History of Corporal Fess Whitaker
By: Whitaker, Fess, b. 1880
Contributors: University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Documenting the American South (Project); University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Library
Edition: Electronic ed.
Publisher: Academic Affairs Library, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Published: 1998
Place of publication: Chapel Hill, N.C.]
Language: eng
Subjects: History; Social life and customs; Appalachians (People); Biography; Spanish-American War, 1898; Personal narratives; Military leadership; Soldiers; Railroads; Employees
Other titles: History of Corporal Fess Whitaker :; Corporal Fess Whitaker
Description: After his father's death, Fess's mother was left to raise 6 boys and 2 girls. At sixteen, Fess became head of the family but was unable to find work in Letcher County, Kentucky. He became a hobo, until he found a job in a mine at Stonega, Va, which allowed him to send money home to his mother to educate the younger children. In February 1898, he enlisted in the Spanish American War as a member of Company L, 4th Kentucky Volunteers and served with them until discharged in 1899 (p. 36-40). After a brief trip home, Fess reenlisted for 2 years and was sent to Cuba to serve 18 months with Colonel Teddy Roosevelt's brigade. He was discharged but when Teddy Roosevelt was raising the standing army from twenty-five thousand to sixty-five thousand, Fess enlisted for another 3 years. His final discharge came in August 1904 (p. 40-45). Fess returned home, married, but soon felt restless and ended up in Texas with one of his brothers working for the L&N Railroad Company as a fireman. Later, Fess returned home to Kentucky and was elected Jailer of Letcher Co., Kentucky.  His book was published towards the end of World War I and includes a section on Woodrow Wilson (p. 128-152) to show that Kentucky was loyal to the United States and always would be.
Notes: Title from TEI header.

On original cover: History of Corporal Fess Whitaker: life in the Kentucky mountains, Mexico and Texas, 18 years a miner, 9 years railroading, 6 years a soldier, 5 years a politician.

The electronic edition is a part of the UNC-CH digitization project, Documenting the American South, or, The Southern Experience in 19th-century America.

Text scanned (OCR) by Ericka Patillo. Images scanned by Ji-Hae Yoon and Jennifer Stowe. Text encoded by Kathleen Feeney and Natalia Smith.

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Transcribed from: History of Corporal Fess Whitaker. Louisville, Ky. : The Standard printing co., c1918. 152 p. : ill., ports. ; 24 cm.

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