Most excellent picture. Can you describe where the picture came from? How you know who it is?

John Pace Alldredge enlisted 7 Apr 1862 at Warrenton, Marshall County, Alabama at the age of 37; died 19 Aug 1862 at Richmond, Virginia.

Letter written by John's brother Van Buren Alldredge dated Richmond, Virginia 21 Aug 1862:

My dear Sister and family: I now take my pen in hand to tell you the distressed news, that our loved one has gone to another world. He died on the 19th of the month at half past 4 o’clock in the morning. He had been on the mend, I thought, two weeks, but on the 11th he took a relapse and from what cause God only knows. On the 12th he was out of his head, though not all of the time. Just a few minutes at a time. His stomach became deranged and we could not get any medicine to stay on his stomach. He got weaker every day. On Friday last, which was the 15th, I saw he was in his right mind and as I believed he could not recover, I said, Brother how do you feel? He looked at me and saw I was in distress and I said, about religious matters is what I told him. Yes, well, he said, I feel perfectly clear, though I have used some very bad language, I feel clear. Then he turned his head and said no more. Thank God, that was the greatest news to me I ever heard—he just got weaker every day until God saw fit to call him off, and thanks be to God, he went as easy as any person I ever saw in my life. John Lipscomb was with me and I make arrangements for him to go tell Father and Jess to see if one of them could come and help me to bring him home, but he could not get off on the call and about no time that I heard that there was no chance for him to go I received a letter from brother Jess bringing me the doleful news that Father was wounded in the thigh but not bad, very slightly, Jess says. Then I knew there was no chance to fetch him and I had it published and had his funeral preached by an old Baptist preacher at 4 o’clock the next evening, which was last evening.

My dear, it is through troubles and distress I try to tell you the sorrowful news. I had him put away decently. I had several of our Company to go with me to the graveyard where I was compelled to leave him and bid faire well for this world. Trusting and praying to God that through His mercy, I will be able to meet him in a land of peace and happiness where there is no more trouble or war but peace and happiness forever and ever is the prayer of your loving brother.

Now may God enable you to bear the loneliness and sorrowful news. Polley, write to me when you can. I will write to you when I feel I can for I can’t write now. Faire well for the present and perhaps forever. Van Alldredge, To Polley and the Children. P.S. Thank God my health is good.