Raynors HCA 2017-09
This lot is closed for bidding. Bidding ended on 9/7/2017
A good war-date Union surgeon's letter, 4pp. 8vo., written by Asst. Surgeon William C. Towle 12th Maine Vols., Camp Parapet, [Carrolton, La.], Dec. 31, 1863, to his wife, in part: "…Thursday morning 4 companies of our Regt., 9th Conn., 1 Co. cavalry & 1 battalion with some of the Invalid Corps were to start on an expedition across Lake Pontchartrain. Sunday was a very stormy day and the boats, steamers two in number were not in readiness. On Monday they came but one of them proved so leaky that they were obliged to send for another…yesterday…they were still waiting…it will be a wonder f the rebs don't find out their destination and be prepared for them…they are after cotton as they took quite a number of teams with them. They certainly cant expect to go far…with such a small force…the Rebs can bring forces from Mobile to most any point on the lake in less than 24 hours. Col. Kimball [William Kimball future brevet brigadier general] is in command…I am…the only Surg. at Camp Parapet…our Regt is now dispersed as follows, 4 in the expedition, 2 at Carroltonville, 1 at Proctorville, 1 at the Lake & 2 here. We have now 25 in the hospital and 10 sick in quarters. I had a dislocated shoulder…the solider fell off of the cars. Sunday night…I was called upon to a kind of midwifing. A negro woman she was attended by a Negress who professed great knowledge in the science of obstetrics but this being a hard case…she wanted [?] I went to work before her and in about a half hour she was delivered of a fine white child. She told me on inquiring that she was married to a soldier in a Wisconsin Regt. last summer. She is now at Baton Rouge. I was considerably amused at the proceedings and could hardly retain my result at times. I told you in my last something about my visit to a sugar house…this was a very large sugar mill and employed a great many hands men, women & children. It put me in mind of some pictures in our old [?] we used to study at Town school. The cane is carried from a large open shed, on the outside of the main building, on a rack similar to a thrashing machine where the horse work to the inside when it passes between two huge iron rollers& then through still another…when the sugar is effectively squeezed out. It then passes through a succession of boilers…the heat under the boilers is graduated, the first one being the greatest. The last one is heat by steam to prevent burning off the sugars which is now very think. From this it is transferred to the vats whack look like very large watering troughs and here it remains till it cools…then you have New Orleans sugar…the old planter invited us to his house and as it was dinner time invited us to stay. He is a widower, has one daughter who I should think about 40. She occupies the head of the tableland helped us to soup, meat etc. They had nothing to drink on the table but wine so I was forced to drink or go without…I have heard nothing about…charges against Gen. Shepley…I am inclined to think there is nothing in it. It may have been got up by some of his political enemies…W. C. Towle." The original transmittal cover is included. A bit light, but readable, else VG
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