2008-09
This lot is closed for bidding. Bidding ended on 8/31/2008
War-date Union soldiers Autograph Letter Signed, “J.W.K. Co. F, 57th Regt P.V. Hamiltons Division, Jamisons Brigade” 4p. octavo, pencil, Camp Winfield Scott, April 22, 1862, with nice illustrated ‘Excelsior” cover adddressed to his sister Anne Kiester, franked by Chaplain William Taggart McAdam, it reads in part: “...I will tell you some of our adventures since I wrote you the last letter. I will being at Fortress Monroe, we left on the 4th and marched 12 miles the first day we got along very well the rebels retreating as we advanced. Where we stayed the first night the rebs stayed the night before so the niggers told us. It was middling ugly the first night for us it rained on us but the soldiers was takingit as cool as if they was in a parlor...the next morning...started for Yorktown and the woods was full of tired soldiers all along the road. I felt middling tired myself but I put her through and some of them throwed their blankets and over coats away and the niggers was picking them up but they did not get mine...I carried about 60 lbs altogether...we are in sight of Yorktown and the rebels is in it. The first day they shot at us with a cannon ball but it done no harm and they have been fighting more or less every day since and one evneing their infantry came out and tried our pickets and would have chased our men in but our regt was called out to help them. There was 2 or 3 regts of rebels and we soon drove them back to their entrenchments. They killed 2 of the pickets and wounded 2 and we got 2 wounded, one in our Co. and the other in Co. E their bullets flew thick and fast among us but I escaped without a mark. We killed about 60 or 70 of them. We have been on picket guard 3 times since we came here but the divers river came out when we was on...our men is fixing for a large battle but General McClellan is bound to whip them and he is our leader too. His quarters is about 1/2 mile from ours the 103 regt is along but I have not seen them yet. ...McCelland says he can give the rebels 1000 shells in one minute and if that does not scare them at that rate I do not know what will...” VG.
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