The May Farm Historical

The May Farm Historical (HM1U2U)

Location: Prestonsburg, KY 41653 Floyd County
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Country: United States of America
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N 37° 41', W 82° 46.702'

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Inscription

Staging Area for Humphrey Marshall's Confederates

The 400-acre May Farm, with its steam-powered grist mill, was used as a recruiting post and staging area by the region's leading secessionists.

In September 1861, Jack May, Hiram Hawkins, Ezekial Clay, James M. Thomas, Benjamin Desha, and other Kentucky secessionists marched their militia companies to this location and organized the 5th Kentucky Infantry, C.S.A. Hawkins' Bath County volunteers were the first men to pitch their tents at the farm, and Jack May's Morgan County volunteers arrived the next day. William James May, the owner of the farm, was Jack's cousin, and the farm itself was Jack's birthplace and boyhood home.

The 5th Kentucky subsequently joined Marshall's command and saw action during the Battle of Middle Creek, which occurred on January 10, 1862.

On October 2, 1861, the Confederates camped at this location sent the following letter to President Jefferson Davis in Richmond:

His Excellency Jefferson Davis,
President of the Confederate States of America
Sir:

Our Legislature has betrayed us. We have marched to this point on account of its strategic importance with 1,000 men. Hundreds are gathering around our standard daily. We can have 5,000 men here in two weeks. We would most respectfully petition Your Excellency to send us immediately some experienced
military man to command us, and place us upon a footing to make ourselves available in furthering the cause of civil freedom, in which we have enlisted, and to which we pledge our lives and our sacred honor.

Ben Desha, Captain of Light Infantry Company (armed).
E.F. Clay, Captain of Cavalry Company (armed).
James M. Thomas, Captain Mounted Rifles.
T.R. Worsham, Infantry (unarmed).
H.C. Swango, Infantry (unarmed).
J. May, Captain Morgan Guards, Infantry (unarmed).
Jesse Meek, Infantry (unarmed).
G.W. Connor, Captain, Infantry (unarmed).
G.M. Ewing, Captain, Infantry (unarmed).
John W. Sparks, Captain, Infantry (unarmed).
John Shawhan.
Details
HM NumberHM1U2U
Tags
Marker ConditionNo reports yet
Date Added Thursday, September 1st, 2016 at 9:01pm PDT -07:00
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Locationbig map
UTM (WGS84 Datum)17S E 343188 N 4172169
Decimal Degrees37.68333333, -82.77836667
Degrees and Decimal MinutesN 37° 41', W 82° 46.702'
Degrees, Minutes and Seconds37° 41' 0" N, 82° 46' 42.12" W
Driving DirectionsGoogle Maps
Area Code(s)606
Which side of the road?Marker is on the right when traveling East
Closest Postal AddressAt or near Porter Ln, Prestonsburg KY 41653, US
Alternative Maps Google Maps, MapQuest, Bing Maps, Yahoo Maps, MSR Maps, OpenCycleMap, MyTopo Maps, OpenStreetMap

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