2005-11
This lot is closed for bidding. Bidding ended on 10/31/2005
Autograph Letter Signed, “Wm. J. McNeill” 26th North Carolina Infantry, wounded at Gettysburg 7/1/63 & killed in action at Bristoe Station, 4p. octavo, May 9, 1863, he writes: “...we aer stationed now in Virginia in Hanover Cty on the North Anna River where the Richmond and Fredericksburg Rail Road...our company is guarding the county road bridges fomr Richmond to Fredericksburg...we left Kingston the first day of May and got here Saturday night...we were looking for the Yankees every minute. Sunday morning we could hear the cannonading going on at the battlefield we are just 35 miles from Fredericksburg. The Yankees Cavalry made a raid throug hthis country thinking that Old Hooker would whip us out at Fredericksburg the cavalry would get in our rear but to their surprise they were beat back. They captured one of our trains loaded with the wounded on the central Rail Road and burnt it up and then made their escape. Our men took a good many of them prisoners. I saw two thousand Yankee prisoners on yesterday going to Richmond. There was 23 hundred passed to day and they say that two thousand more will pass tomorrow on to Richmond. They say that our loss was ten thousand killed, wounded, and missing. The Yankees loss is from thirty to forty thousand. They say that old Hooker has crossed the Rappahanock back. I ahve seen train load after train packed full of the wounded....I learnt that the Forty Second Regimetn stacked their arms in N.C. and I suppose it was so the reason why they did so was because thier rations was too short....I am in hopes this war will soon end...I am sorry to hear that they have lost so much by fire at home...” About VG.
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