These are the letters of James Boles McNeely. He was a 4th Sergeant in Company E, 7th Regiment Kentucky Infantry. The letters were written during the winter of 1915-1916 when he was 81 years old. Because of his age, many of the facts in the letters are incorrect, the language difficult to understand, and the dates seem to jump around a lot. They are, however, an interesting look into the mind of a veteran of the 7th Kentucky Infantry. Corrective notes have been made within the letters by the addition of [bold brackets].
These letters do contain some personal thoughts of Mr. McNeely about the war and about post-war society that are somewhat controversial. These are simply the views, ideas, and feelings of a veteran long since passed and NOT those of the 7th Kentucky, Company K reenactment organization.
Letter #1 - December 1, 1915
Letter #2 - No Date Given
Letter #3 - January 7, 1916
Letter #4 - January 10, 1916