John Knox enlisted in the 76th Pennsylvania Keystone Zouaves, Co. F, as a musician on October 28, 1861. He assisted in the reduction of Fort Pulaski and the attack on Fort Johnson. The 76th was conspicuous in the Pocotaligo Expedition, losing 75 men. In July, they, along with four companies of the 7th Connecticut, made a gallant assault on Fort Wagner, losing 187 men. Two days later they made a second attempt, losing an additional 17. It was here that Knox was captured by the Confederates. Knox was exchanged in time to join the regiment in their futile assault on Lee's entrenchments at Cold Harbor. It was here that Knox was killed on July 1, 1864. Civil War-dated ALS in pencil, signed “J. M. Knox,” four pages on two adjoining sheets, 5 x 8, U. S. Christian Commission letterhead, December 30, [1863]. Handwritten letter to Mr. M. Bell, describing the excruciating conditions at Belle Isle Prison. In part: "I am out of the hands of the Rebs at last. I thought the time would never come—5 mos and 27 days of—starvation, exposure of all kinds was pretty hard to stand. Death did not seem half so certain on the battlefield to me as it did while on Bell Island. For months we had nothing to sleep on but the cold, damp ground; the tents were all worn out and when it would rain, it was as wet inside as out. So as long as it rained, the wet clothes won on us. Sometimes we would get 2 small pieces of wood for 20 men. We received 2 meals per day, but happened very often only once. There was 25 small loves and 17 lobs. meat, bones, brisket and all carried to 100 men in the evening. Got the same amount of bread and 6 buckets of soup, or slop I should call it, made of dirty, muddy water and wormy rice or beans. When the bread would run out, sometimes we would get our bit of meat and 3 small raw sweet potatoes. Very often nothing but the meat. I always felt 10 times more hungry after I would eat it than before… I was so completely starved out that many a day I had to lie in the tent all day just on account of being too weak to move around. I would get dizzy and blind whenever I would get up. It did not go quite so hard after the cold weather set in. Before I left there was about 7,000 men all camped on about an acre of ground and the whole place polluted with lice so thick we could not sleep. It was impossible to keep clean. We left Bell Island on the 27th; 502 of us arrived here yesterday morning. As soon as we landed, we throwed away the old clothes and fitted out in the new from head to foot and put into comfortable quarters. It is first good nights sleep I have had for months!" In fine condition.
