Details - C. D. Epps papers - Biodiversity Heritage Library

C. D. Epps papers

Title

C. D. Epps papers

By

Epps, C. D. (Commodore D.), 1863

Type

Collection

Material

Archival material

Publication info

Notes

In the Southern Historical Collection, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (#5018-z).

Commodore D. Epps enlisted as a private in Company F, 6th Georgia Cavalry Regiment, on 20 June 1862. He saw action at the Battle of Perryville, Ky., 8 October 1862, and at the Battle of Chickamauga, Ga., 18-20 September 1863. Epps died on 15 December 1863 of wounds he received at Chickamauga.

The collection consists of 15 letters, 1862-1863, from C. D. Epps with the 6th Georgia Cavalry Regiment in Georgia, Kentucky, and Tennessee, chiefly to his wife, Catherine S. Epps, at the family farm, probably in Murray County, Ga. In the letters, Epps gave his wife instructions for managing the farm, chiefly what to plant and who to hire to perform tasks like making new fences; requested goods from home, like boots, clothing, and, above all, a substitute; and described camp life and battles, especially the Battle of Perryville. Some of the letters contain messages for his children, mother, and other family members. Epps wrote the last letter, dated 13 November 1863, from Polk Hospital in Rome, Ga., where he was brought for treatment of wounds suffered at Chickamauga. In this letter, Epps anticipated coming home, but he died shortly after writing it. Also included are photocopies of segments of 6th Georgia Cavalry Regiment muster rolls relating to Epps; Catherine S. Epps's 1864 claim as widow of C. D. Epps; a portion of the 1870 census showing Catherine S. Epps resident in Spring Place, Ga.; and a 1915 statement of C. D. Epps's Confederate army service from the commisioner of pensions, Atlanta, Ga.