2024-01 Raynors Americana Auction
This lot is closed for bidding. Bidding ended on 1/20/2024
A nice grouping of Twenty-Five War Dated Letters, most with original covers, written by Charles W. Dill who served in two different regiments. He first enlisted in Co. I, 24th Maine Infantry-a 9-month's organization, serving from September 1862 to June 1863. He then served in Co. C, 31st Maine Infantry from February 1864 to July 1865. Charles' letters are relatively mundane until he joins his regiment before Petersburg in July 1864. We will excerpt many of the letters: (Camp near Alexandria April 25, 1864), "We expect to go on a march soon but I don't know where. I should like it pretty well if we had any kind of place to sleep. Warring J. Hooker was over to see us last night and he is fat as a pig. ... I was detailed as pioneer and that is for building roads and bridges for army wagons." ... (Fairfax St Hospital, May 27th 1864), "The doctor wants me to stay here and help take care of the wounded but I guess I shall go to the regiment as soon as I get a little smarter. ... We had a lot more wounded come in last night-45 of them-some pretty hard cases. two of them died last night. The doctor took a pint of maggots out of one man's leg where it was cut off. He died last night. (Dill encloses a printed poem "AT OUR POST".) ... (undated, no place), "Don't let anyone see this letter, I will write a better one. But I was pretty drunk yesterday and my hand trembles." ... (USA Gen. Hospital, [Philadelphia] June 4, 1864), "I got a pass and went to the city yesterday. I help around the hospital now and can get a pass when I want. There are about one thousand wounded soldiers here now." ... (USA Gen. Hospital, June 23, 1864), "There are about three hundred more come in today ..." He encloses another copy of "AT OUR POST". ... (Camp Distribution, Va., June 26th, 1864), "I left David Page in the hospital at Chestnut Hill. ... I am going to my regiment ... there are about two thousand soldiers here .. three hundred deserters ..." Near Petersburg, July 2, 1864), "I got to my regiment all right. We are on duty now in rifle pits. You can see the devil's heads. We had one boy wounded today. The shots came buzzing over our heads. There is no danger if we keep in behind the works. There is only about a hundred and sixty in the whole regiment. Part is dead and wounded and sick. ...I think we will have hot work the Fourth. Grant will do the thing this time, but he has lost a good many men. But you had ought to see the Rebel works that the boys has taken. It looks as if they could not take them. ... Our captain and Lieutenant Tibbets is dead. They was both good men....." (On picket near Petersburg, Va. July 24, 1864). "Everything is lovely here-for war. We fire at them and they fire back. They shoot two or three [soldiers] every day. I suppose we kill some of them. I hope we do. But we can't see them-only when they show their heads and fire through sand bags. They have the same chance at us but think we make some of them sick. They throw shells but they don't do much hurt. We can shell them much as they can us....We are building some forts and getting ready to give them some. The Rebs opened at us and we opened at them and it sounded like snapping ginger cakes...." (Camp of the 31st Maine Volunteers, Near Petersburg, Va., August 8, 1864), "We have not been in any more fights since we blowed them up. They tried to blow up one of our forts at the right but they did not dig further nor enough. I was very near it but we had all the guns manned, out and in order in it when they blowed. They blowed up the ground. They charged out of their pits. They thought they had the Yankees. Then the guns that they thought they blowed up in the air was throwing grape shot onto them. They had to go back. I think that was played well on the Greybacks. ...Our sergeant was hit with a ball yesterday. It just cut blood at the top of his head. Tis Billy Ware from Augusta. He is some relation to George Ware. ..." (August 18th 1864), "Father, you must excuse me for not writing to you. I will write a few lines this time. Father, we have good times now. We have moved about a mile down to the right. We don't have any firing now. One of the men fired at a Johnny Reb and they tied a rail on his back and made him lug it all day. That is the way the Johnnies do to their men when they fire at us. It seems like home to talk with them. Their pickets and ours can't be more than 3 rods apart. ..."(August 27, 1864), "We lay near the railroad that went through Petersburg. Our boys tried to take the other one. If we can get it, we can cut off their supplies and starve them out ... our boys tried to take and was driven back. The Rebs charged two times at them. ..." .. (4th day of September 1864). " We have not been in any fights since we blowed up the fort. ... Tell Bill Taylor that if he is coming back to come soon for I want to see him. Tell him that if he will come, I will learn him how to fight. ... Tell him that we played a trick on the Johnnies that the Devil never thought to play on anybody. We blowed them higher than the Northern Lights and then we charged on them but they drove us back about as soon as we got in. They threw rotten in by the peck. That was the place where the Johnnies gives us "Root Hog or Die." ... (October 4, 1864), "I was sorry to hear Father is so low. I don't think he'll live long. I expected to hear that his was dead before. ... Mother we had another fight but it is all over. I know we had one killed in our company. There was 6 or 8 killed in the regiment There was only one hundred in the regiment before the fight...."
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