ron skellie
train Wreck Ponchatoula, LA
Fri Apr 6 11:43:26 2001


Virgil. Thanks for the information. Would you double check the original letter that described the train accident and see if that was not written by Benjamin Franklin Wilkinson and not John C.? I know that Benjamin F. wrote a description of the battle of Shiloh and the death of his brother Jeff in one of the last charges of the battle.

The description of him making it uninjured in the train wreck either means to me one of the following:

1. The letter writer was John C. and he later transferred to the 33rd Miss. Co. K which was not uncommon. His military records would comfirm most likely.

2. It was not John C., but actually Benjamin "Frank" Wilkinson and someone missed it in the transcription.

The original letter would confirm whether it was Frank or John and if was John, we would have to confirm his service in the 7th Miss.