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 November 11, 2025 Kentucky Department for Libraries and Archives Office of the Governor, Thomas E. Bramlette: Governor's Official Correspondence File, Military Correspondence, 1863-1867 KYR-0001-003-0053 BR5-90-1 to BR5-91

Mount Sterling, Montgomery County, Kentucky Thomas Elliott Bramlette (KY governor 1863-67, atty, D.A., col 3rd KY Inf) N001000 1817-01-03 1875-01-12 Categories: People

Twenty-third governor of Kentucky, attorney and soldier. Cumberland County, Kentucky, native. Married to Sallie Travis Bramlette in September 1837. Father of James T. Bramlette, William L. Bramlette, Eugene Bramlette, and Corrina Bell Bramlette. Practiced law in Clinton County, Kentucky, and Columbia, Kentucky. Represented Cumberland and Clinton counties in the House of Representatives of the Commonwealth of Kentucky from 1841 to 1843. Commonwealth's attorney of the 8th Judicial District of Kentucky from 1848 to 1850. Owned two enslaved persons in 1850. Circuit judge of the 6th Judicial District of Kentucky from 1856 to 1861. Owned nine enslaved persons in 1860. Served as colonel of the 3rd Kentucky Volunteer Infantry Regiment (U.S.A.) from 1861 to 1862. District attorney of the United States District Court for Kentucky in 1863. Governor of the Commonwealth of Kentucky from September 1, 1863, to September 3, 1867. Owned law firm of Bramlette & Van Winkle in partnership with Ephraim L. Van Winkle.

Seventh Manuscript Census of the United States (1850), Population Schedules, Kentucky, Clinton County, District No. 1, p. 181A. Seventh Manuscript Census of the United States (1850), Slave Schedules, Kentucky, Clinton County, District No. 1, p. 335 (p. 2 of 2 on microfilm). Eighth Manuscript Census of the United States (1860), Slave Schedules, Kentucky, Adair County, The Town of Columbia 1st Division, p. 13 (p. 2 of 3 on microfilm). Ninth Manuscript Census of the United States (1870), Population Schedules, Kentucky, Jefferson County, Louisville Ward 8, p. 83B. Ross A. Webb, “Thomas E. Bramlette (1863-1867)” in Lowell H. Harrison, ed., Kentucky’s Governors (Lexington: University Press of Kentucky, 2004), 93-97 Lowell H. Harrison, "Bramlette, Thomas Elliott" in The Kentucky Encyclopedia, John E. Kleber, ed. (Lexington: University Press of Kentucky, 1992), 112-13. Nathan Asbury Brown (Morgan County, Kentucky, postmaster, farmer, 2nd lieut & maj 45th KY Inf USA) N00012775 1829? 1882? Categories: People

Morgan County, Kentucky, postmaster, farmer, and soldier. Kentucky native. Married to Elizabeth Hill Brown in Morgan County, Kentucky, on October 22, 1850. Father of Sarah J. Brown, Leander C. Brown, Edy Brown, and Miranda Brown. Postmaster for Head of Paint in Morgan County, Kentucky, from January 14, 1848, to September 24, 1851. Laborer in Morgan County in 1850. Farmer in Morgan County in 1860. Served in the 45th Kentucky Volunteer Infantry Regiment (U.S.A.) as a second lieutenant and major from May 30, 1863. Dishonorably discharged from service for conduct unbecoming an officer on January 23, 1864.

Relationships Legal: William H. Burns (Morgan County, KY, judge ) Legal: Cyrus Alley (Morgan County, Kentucky, deputy county court clerk) Legal: William H. Taulbee (Morgan County, Kentucky, farmer, county? court clerk, pvt, sgt maj, 2nd lieut 5th Ky Inf CSA) Legal: Morgan County Court

Seventh Manuscript Census of the United States (1850), Population Schedules, Kentucky, Morgan County, p. 123A. Eighth Manuscript Census of the United States (1860), Population Schedules, Kentucky, Morgan County, District 1, p. 498. Ninth Manuscript Census of the United States (1870), Population Schedules, Kentucky, Johnson County, Paintsville, p. 184B. Kentucky Marriage Records, Madison County Courthouse, Richmond, Kentucky, Morgan County Marriages, Film 000839918, p. 107. Record of Appointment of Postmasters, 1832-1971, NARA Microfilm Publication, M841, Records of the Post Office Department, Record Group Number 28, Volume 14, 1842-1858, p. 690-691 (accessed via Ancestry.com). Compiled Service Records of Volunteer Union Soldiers who Served in Organizations From State of Kentucky, NARA RG 94, Microfilm Series M397, Roll 435. "Maj. Nathan Asbury Brown (1828-1882)," Find A Grave, Memorial 39222458, accessed June 7, 2020, http://www.findagrave.com/memorial/39222458. John Mason Brown (Frankfort, Ky, attorney & major 10th KY Cav USA, asst inspector genl, colonel of 45th Mtd Inf USA) N00000924 1837-04-26 1890-01-29 Categories: People

