First
Kentucky "Orphan" Brigade 
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Pvt. Charles J. Klem, Co. I, 2nd Kentucky Infantry
Charleen Vittitow
Charles Jacob Klem, enlisted July 1861 at Camp Boone, Tenn. at the age of 20 years old. He was a member of Company I, 2nd Ky. Mounted Infantry. The commanders were: Capt. Gus Deadman and Col. Roger Hanson.
He was a Private, later promoted to 1st Corporal.
He was held prisoner for seven months at Camp Morton, Ind. after the battle of Fort Donelson.
He was again imprisoned for three months at Camp Chase, Ohio, after being shot in the left lung at the Battle of Murfreesboro.
He was never paroled from prisons, but was released by prisoner exchange both times.
He lost his right leg in the Battle of Atlanta, July 22, 1864.
He never swore the oath of allegiance to the U.S. Government and remained South until the war ended. He was 24 years old at the end of the war when he came back to Kentucky.
The Daughters of the Confederacy awarded him The Southern Cross of Honor.
Born: Aug. 17,
1841
Died: Nov. 26, 1913
Buried in the Lawrenceburg Cemetery, Lawrenceburg, Ky.
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Information and photos courtesy Charleen Vittitow.
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Brigade Homepage
URL: https://sites.rootsweb.com/~orphanhm/klem.jpg
