Collections : [University of Michigan William L. Clements Library]

This collection is made up of 4 letters that Samuel P. McKenny sent to his girlfriend, Eliza Beasly, while serving with the Confederate Army during the Civil War.

This collection is made up of 4 letters that Samuel P. McKenny sent to his girlfriend, Eliza Beasly, while serving with the Confederate Army in Virginia from June 1, 1861-March 24, 1862. He thanked her for writing to him and expressed his desire to reunite with her. He also discussed the possibility of marriage and the reasons why he hesitated to marry before he joined the army. McKenny occasionally commented on aspects of his service and the war, such as his intention to apply for a clerkship under General [Daniel] Ruggles, Fredericksburg residents' fears of the Union Army, and his hope that the Confederate Army would "whip the Devils." In a letter dated June 1861, McKenny described and reflected on the accidental death of William H. Pendleton, who was shot during a drilling exercise.