Jun 05, 2008 - Sale 2148

Sale 2148 - Lot 114

Price Realized: $ 1,800
?Final Price Realized includes Buyer’s Premium added to Hammer Price
Estimate: $ 1,000 - $ 1,500
"THE ONLY PAY THE DARKIE DEMANDED WAS FOR ME TO KILL JEFF DAVIS" (CIVIL WAR--NEW YORK.) Beach, Henry A. Archive of 4 letters by a Union soldier. 8 leaves, various sizes; minor marginal fading and tears along folds of second letter, otherwise fine condition. Vp, 1861-63
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riveting correspondence from an ardent abolitionist soldier. Before the war, Henry A. Beach (ca. 1836- ) was a Methodist clergyman in Clarkstown, NY. Early in the war, he enlisted in the 48th New York Infantry, which was led by a prominent Methodist named James H. Perry who recruited several clergymen to his regiment. He later arranged a commission as an officer in the 1st South Carolina Regiment, where he led African-American troops.

4 letters addressed to his sister Abby and other family members, dated as follows: Annapolis, MD, 16 October 1861, describing the new regiment's travels toward the front, and camp life in Maryland. He describes befriending a group of slaves who fed him corn bread and bacon: "The only pay the darkie demanded . . . was for me to kill Jeff Davis. I told him I would if I ever had the opportunity." Hilton Head, SC, 17 January 1862, describing in detail his part in a minor battle at Port Royal Ferry, with postscripts dated January 21 and 22. Fort Pulaski, GA, 13 July 1862, describing a visit to the schools for contrabands in Beaufort, SC, and praising the pioneering 1st South Carolina Regiment: "General Hunter's Negro regiment at Hilton Head is also a complete success, so far as he designed it." Not signed and possibly incomplete. Ladies Island, 28 July 1863, describing his new assignment as a lieutenant in the 1st South Carolina, the first regiment composed of African-American troops. Describes General David Hunter as "a humane and philanthropic man but . . . too much absorbed in his scheme for benefiting the negroes to be of great service in the fighting line." Describes the role of the 54th Massachusetts (the "Glory" regiment) at the recent nearby Battle of Fort Wagner: "The Massachusetts Colored Regt distinguished itself for bravery and efficiency, and suffered much." Also describes at length the impressive transformation among the recently freed slaves in his vicinity: "All are begining to exhibit too a shrewdness & cunning in money which is one result of their intercourse with Yankees . . . Manhood and womanhood is developed as the soul throws off the old habits of slavery."