Archives

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[Allie]

According to his combined record, he would have been with the 15th at the time the letter was written, which was where a lot of the men who would end up in the 20th were serving before the reorganization. He appears on a a muster roll with them in 1863.

His name is different on this, but it's definitely the correct man, as his death date and the inventory of his effects are given later in the same record.



I've read that some commanders forbade the singing of "When this Cruel War is Over," because they felt it was bad for morale. I think more likely they just got tired of it - it's easy to get stuck in your head!

 

[DixieRifles]

Good info.

Direct yours to Bell's Brigade, Reynolds Regt, Co. F
J. Crutchfield

There is a website that contains a lot of info on the 20 Tennessee Cavalry. It is pretty good but has a lot of formatting problems.

The commander of Company F was Captain. J. Cardwell Wilson. The website for the 20 Tenn Cavalry states Captain Wilson was shot through the lungs at the Battle of Ft. Pillow "while charging at the head of his company. He was carried by his men on stretchers eighteen miles to Dr. Brodie's, where he died after lingering several days" on April 16, 1864. Two of his men ("Hard" Wilson and Smith Randle) were detailed to wait with him.