Sep 28, 2023 - Sale 2646

Sale 2646 - Lot 106

Unsold
Estimate: $ 800 - $ 1,200
(CIVIL WAR--MARYLAND.) Ann Alden Church. Letter written days after the Baltimore Riot, with her sons already "brother against brother." Autograph Letter Signed "Aunt Church" to an unidentified niece or nephew. 3 pages, 8 1/4 x 6 1/2 inches, on 2 sheets, docketed on final blank; folds, minimal wear. With typed transcript. Baltimore, MD, 21 April 1861
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"I may have to take refuge among you, for now it seems our homes are in the midst of civil war. Would you have believed we should live to see such an awful time? Brother against brother, but so it is, and God only knows where it will end. Royal has been out on duty since yesterday morning. . . . Had leave of absence last night for half an hour and came home for something to eat . . . worn out with fatigue and excitement. . . . Alden is in Richmond under arms and writes the most exciting letters. Yesterday was an awful day, much blood was shed on all sides. One of our most esteemed citizens was shot down by one of the northern troops. To think this should be the battle ground and the first blood should be shed in our once happy & prosperous city. . . . I shall come to you, if you will give your aunt in her old age protection. . . . We shall be obliged to go by water, as the bridges, telegraph are all burned and torn down. . . . We shall pack up all valuables and clothing and leave the rest not knowing what will become of our once happy homes."

We surmise that the author was Ann Alden Church (1799-1877), whose older son by her first marriage Jonathan Alden Weston (1826-1910) lived in Richmond, and fought for the Confederacy. Her youngest son Royal Weston Church (born 1838) later served in the Union army, reaching the rank of major.

Provenance: collection of Arthur G. "Gil" Barrett.