| Summary: | John Pelham, a native of Anniston, Alabama, attended the U.S. Military Academy at West Point until the start of the Civil War. He served as an artillerist for General J. E. B. Stuart's cavalry at the battles of First Bull Run, Second Bull Run, Antietam, and Fredericksburg, but he died from injuries sustained at the Battle of Kelly's Ford in March 1863. Most of the letters in this collection were written by Pelham to his family while in school at West Point. In them, he discusses his education and training; social life, religion, and mutual acquaintances; and (just before and after the onset of the Civil War) his prospects for graduation, views on secession, and plans for military service. Also included are letters from family friends written during the war and after Pelham's death.
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