Nov 18, 2008 - Sale 2163

Sale 2163 - Lot 95

Price Realized: $ 5,040
?Final Price Realized includes Buyer’s Premium added to Hammer Price
Estimate: $ 700 - $ 1,000
"THE REBS ADVANCED ON THE CHAMBERSBURG ROAD AND WE WENT OUT TO MEET THEM" (CIVIL WAR--NEW YORK.) Archive of 53 letters to and from Pvt. Efner McNall, 6th New York Cavalry. Various sizes and conditions, most accompanied by original envelopes. Several are written on patriotic letterhead or enclosed in patriotic covers. Vp, 1858-1863
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a first-hand account of the battle of gettysburg and much more. Thomas Efner McNall (1841-1863), generally known as Efner or "Eff," came from a farming family in Franklinville, NY south of Buffalo. He enlisted in the 6th New York Cavalry in October 1861, and was promoted to sergeant in November 1862.
Among McNall's 9 letters home to his family, most noteworthy is his 3 July 1863 letter describing his unit's role in the Battle of Gettysburg in great detail. He concludes "I think we will give Old Lee a thrashing before he crosses the Potomac again." Other letters discuss the Battle of Chancellorsville, and McNall's efforts to befriend Confederate cavalrymen as they faced off across a river on picket duty. McNall also received letters from 5 of his fellow soldiers, all apparently hometown friends. Gid Searl wrote from Washington: "You do not have more fun there than we do here, for we get all the fing that is nessary" (17 October [1861?]).
Among the 35 letters to McNall from the homefront, highlights include 2 letters from his sweetheart, and a touching letter scrawled by his 7-year-old niece which begins: "Dear Uncle Efner, I thought I would write a little to you. I am sorry you went to war, but I hope you won't get killed." However, this gregarious young man was killed in action at Morton's Ford, VA on 11 October 1863. The 1879 History of Cattaraugus County noted: "A braver, better, truer soldier never broke a hard-tack or drank from a canteen than Thomas E. McNall."