Manuscript poem, 5 April 1887, “Lines in reply to - I am dying! Surely dying! By James W. Tradewell” is signed “By his friend, J[ohn] K[ennerly], Sandy Run, S[outh] C[arolina].”

Kennerly (b.1837) composed these verses in response to the poem “I am dying! Surely dying!,” which had been published by James William Tradewell (1845-1875) in Columbia, S.C., newspapers. An accompanying editorial note indicates that Kennerly and Tradewell were first cousins and both Confederate veterans.