HIS SUBMISSION TO THE CONTEST
Jesse Pendergrast was #118 of nearly 300 participants in the first contest, held from 1865 – 1866. As with all of the contestants, there is a folder in Bourne’s archive with his name and # on it, containing all of the correspondence submitted as part of his participation, and of course, his actual 14-page entry which he titled “Sketches of Army Life”.
As part of collecting the entries, Bourne made notes about each participant, including their name, regiment, and specifics that lead to their amputation(s). Here is the one for Pendergrast:
Pendergrast wrote three letters written to Bourne prior to submitting his entry. This one is undated, but was most probably written in October 1865, a few months after his release from the hospital (accompanied with translation):
North Truro Oct. 9th
Mr Bourne: I have been using the pen a little since the first of May. I have only two fingers and part of the thumb on the left hand. I only wrote that sheet to show how well I could write. I never expect to be a good pen man under the circumstances which I labor.
Yours &c. J.S. Pendergrast
Pendergrast also had to submit a standardized form, which all contestants were required to complete and have attested by a witness:
Below is the first page of Pendergrast’s entry, which totals 14 pages. It is a detailed account of his wartime experiences, from his enlistment through his discharge following the severe injuries incurred at Bermuda Hundred on June 17, 1864. It is not hard to imagine the extraordinary effort it took to write using only a fraction of the fingers on his non-dominant hand.
This is the portion of his story in which he mentions the circumstances which resulted in his amputations:
The entire “Sketch” can be read by clicking on the button below. Thanks to the LOC’s digitization project, we can see with our own eyes his remarkable accomplishment.
In some cases, Bourne re-wrote the entries that were submitted for purposes of clarity, to make it easier for the judges to read. He did so with Pendergrast’s entry, and this can be read by clicking on the button below.