Captain Joe Desha

He raised the first company in Kentucky for the Confederacy that was raised in the "neutral" state. They went by the L. and N. railroad to Nashville, from there to Virginia and became part of the First Kentucky Regiment.

In an engagement at Dranesville, Virginia, he was severely wounded in the shoulder, his left arm crushed below the elbow, rendering it almost useless the rest of his life; but the most remarkable of his many wounds was one in the head at Murfeesboro by a cannon ball , which left him apparently dead.

While being carried from the field as dead he sat upright on the litter and said: "What does this mean, boys? What's the matter? " Some of his men about him cried with joy, and said: " Captain, we thought you were dead"

He stood up and felt himself, and said: "I am all right I believe" and went back to the line.

Afterwards, while in Richmond and passing the residence of President Davis, the President and his private secretary, Col. William Preston Johnson, saw the officer, and the latter mentioned that it was Captain Desha, of Kentucky, when the President said: "Call him back; I want to see him " He was introduced to President Davis, who said: "Captain, I wanted to see the only man ever struck in the head with a cannon ball and not killed"

The President asked him about the effects of it and Desha replied: "I believe about the only bad effects I sustained by it was the loss of a fine pistol dropped from my belt when the boys were carrying me off the field"

Mr Davis excused himself for a few minutes, and returned with a new pistol in his hand making it a gift to replace the lost weapon.