Frankfort, Kentucky, attorney and soldier. Frankfort native. Son of Mason Brown and Mary Yoder Brown. Attended school with Mr. Sayre in Frankfort. Graduate of Yale College, New Haven, New Haven County, Connecticut, in 1856. Admitted to the bar in 1858. Attorney in St. Louis, Missouri, and Frankfort, Kentucky. Served in the 10th Kentucky Volunteer Cavalry Regiment (U.S.A.) as a major from October 1862 to April 1863. Assistant inspector general of Kentucky with the rank of colonel from November 1863 to February 1864. Served in the 45th Kentucky Volunteer Mounted Infantry Regiment (U.S.A.) as a colonel from February 1864 to December 1864. Attorney in Frankfort in 1865.

Relationships Military: George C. Hallet (Fulton Co, KY, colonel, county atty, and city judge) Social: John Jordan Crittenden (Franklin Co, KY, Representative, Senator, & former KY Governor) Military: Daniel Weisiger Lindsey (Adjutant General & Inspector General) Military: Jesse J. Craddock (Hart County, KY, farmer and lieutenant colonel) Military: William Hercules Hays (Colonel of 10th KY Infantry, Inspector Gen'l of KY) Social: Joseph W. Cottingham (Lewis Co., captain in 23rd and 45th KY Vol. inf.) Military: Larz Anderson (Cincinnati, Hamilton County, Ohio attorney) Military: Philip Swigert (Frankfort banker, Military Board member & secretary) Military: John Jordan Crittenden (Franklin Co, KY, Representative, Senator, & former KY Governor) Social: Daniel Weisiger Lindsey (Adjutant General & Inspector General) Military: Nathan Asbury Brown (Morgan County, Kentucky, postmaster, farmer, 2nd lieut & maj 45th KY Inf USA) Military: John C. Henderson (Boyd County, Kentucky, QM sgt, 1st lieut, & maj 14th KY Inf USA) Political: John Boyle (Edgar County, Illinois, attorney, soldier, and Adjutant General.) Military: 45th Kentucky Volunteer Mounted Infantry Regiment (U.S.A.) Political: Thomas McCurdy Vincent (US Assistant adjutant general, Brigadier General (U.S.A.) ) Military: 45th Kentucky Volunteer Infantry Regiment (U.S.A.) Military: Lewis M. Clark (Kenton County, Ky, painter, 2nd lieut 16th KY Inf, capt 10th KY Cav, 45th KY Inf (all USA)) Military: United States Army Political: Joshua Barnes (Bath Co., KY, State Rep. & doctor)

H. Levin, The Lawyers and Lawmakers of Kentucky (Chicago: The Lewis Publishing Company, 1897), 209. Obituary Records of Graduates of Yale University, (http://mssa.library.yale.edu/obituaryrecord/18591924/1889-90.pdf, 584-585) (accessed on February 16, 2017). “Died in His Prime: Col. John Mason Brown’s Illness Terminated By Death Yesterday,” Courier-Journal (Louisville, Ky.), January 30, 1890. "Col James Mason Brown (1837-1890)," Find A Grave, Memorial 73732532, accessed February 16, 2017, http://www.findagrave.com/memorial/73732532. John L. Zeigler (Wayne County, West Virginia, farmer and soldier) N00009709 1813? Categories: People

Wayne County, West Virginia, farmer and soldier. Franklin County, Pennsylvania, native. Married to Susan Hampton Zeigler. Father of Hiram C. Zeigler, William A. Zeigler, Elizabeth M. Zeigler, John H. Zeigler, Helen M. Zeigler, Joseph P. Zeigler, Caroline E. Zeigler, and Amanda H. Zeigler. Farmer in Wayne County, Virginia, in 1850. Farmer in Wayne County, Virginia, in 1860. Served in the 5th West Virginia Volunteer Infantry Regiment (U.S.A.) as colonel from September 14, 1861 to April 14, 1863.

Relationships Military: 5th West Virginia Volunteer Infantry (U.S.A.) Military: 45th Kentucky Volunteer Mounted Infantry Regiment (U.S.A.)

