His military record remains under the name of Jerry Skillman, which his wife and child never used, going by his true surname, Burns.∼Born a slave, at the time of his enlistment in the Union Army Jerry was owned by C. C. Skillman of Bourbon County, Kentucky and enlisted under his master's name as Jerry Skillman. It's also a bit confusing as he could not have enlisted without his owner's permission, and it's known that in 1862 C. C. Skillman was a citizen member of Confederate Gen. John Hunt Morgan's band of guerilla raiders and was captured by Union troops in August of that year and held as a prisoner of war.
Jerry enrolled in the Union Army at Lexington, Kentucky on 24 Jun 1864 and on that day was mustered in as a private in Company C of the 114th Regiment of U.S. Colored Troops. Within weeks he fell ill and was sent to the field hospital at Camp Nelson at Nicholasville, Kentucky where he died of "camp fever."
His widow America (nee Murphy) filed for benefits on his military pension on 19 Apr 1869 for herself and their only child, Jerry Isaac Burns, who would later adopt his mother's maiden name and become famous as Isaac Murphy, winning three of the eleven Kentucky Derbies he rode in, and becoming the first jockey to win three Derbies (1884, 1890, 1891), and the first to win back-to-back Derbies (1890 and 1891).
Information taken from military service record, Surgeon General's report and Adjutant General's report of Pvt. Jerry Skillman (nee Burns), 114th U.S. Colored Volunteer Infantry regiment; his widow's subsequent application for death benefits and dependent benefits with supporting witness statements.
Learn more about Camp Nelson National Monument by visiting its website at the National Parks Service:
www.nps.gov/cane/index.htm
Jerry enrolled in the Union Army at Lexington, Kentucky on 24 Jun 1864 and on that day was mustered in as a private in Company C of the 114th Regiment of U.S. Colored Troops. Within weeks he fell ill and was sent to the field hospital at Camp Nelson at Nicholasville, Kentucky where he died of "camp fever."
His widow America (nee Murphy) filed for benefits on his military pension on 19 Apr 1869 for herself and their only child, Jerry Isaac Burns, who would later adopt his mother's maiden name and become famous as Isaac Murphy, winning three of the eleven Kentucky Derbies he rode in, and becoming the first jockey to win three Derbies (1884, 1890, 1891), and the first to win back-to-back Derbies (1890 and 1891).
Information taken from military service record, Surgeon General's report and Adjutant General's report of Pvt. Jerry Skillman (nee Burns), 114th U.S. Colored Volunteer Infantry regiment; his widow's subsequent application for death benefits and dependent benefits with supporting witness statements.
Learn more about Camp Nelson National Monument by visiting its website at the National Parks Service:
www.nps.gov/cane/index.htm
His military record remains under the name of Jerry Skillman, which his wife and child never used, going by his true surname, Burns.∼Born a slave, at the time of his enlistment in the Union Army Jerry was owned by C. C. Skillman of Bourbon County, Kentucky and enlisted under his master's name as Jerry Skillman. It's also a bit confusing as he could not have enlisted without his owner's permission, and it's known that in 1862 C. C. Skillman was a citizen member of Confederate Gen. John Hunt Morgan's band of guerilla raiders and was captured by Union troops in August of that year and held as a prisoner of war.
Jerry enrolled in the Union Army at Lexington, Kentucky on 24 Jun 1864 and on that day was mustered in as a private in Company C of the 114th Regiment of U.S. Colored Troops. Within weeks he fell ill and was sent to the field hospital at Camp Nelson at Nicholasville, Kentucky where he died of "camp fever."
His widow America (nee Murphy) filed for benefits on his military pension on 19 Apr 1869 for herself and their only child, Jerry Isaac Burns, who would later adopt his mother's maiden name and become famous as Isaac Murphy, winning three of the eleven Kentucky Derbies he rode in, and becoming the first jockey to win three Derbies (1884, 1890, 1891), and the first to win back-to-back Derbies (1890 and 1891).
Information taken from military service record, Surgeon General's report and Adjutant General's report of Pvt. Jerry Skillman (nee Burns), 114th U.S. Colored Volunteer Infantry regiment; his widow's subsequent application for death benefits and dependent benefits with supporting witness statements.
Learn more about Camp Nelson National Monument by visiting its website at the National Parks Service:
www.nps.gov/cane/index.htm
Jerry enrolled in the Union Army at Lexington, Kentucky on 24 Jun 1864 and on that day was mustered in as a private in Company C of the 114th Regiment of U.S. Colored Troops. Within weeks he fell ill and was sent to the field hospital at Camp Nelson at Nicholasville, Kentucky where he died of "camp fever."
His widow America (nee Murphy) filed for benefits on his military pension on 19 Apr 1869 for herself and their only child, Jerry Isaac Burns, who would later adopt his mother's maiden name and become famous as Isaac Murphy, winning three of the eleven Kentucky Derbies he rode in, and becoming the first jockey to win three Derbies (1884, 1890, 1891), and the first to win back-to-back Derbies (1890 and 1891).
Information taken from military service record, Surgeon General's report and Adjutant General's report of Pvt. Jerry Skillman (nee Burns), 114th U.S. Colored Volunteer Infantry regiment; his widow's subsequent application for death benefits and dependent benefits with supporting witness statements.
Learn more about Camp Nelson National Monument by visiting its website at the National Parks Service:
www.nps.gov/cane/index.htm
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