Jesse Albert Shipman (b. ca. 1843) of Henderson County, North Carolina was eighteen when he joined the “Buncomb Rangers,” which became Co. G, 1st North Carolina Cavalry. He was wounded at Martinsburg, West Virginia on July 19, 1863 and died three days later. Several of J. A. Shipman’s letters were written for him by his cousin, James Knox Polk Shipman (b. ca. 1845), who served as a sergeant in Co. G, 1st North Carolina Cavalry. Polk Shipman was captured in September 1863 and died at Point Lookout prison camp in October 1864.