(CIVIL WAR) Ruger Thomas Howard Letter by an acting Brigadie

Sale 2380 - Lot 83

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Estimate: $ 2,000 - $ 3,000

(CIVIL WAR.) Ruger, Thomas Howard. Letter by an acting Brigadier General near Harpers Ferry, with his map of the region. Autograph Letter Signed as "Howard" to wife [Helen] in Janesville, WI. 4 pages, 8 x 5 inches, on one folding sheet, including half-page map; minimal wear. With partial envelope in his hand, postmarked "Banks Division." Pleasant Valley, VA, 29 October 1862

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Thomas Howard Ruger (1833-1907) had at this time just been promoted from colonel of the 3rd Wisconsin Infantry to acting head of a new brigade; he was later brevetted as a major general. This letter was written a few weeks after he fought at Antietam, when he was moving his regiment to new quarters near Harpers Ferry: "Now we go across the Shenandoah again and occupy Bolivar Heights, just beyond Harpers Ferry. . . . There is something enlivening about a night march but I am glad that we do not move until morning. . . . It seems almost like leaving home to see the old Third go off without me, but I presume we will not be long separated." His detailed map of the terrain shows the Shenandoah and Potomac Rivers, Pleasant Valley, Loudoun Heights, Bolivar Heights, Harpers Ferry, and two pontoon bridges.