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Sunday, November 20, 2016

List of Petit Jurors Drawn for the November Term of the Russell Circuit Court, 1875

Found in Chancery Court case 1875-28 is a list of jurors for the Circuit Court of Russell County in 1875. The case itself revolves around pre-War debts owed by Cummings G. Fletcher, a Civil War veteran. What I find interesting about this list is 14 of the 16 men are Civil War veterans (all but Jones and Gilmer.) For the entire county perhaps 1/3 of the men served in the War. By 1875 the number of adult men who served as a percentage of all adult men was probably quite a bit lower.

1. Samuel D. Williams
2. William P. Cooper
3. William H. Collins
4. J. M. Smith
5. Lilbern M. Wilson
6. B. F. Virmillion
7. Lorenzo D. Fletcher
8. John T. Howard

1. J. M. Price
2. Solomon Jones
3. Robert Cross
4. Nathaniel Dickenson
5. Randolph Fields
6. Silas Castle
7. John T. Candler
8. A. H. Gilmer

The majority of the debts owed by Fletcher were written before the War to other men who would serve. For example, this note to Alfred Slaughter:


Fletcher enlisted in the 37th Virginia Infantry on May 2nd, 1861 and was killed in action at the Battle of McDowell, Highland County, Virginia on May 8th, 1862.

Sunday, November 6, 2016

The World War II Letters of Billy J. Campbell, Letter 5

May 20, 1945

Pvt. Billy J. Campbell 33666491
Co. I. 1st PLT. A. P. O. 21057
Postmaster San Francisco California

Mrs. W. B. Campbell
Lebanon, Va

Somewhere at Sea
May 20, 1945

Dear Mom,

How is everybody feeling there? Fine I hope. After a very mild case of seasickness I am feeling fine. I didn't get as sick as some of the boys. Some of the fellows hung over the rail for awhile, but most of them are feeling O. K. now. It just took awhile for them to get used to being tossed around.

The sun is really shining on this old Pacific to-day. We sure do like to see pretty weather so we can come on deck and look. We don't have much to do except sleep and eat. I volunteered for detail yesterday. I thought we were supposed to work a little ever day but we aren't working to day. We just work with a Navy crew doing odd jobs, mostly cleaning up. As long as we have something to do to pass the time away, it isn't so bad. We will get so lazy just lying around we won't be worth anything. A little guard and KP is all we will have to to and as long as I stay on the job I have now, I won't ever get that. I guess detail is about the same in the Army as the Navy. Yesterday I washed walls and scrubbed the deck.

Most of my buddys are still with me. At least we are going to be together for awhile longer. We have a great time lying around kidding somebody that is seasick. We shouldn't kid the boys though because it sure doesn't feel good to be seasick and can't eat. And then wehn you do eat, you don't keep it long. The bed is the only place to stay if you get sick. You don't notice the ship rocking there and then you are all right.

I guess that is about all I have to write this time. Tell Susy & Ham hello and don't worrk. Maybe I will have some mail waiting for me and then I will be O. K. I will write again when I can think of something to say.

I don't know when these will be mailed. They will probably be old by the time you get them.

Love
Bill