The collection is open to research.
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Researchers wishing to cite this collection should include the following information: [identification of item], [box], [folder], M. A. Bentley Letters, Ms1990-015, Special Collections and University Archives, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, Va.
The M. A. Bentley Letters were purchased by Special Collections and University Archives in two accessions: the September 2, 1863 letter was purchased in 1990; the April 2, 1863 letter was purchased in 2017.
The processing and description of the M. A. Bentley Letters commenced and was completed in August, 2022.
M. A. Bentley served in the Confederate Army during the American Civil War, possibly with a Virginia unit. No further verifiable information could be found.
This collection contains two letters from M. A. Bentley, a Confederate soldier, possibly serving with a Virginia unit, during the American Civil War. The letters, both addressed to Bentley's father, John E. Bentley, were written from hospitals in Liberty (now Bedford) and Richmond, Virginia, on April 2 and September 2, respectively. Bentley's letters focus largely on personal matters, as he describes his health, his desire for more letters from home, and his religious faith. In the April 2 letter, Bentley writes at length with a prediction for dark days for the Confederacy: "[T]he cloud that is hovering over us looks veary dark and gloomey, it is the darkest cloud that ever over shadowed the eyes of this confederacy..." Bentley foresees a number of bloody battles, concluding, "[T]he hardest fightting that ever has bin done will be done this somer. The hills of the [saucy?] south will be full of wripling streams of blood." In the September 2 letter, he writes at length of religion and of religious services in camp.
The guide to the M. A. Bentley Letters by Special Collections and University Archives, Virginia Tech, is licensed under a CC0 (https://creativecommons.org/share-your-work/public-domain/cc0/).