Encountering Rebel Marauders And Drunk Officers In Arkansas

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

A good war-date Union soldier's 3pp. 4to., letter written in ink by Pvt. George J. Wilcox, Co. K, 37th Illinois Vols., Van Buren, Ark., Jan. 3, 1863 to his cousin describing a flood in their camp and of a bloody encounter with rebel marauders in Arkansas, reading, in part: "…our company is guarding a saw mill…they are sawing lumber to make some ferries to cross the…river with for they will have to take the pontoon bridge up when we leave…when we were camped on [the] Black River we got drowned out by the flood. We had to leave the tents about four in the morning. The water rose some 14 feet. There was some eight or ten inches…in our tent…there was some eight feet of water between us and the high land. There happened to be a little spot that the water did not cover so we kept out of the water…there were some of the boys out on guard. They had to climb trees to keep out of the water…some more were in an old house. They had some two feet of water…they went without anything to eat for twenty four hours. They got them with the pontoon. There is some rebels around here last Sunday. They attacked our forage train. They took some seven teams and the wagons. They were six mule teams and sixteen men…wounded…they left two of there men where they fought the bravest. One was a captain. The other a private. They took off their wounded. The captain was shot by a wounded boy [while] he was riding by him…he picked up his gin and shot him through…if you knew how the officers act and how little they cared for the lives of the men…drinking and carousing half of the time from the lieutenant up to the general…all they care for is the money…they don't care one straw for the benefit of the country…this has been a war of speculation and money…just look at the time that we were down the river. Just see the way they used the men and they were only trying to get a little cotton to sell and pocket the money…". Included is the original transmittal envelope. Wilcox's phonetic spelling has been corrected to aid in reading. Light soiling, else very good.

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