Seventh Manuscript Census of the United States (1850), Population Schedules, Virginia, Wayne County, District 66, p. 232B. Eighth Manuscript Census of the United States (1860), Population Schedules, Virginia, Wayne County, p. 748. Ninth Manuscript Census of the United States (1870), Population Schedules, Kentucky, Boyd County, Catlettsburg, p. 101A. Compiled Service Records of Volunteer Union Soldiers who Served in Organizations From State of West Virginia, NARA RG 94, Microfilm Series M508, Roll 131. Vital Statistics Original Death Certificates – Microfilm (1911-1965), KDLA, Roll #7016168: All Counties Deaths, File #25154, p. 2059 of microfilm (accessed through Ancestry.com on August 5, 2019). Lewis M. Clark (Kenton County, Ky, painter, 2nd lieut 16th KY Inf, capt 10th KY Cav, 45th KY Inf (all USA)) N00012843 1837? 1917? Categories: People

Kenton County, Kentucky, painter and soldier. Ohio native. Married to Nancy Pearce Clark in Lewis County, Kentucky, on December 25, 1856. Painter in Kenton County in 1860. Served in the 16th Kentucky Volunteer Infantry Regiment (U.S.A.) as a second lieutenant from January 28, 1862, to August 8, 1862. Served in the 10th Kentucky Volunteer Cavalry Regiment (U.S.A.) as a captain from August 10, 1862, to June 12, 1863. Served in the 45th Kentucky Volunteer Infantry Regiment (U.S.A.) as a second lieutenant, major, and lieutenant colonel from July 10, 1863, to December 24, 1864.

Relationships Military: Nathan Asbury Brown (Morgan County, Kentucky, postmaster, farmer, 2nd lieut & maj 45th KY Inf USA) Military: 45th Kentucky Volunteer Mounted Infantry Regiment (U.S.A.) Military: John Mason Brown (Frankfort, Ky, attorney & major 10th KY Cav USA, asst inspector genl, colonel of 45th Mtd Inf USA) Military: John L. Zeigler (Wayne County, West Virginia, farmer and soldier) Military: 45th Kentucky Volunteer Infantry Regiment (U.S.A.) Military: United States Army Legal: William Peck (Bath County, Kentucky, merchant, manufacturer, auctioneer.)

Eighth Manuscript Census of the United States (1860), Population Schedules, Kentucky, Kenton County, Covington Ward 5, p. 725. Kentucky Marriage Records, Madison County Courthouse, Richmond, Kentucky, Lewis County Marriages, Film 000344052. Compiled Service Records of Volunteer Union Soldiers who Served in Organizations From State of Kentucky, NARA RG 94, Microfilm Series M397, Roll 289. Compiled Service Records of Volunteer Union Soldiers who Served in Organizations From State of Kentucky, NARA RG 94, Microfilm Series M397, Roll 100. Compiled Service Records of Volunteer Union Soldiers who Served in Organizations From State of Kentucky, NARA RG 94, Microfilm Series M397, Roll 436. "Ltc Lewis M. Clark (1837-1917)," Find A Grave, Memorial 93936730, accessed June 12, 2020, http://www.findagrave.com/memorial/93936730. Mount Sterling, Kentucky P00001936 Categories: Places

Seat of Montgomery County, Kentucky.

38.0565, -83.9433 "Mount Sterling, Kentucky," USGS: Earth Explorer, accessed August 27, 2019, https://earthexplorer.usgs.gov/. Robert M. Rennick, Kentucky Place Names (Lexington: University Press of Kentucky, 1984), 205. Kentucky P001800 Categories: Places

State in the upper south of the United States. Capital at Frankfort. Located on the Ohio River.

38.2009, -84.8733 "Frankfort, Kentucky," USGS: Earth Explorer, accessed June 14, 2019, https://earthexplorer.usgs.gov/. The Kentucky Encyclopedia, ed. John E. Kleber (Lexington: University Press of Kentucky, 1992). 45th Kentucky Volunteer Mounted Infantry Regiment (U.S.A.) O00009601 1863-10 1865-02-14 Categories: Organizations

Organized at Ashland, Kentucky. Placed on active duty in October 1863, and formally mustered into service in January 1864. Mustered out in battalions at Catlettsburg, Kentucky: Companies A-F on December 24, 1864, and Companies G, H, I, and K on February 14, 1865. Commander(s): Colonel John Mason Brown, Lieutenant Colonel Lewis M. Clark.

