Raynors HCA 2017-02
This lot is closed for bidding. Bidding ended on 2/23/2017
A good early war-date Union minuteman's letter, 3pp. 4to., written by Sergeant James A. Bailey, Co. E, 5th Mass. (3 Months) Vols., Washington, May 13, [1861], to his family, in part: "…the officers formally quartered with us & had a portion of the room parted off by a gun rack for their own use & had mattresses to sleep on. They now live outside and the place is left in charge of the Sergeant. We 4 now sleep on the mattresses…there is an alarm of fire going on in the street now & we can see the light from our windows. They say it is a bridge across the Potomac river. Some troops are going to Harpers Ferry tomorrow…it is generally thought that there will be no fighting here. We are two many guns for the Southerners. There are between 30 & 40,000 troops here. We have had a hard march & drill this afternoon…we were on our pins &…was double quick…such a rough piece of ground you never saw. A long field with ditches and holes & puddles of water, steep banks & etc. with an old brick yard at one end. It looked some like a battlefield so many fell down in jumping the ditches & banks…some gave out not being able to stand it, but I went through it without a fall…Jim…a soldier in marching order carries…his arms are a gun weighing 10 lbs & the Sergeants carry a sword & revolver, a cartridge box & 24 rounds of cartridges & caps…a haversack with tin plate, knife & fork & dipper…we have an overcoat which we either wear or roll up & strap on top of our knapsacks…his house & furniture are all on his back. It does not seem very heavy at first but after marching a few miles he find he has got just as much as he can stagger under. The Ladies of Medford have sent us blue flannel shirts & socks & pocket handkerchiefs…J. A. B…". VG
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