Fighting As Mounted Infantry At Florence Alabama

This lot is closed for bidding. Bidding ended on 10/31/2005

A 2pp. 4to. letter written in ink by 2nd Lieut. Martin V. Miller [Pulaski Tenn., Dec 10, 1863], to his sister concerning a brush with the enemy at Florence on Dec. 1, 1863, reading, in part: "...we had just been back to Corinth having been out thirteen days and…we were ordered to Columbia Tenn. from where we returned yesterday and are to start again tomorrow morning at six o'clock with four days rations; as my horse is worn out I shall not go with the Regt tomorrow…since we left Corinth, nearly two months ago, we have been riding almost every day…we find the Country flowing with milk and honey the latter is particular as almost every farmer has more or less bee stands all full of honey and the boys at night generally lay in a supply for the next day. The Country is also full of small squads of Rebels who generally scatter and run at our approach and then there is a trial of horse flesh; the Rebs scatter in every direction and we scatter after them; in every direction can be heard the clatter of horses feet running over the stony ground, with the shouts of the pursuers & pursued and the sharp crack of revolvers as some of our boys get close enough to try one on the wing which generally brings him to a halt and cry for quarter; they do not fight here as they did in west Tenn. We recently ran into a Brigade of four full Regt of Cavalry at a cross roads near Florence. They had about two thirds of them the cross road when our advance came onto them and after a slight skirmish we cut their column in two and charged and drove them both ways. If they had stood and fought they could have taken every man of us as they had us entirely cut off and the only way we could save ourselves was to cut our way through them which we could not have done if they had stood their ground like men…". Martin's regiment was mounted on June 18, 1863 and served throughout the remainder of the war as mounted infantry. Irregular margins with some toning, else very good.

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