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John W. Keller
Sgt.
16th Infantry U.S.A.
"I am going to the war, that is certain, perhaps never to return. If I die let me die in defense of my country..."Sgt. John W. Keller, 10 May 1847, on board Remittance
On board the ship Remittance, now in the port of New Orleans and bound for Point Isabella, Texas, this day at 2 o'clock May 10th, 1847
Dear Father,
I expect it will surprise you no little when you receive this letter and find that I am now in the U. States Army and am determined to fight for my country. I have been in the Army ever since the 12th of April which is very near 1 month and ought to have written to you long since, you must excuse my negligence, for I have been so busy about other matters, that I could not possibly get time. I enlisted for during the war with Mexico, let it be long or short.
I belong to the 16th Infantry under Col. P.W. Tibbets, late member of Congress and to the Company of Captain T.T. Garrard and Lieuts Garrett and Smith, all Kentuckians. Our company is 108 strong and all fine looking men, Our sergeants are Garrard, Todd Collins & White. Our Corpls. are Singleton, John W. Keller, your son, McCoy, and Jackson.
I have but a very few moments to write. But when we arrive at Point Isabella, I will write you a more satisfactory letter and give you a full description of the Country. I expect to see a Devil of a time crossing the gulf, but cannot help it. I am going to the war, that is certain, perhaps never to return. If I die let me die in defense of my country.
No more at present, my love to all.
John W. Keller
To: Fredrk Keller
Farewell
Sir: I have had the pleasure of becoming acquainted with your son some two years ago and had good fortune to get appointment in the army and your son enlisted to go out to this war with me. Sir, I can say to you that there is no man in our company that is more beliked by the men and officers than your son. He has the office of second corpl. in the Company and would of had an office of higher note but the officers was nearly made when he joined the Company.
No more at present but I remain, yours truly,
B.H. Garrett 2d Lieut. Inf. U.S. Army
(page 2)letter from John W. Keller, dated May 10th 1847
We are not bound for Point Isabella but for Brazos St. Diego, from whence we take our line of march to that delightful and healthy spot, the city of "Monterey The above lines that our Lieut. penned are satisfactory to me. He requested me to let him write a few lines to you and I had no objections and he accordingly wrote the above. You may write to me immediately after you receive this and direct it to Monterey, Mexico.
Yours very affectionately,
John W. Keller
Farewell
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Submitter Roland Keller
These are a series of letters written by John W. Keller to his father, Frederick Keller of Lititz, Pennsylvania and to his brother Hiram. At this point, John had "joined the US army" to fight in the War with Mexico. He served in a Company of "Kentuckians", all of whom I believe would trace to the n.e. regions of that state. Also see three subsequent letters written by John W. Keller detailing his experiences in Mexico during the war Lorine's note: Read more about the US-Mexican War
Read the Keller letters: 10 May 1847 | 15 June 1847 | 17 Feb 1848 | 20 March 1847
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