Raynors HCA 2017-12
This lot is closed for bidding. Bidding ended on 12/7/2017
A great war-date Union soldier's letter, 4pp. 8vo., written by Corp. Robert A. Hubbel, Co. K, 14th New York State Vols.,"Camp near Falmouth, Va., Mar. 18, 1863," reading, in part: "…yesterday was Saint Patrick's day…the 9th Mass. being one wholly composed of Irish…kept it by having a jolly time horse racing, sack roaching, leaping and climbing a greased pole, catching a greased pig and general turn about in the officers of the Regt. A colonel was selected from a private and all the field and staff and line officers were made for the day from privates…quite amusing was it too [to] see what airs some of them pretended to put on. They had several of the regular officers in the guard house among whom was the colonel himself…it was fun to see with what coolness they took it. They would keep them in for 5 or 10 minutes and then let them out upon promise of good behavior. The colonel [Patrick R. Guiney] they court martialed…fined him a canteen of whisky…was paid and he let go…the fun was to have a mixture of sorrow for at the last race of horses two coming in opposite directions ran head on into one another. Both horse dropped dead and the riders, one a doctor of the 32d Mass. and the other quartermaster of the 9th [Lt. Thomas Mooney] were thrown about 6 feet in the air and one killed instantly [Mooney died of his wounds on March 29th]…[the] other carried senseless from the ground…it damped the rest of the proceedings…but still they were carried on. Firing was heard yesterday on our right…the cause was that about 10,000 cavalry made…a reconnoissance over the Rappahannock and the Rebs having got wind of it laid an ambush…quite a sever engagement ensued resulting in the driving of our men back across Kelly's Ford…I saw 2 cavalrymen who…had wounds in the arm and hand. They did not stop long enough to hear what the result [was] as to killed and wounded. I suppose they done as they always did just fire and then run. Our cavalry is the poorest arm of the service. They are not worth powder to shoot them…R. A. Hubbel." Light soiling, else VG
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