(CIVIL WAR) Ellet Alfred Washington History of the Miss Ram

Sale 2163 - Lot 75

Price Realized: $ 919

?Final Price Realized includes Buyer’s Premium added to Hammer Price

Estimate: $ 1,000 - $ 1,500

UNPUBLISHED MEMOIR BY A LEADER OF THE MISSISSIPPI RIVER SQUADRON (CIVIL WAR.) Ellet, Alfred Washington. History of the Miss. Ram Fleet. Autograph Manuscript on 35 loose leaves, 9.5 x 7.5 inches; first and last leaves slightly soiled and stained by paper clips. Washington(?), circa 1880-1895

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This memoir recounts Ellet's Civil War career from 20 June 1862 to March 1863, from when he assumed command of the United States Ram Fleet through his appointment as Brigadier General of the Mississippi Marine Brigade. The ram unit patrolled the Mississippi River, sinking numerous Confederate vessels; this account is particularly rich in describing the engagements near Vicksburg, MS in June and July of 1862. Ellet served alongside several family members in this venture, including his brother, a son, and three nephews. At one point, he discusses efforts to establish communications with the main Gulf fleet, a mission considered so dangerous that he "allowed only volunteers to engage in the hazard." One of the volunteers who stepped forward was "my own stripling son Lt. Ed C Ellet, who was but seventeen years old."