Three Forks of the Kentucky River Historical Association

GOVERNOR BRAMLETTE'S PETITIONS

SELECTED PETITIONS FOR PARDONS AND OTHER RELEVANT CORRESPONDENCE

Extracted from the KSLA by Sherry L Baker
Transcribed by Vonda Lynch Hester

William Landsaw Hurst’s Letter to Governor Bramlette

Head Quarters Board of Enrollment 9th Congressional District Greensburg Kentucky February 6th 1863

His Excellency ( ? ) Thomas E. Bramelette Governor of the Commonwealth of Kentucky

Dear Sir

I desire to say to you that we have just received information at this office that the military forces known as the 40th Kentucky Reg, now stationed at the Town of Grayson in Carter County, (distant about 25 miles from this place) are ordered to move immediately & station at Mount Sterling Ky., which when they are thus removed will leave this part of the Country exposed to the raids of Rebel Guerrillas & will subject our Enrolling office to be destroyed by said Guerrillas as in my judgement they already contemplate the destruction of said office, & it would cause the government much additional expense & delay if they should be permitted to destroy the office as we have the Enrollment of the Congressional District all completed except the County of Morgan

Said troops as we learn have been ordered to remove and station themselves in Mountsterling, Ky. & should they be so removed then they would be too far distant to afford us any protection nor infact could they thus situated afford any assistance to the people living in the mountain country in Eastern Kentucky I am forced to this conclusion by judging their future conduct at that station by the past nor can the military forces stationed on Big Sandy afford us Protection from the Rebel Raids because the Rebels have had one certain rout that they have kept open and travelled into this part of the state principally ever since the present Rebellion begun & that is coming through the Sounding** or pond gap at the head of the North fork of the Kentucky river and down said River through Letcher Perry Breathitt or Magoffin Counties thence into Morgan County for let them come what Route they may they always have to Pass through Morgan County to reach this part of the Country and by coming that Rout always necessarily have to pass through either Morgan or Wolf Counties to reach the Counties lower down in Kentucky, which lie east of the Kentucky River these are facts which I know to be true being well acquainted with the Country throughout Eastern Kentucky & being well acquainted with the rout by which the Rebels almost invariably enter this part of the state.

Now this is a military Post established at MountSterling Ky & has been this established as troops have been quartered there & in that vicinity nearly ever since the war began yet I have always been well satisfied that Mountsterling is the wrong point for troops to be stationed at, nor aught they to be stationed any where in that vicinity but I seems that the people have a leisure class of of influential class of men in that vicinity who can always find sparetime to procure the stationing of troops at or near MountSterling but can never find much spare time to furnish soldiers, or to devote their time to fighting for the government (as is shown by an inspection of our enrollment lists when compared with the number of solders furnished by the Counties lying above in the mountains)

I find that the eighth & ninth congressional districts of Ky have furnished more volunteers than any other part of the state and have received less Protection than any other part in fact a large section of each district have received no protection at all but the government through an erroneous disposition of the forces intended for the protection that part of the state have suffered these people to be robbed murdered and the county almost desolated by the Rebel Guerrillas East Tennessee has not suffered worse than the people of Morgan, Wolfe Breathitt and adjoining counties & those three counties or either of them are a key to the Rest of the counties in Eastern Kentucky they command the Rebel passway into the lower part of the state & at if troops were stationed at about one or two points in those counties it would give protection to all the counties below in Eastern Ky by letting the troops now stationed on Big Sandy River remain there still it has usually been made a point why troops were not stationed in said named mountain counties that the country would not subsist them but that I am sure is a mistaken d idea for it would not be exaggeration to say that almost thousands of Rebels subsisted in that part of the Country last winter & there are fine crops raised in the mountains this season & a splendid mast* sufficient as is thought to gather all those hogs in that County now. I desire to say to you that those people have furnished more volunteers for the Defense of the county or government than perhaps any other part of the state & have been time and time again promised protection but that promise has not as yet been fulfilled & unless they get protection soon many of them who were once in good circumstances as to property will have to become a charge on the state or other wise starve from being Robbed by the Rebels & it does to me seem quite hard for men who are now far away from their homes (in that part of the country) & in the army fighting the Battles of the Government, that their innocent wives sisters and children at home should be forgotten & neglected & left to be tormented & it made to starve by the Rebels Dear Governor I have the utmost confidence that if it in your power you will grant all the protection herein pointed out, you promised the mountain people protection when you were canvassing the state for governor & they have the utmost confidence in your integrity but our former governors who were in office since the Rebellion began have so far as there action is concerned been seemingly unmindful of the interests of the mountain people. In conclusion permit me to say to you that I was introduced to you when you made a speech at Mountsterling in July this year. Yours with high respect.

Wm L Hurst Commissioner of the Board of Enrollment 9th Cong Dist Ky

This is Captain William Landsaw Hurst who after the Civil War became a Circuit Court Judge as well. He was born in Breathitt County and he is buried in the Lexington Cemetery, Lexington KY

* Mast: The fruit of beech, oak, chestnut and other forest trees, especially as food for pigs and wild animals. (merriam-webster.com)
** Sounding Gap: Daniel Boone referred to Pound Gap as "Sounding Gap" (Wikipedia)