Sep 28, 2023 - Sale 2646

Sale 2646 - Lot 95

Price Realized: $ 750
?Final Price Realized includes Buyer’s Premium added to Hammer Price
Estimate: $ 600 - $ 900
(CIVIL WAR--CONFEDERATE.) A soldier describes the Battle of Marion: "Many a poor deluded Negroe met unwillingly his death." Autograph Letter Signed "J.D.H." to his sister. 2 pages, 9 3/4 x 7 3/4 inches, on one sheet; folds, minor foxing and wear. Abingdon, VA, 2 February 1865
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Additional Details

The author's sister was apparently living in the north; her letters were delivered to him by flag of truce and were much delayed. He begins with a complaint: "It pained me to the very heart to learn you are so situated as to have your own house work to do, another cause to the long list of grievances I have against the hated and hateful Yankee nation. I am willing to make any sacrifice, even my life, in avenging the wrongs they have inflicted on me & mine alone. I have risked it very often, and glory in the knowledge that I have been the cause of some of them suffering agony, even that of death." All for the right to force someone else to do his sister's laundry.

He discusses the Battle of Marion in western Virginia: "I had the honor to be one of the comparatively small band that met Stoneman at Marion, Va., on Dec 18 & 19. We numbered 1000; the enemy not less than 5000. We fought them for 36 hours, and repulsed every attack with heavy slaughter. It was my first fight with Negroes. The Yankees crowed them on to us, and many a poor deluded Negroe met unwillingly his death there on the banks of the Holston. . . . I was struck on the right arm, but the wound was not severe enough to cause me to leave the field. Stoneman's Raid was a disastrous one to his command, let him boast as much as he will." The 5th and 6th United States Colored Cavalry did indeed suffer heavy losses in the battle, but it is generally regarded as a Union victory resulting in a Confederate retreat.

He concludes by noting "There are many rumors of peace. I do not rely upon them, and do not believe our government will abate one jot or tittle of the demands they have uniformly made: unconditional recognition."

The author's identity is unknown, but he was likely an officer. Given the small number of Confederate regiments in the field at Marion, J.D.H. should not be impossible to identify.