Sep 28, 2023 - Sale 2646

Sale 2646 - Lot 137

Unsold
Estimate: $ 3,000 - $ 4,000
(CIVIL WAR--NEW YORK.) Charles A. Moore. Letters and a large camp drawing by a captain in the 47th New York in South Carolina. 32 items (16 letters by Charles, 15 letters sent by his wife, and the drawing); condition generally strong with a few quite worn. Various places, 1861-1864

Additional Details

Before the war, Charles A. Moore (1828-1918) owned a store on Broadway in Manhattan, selling "worsted, trimmings, fancy goods, combs, brushes, fans, perfumery, and Paris fancy articles" per his business card. During the war, he was a captain in the 47th New York Infantry, serving in the southern theater at Fort Wagner, Petersburg, Fort Fisher and more. Includes:

14 letters to his wife Josephine Risley Moore, one on patriotic letterhead, most with original postmarked envelopes, many with cross-writing. December 1861 to May 1864. Moore was a poet; his 21 April 1863 letter includes "Annie's Gone" on the death of his 16-month-old daughter. Also included is a 4 November 1863 draft of Moore's letter to New York Governor Horatio Seymour, protesting his lack of a promotion; and Moore's 1862 letter to the mother of a soldier. 14 of Josephine's letters to Moore dated 1861-1864 are also included, plus one letter from her to her brother George W. Risley of the same regiment, 3 May 1864.

Also included is a pencil drawing, 11 1/2 x 14 1/4 inches, on board, titled "Baptist Church, Edisto Island, S.C., Headquarters of Capt. Chas. A. Moore, Co. A., 47th Regt NY." Creased, moderate dampstaining. Shows several soldiers on patrol, a pot cooking on a campfire, and Spanish moss hanging from the trees. Moore was stationed on Edisto Island through most of 1862.

With--a folder containing 10 documents regarding Moore's service as a volunteer fireman in New York Hose Company 28, 1852-1886; and another folder of Moore's business papers and related family papers, including a wholesale druggist's receipt book dated 1845, a small notebook dated 1851, his business card, pre-war letters from his wife, and more, 22 items, 1832-1864.