Relationships Military: John Mason Brown (Frankfort, Ky, attorney & major 10th KY Cav USA, asst inspector genl, colonel of 45th Mtd Inf USA) Military: Nathan Asbury Brown (Morgan County, Kentucky, postmaster, farmer, 2nd lieut & maj 45th KY Inf USA) Military: Joseph W. Cottingham (Lewis Co., captain in 23rd and 45th KY Vol. inf.) Military: Kentucky Central Railway Military: John C. Henderson (Boyd County, Kentucky, QM sgt, 1st lieut, & maj 14th KY Inf USA) Military: Lewis M. Clark (Kenton County, Ky, painter, 2nd lieut 16th KY Inf, capt 10th KY Cav, 45th KY Inf (all USA)) Military: David Woodard German (Louisville, Kentucky agent and soldier)

Report of the Adjutant General of the State of Kentucky, vol. 2, 1861-1866 (Frankfort: Kentucky Yeoman Office, 1867), 443-59. 5th West Virginia Volunteer Infantry (U.S.A.) O00008509 1861-10-18 1864-10-20 Categories: Organizations

Organized at Ceredo, Virginia. Mustered into service on October 18, 1861. Mustered out of service on October 20, 1864. Commander(s): John L. Zeigler and Abia A. Tomlinson.

Relationships Military: Thomas J. Ewing (captain in 5th West Virginia Volunteer Infantry and colonel in Kentucky Enrolled Militia) Military: James Douglas McBride (Richland County, Ohio, farmer and soldier)

Adjutant General, State of West Virginia, Annual Report for the Year Ended December 31, 1864 (Wheeling, WV: John F. M'Dermot, Public Printer, 1865), 16, 134-5. United States Adjutant General’s Office, _ Official Army Register of The Volunteer Force of The United States Army for the Years 1861, '62, '63, '64, '65_, vol. 4, (Washington, D.C.: 1865), 1127. Mount Sterling, Montgomery County, Kentucky 1864-01-08 Correspondence English Version 1 of page "4": Changes to page transcript. Version 2 of page "2": Changes to page transcript. Version 0 of page "4": Empty transcript -- probably initial upload of page facsimile. Version 2 of page "1": Changes to page transcript. Version 1 of page "2": Changes to page transcript. Version 0 of page "3": Empty transcript -- probably initial upload of page facsimile. Version 1 of page "1": Changes to page transcript. Version 0 of page "2": Empty transcript -- probably initial upload of page facsimile. Version 0 of page "1": Empty transcript -- probably initial upload of page facsimile.
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Private and Confidential. Head Quarters 45th Reg. Ky. Mtd Inf. Mt Sterling Ky Jany 8th 1864. To his Excellency T. J. Bramlette: Governor,

My motive for addressing a private communication to you, will be understood and appreciated I trust,. when understood

Actuated by a sincere desire to promote the public interest, I have succeeded after much labor and expense, in partially organising and perfecting ready for Service, the 45th Regiment Ky. vols. It is not strange therefore I should feel more than an ordinary interest and pride, in its efficiency, and future Success; and as these will depend mainly, if not wholly upon the character of the officers in command, I desire to Say a few things upon that point, and in a way which shall not in the future, complicate either my personal or official relations with them, nor expose me to the charge of acting through selfish and interested motives.

I stated to you frankly on a former occasion, my opinion as to the incompetency, and unfitness of Major Nathan Brown to fill the position he now holds -- I presume that, under the circumstances, you were left no other alternative, than to Commission him -- The justness of that opinion is fully Confirmed by the affidavit accompanying this, and to which you are respectfully refered, with a request, that for the present any action in his case be defered

I beg leave now to call you attention to the question, Who shall

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be Colonel of the 45th Reg:? I have been informed that John Mason Brown holds a commission to that office -- Looking to the good of the service, I could not have chosen a more acceptable Commander, nor one who would be more likely than he, to reflect lustre upon our arms: but does not the constitution of Kentucky require that an election shall be held for Colonel, as in the case of a Major. If this be the case, what must follow, when you are informed that Col. Zigler, formerly of the 5th Virginia Cavalry, has followed the Regiment for a long time, and was this day, by a majority of the Regiment, as I have been informed, electsed Colonel.

While I am not disposed to detract from Col. Zigler, anything he can justly claim, I must be permitted to say, that all hope of securing a well disciplined and useful Regiment, is to my mind at an end, should he be commissioned as its Commander. -- His courage is indisputable,and his bearing honorable, but he certainly lacks the capacity of a commander, in all the essential elements of success.

I have now given you briefly, my view of the affairs of this Regiment and if it shall contribute in any degree to its future usefulness, my end will be accomplished; and I must be permitted to say in conclusion, that if the election of Col. Zigler shall be ratified by a commission, I will ask that my resignation be accepted, that I may escape the consequences of a failure, which I think must ensue.

Respectfully Your obt. Servant. L. M. Clark Lt Col Comd'g 45" Regt. Ky Vols

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