Joseph Orville Shelby was born to a rich planter family in Lexington, Kentucky, on December 12, 1830. One of his childhood friends was John Hunt Morgan, who would grow up to be another famous Confederate cavalry raider. Shelby enjoyed the privileges of wealth and education, but unlike many young men of his social station, he never joined the army or even the local militia. In fact, he had no military experience whatsoever until he heard his first shot fired in anger. In 1849 he moved to the Missouri River town of Lexington to work at his stepfather's hemp factory. Before being banned for its recreational uses, hemp was an important cash crop in both Kentucky and Missouri - the fiber could be turned into rope, cloth, medicine, paper, and many other products. It was also closely linked to the cotton industry, which required huge amounts of cordage to tie up cotton bales. Both industries involved hard manual labor and relied on large numbers of slaves.
Download from (depositfiles.com) or (filesonic.com)
