23 November 1861

Bowen, John Stevens, 1829-1863

Autograph letter signed

Title: to E. D. Blake

Col. Bowen urges Capt. Blake, acting assistant adjutant general under Confederate general Leonidas Polk, to urge Polk's attention to "the condition of my Quartermaster Dept." Notes that Polk owes money to him and "nearly every farmer around us…I say nothing about the men who are also in need of their pay…." Bowen, then commander of Camp Beauregard at Columbus, Kentucky, rose to the rank of major general before his death from dysentery in 1863. Polk's decision to occupy Columbus in the fall of 1861 was a blunder that led to Union control of Kentucky.

GLC05813