Tough and Hearty, Kimball Pearsons, Civil War Cavalryman, Co. L, 10th Regiment of Cavalry, New York State Volunteers

Kimball Pearsons of the Town of Collins, Erie County, New York, was a descendant of early settlers of the Massachusetts Bay Colony and Rhode Island. Although he was a Quaker, on August 28, 1862, Kimball enlisted in the 10th Regiment of Cavalry, New York State Volunteers. He was killed in action twenty-two months later during the Battle of Trevilian Station. While in military service, he was a prodigious correspondent, writing approximately 100 letters to his sister and her family. He also maintained a daily diary and an active correspondence with friends, neighbors and relatives. Kimball's letters are quite detailed and bring one about as close to life as a cavalryman as may be possible without experiencing it firsthand. The letters also illuminate activities at home on Kimball's farm, which was being managed in his absence by his sister and her husband. There are a number of common threads through the letters: the military aspects of Kimball's life; his friendship with Joseph Matthews, and the contrast between Kimball's health and literacy and that of Joseph; Kimball's descriptions of the Virginia countryside; his concerns about the handling of his affairs and the payment of his debts back home; his affection for his nieces; and his often strained relationship with his sister and her husband. This book contains transcriptions of Kimball's diary entries and letters, with a few summaries of letters. The text is enhanced by numerous vintage and other photographs of people and places, a facsimile reprint of one of Kimball's letters, and the following appendices: a chart of paternal ancestors; a chart of maternal ancestors; genealogical data on Bartlett aunts, uncles and cousins; a transcript of an Amey Taft letter; and military records. A bibliography and an index to full-names add to the value of this work.