Feb 04, 2016 - Sale 2404

Sale 2404 - Lot 122

Price Realized: $ 1,125
?Final Price Realized includes Buyer’s Premium added to Hammer Price
Estimate: $ 1,000 - $ 1,500
(CIVIL WAR--NEW YORK.) Tuthill, Oscar E. Diary of a prisoner at Salisbury Prison. 48, 27 manuscript pages. 2 contemporary manuscript copies of the same text in 2 volumes. One 8 x 3 1/4 inches, sewn, worn, with the last page torn and crudely sewn; the other 4 x 3 1/4 inches, in green printed wrappers from a Binghamton, NY bookseller, minor wear. Priority of the two volumes undetermined, but apparently unpublished. Vp, 18 October 1864 to 23 February 1865

Additional Details

Oscar E. Tuthill (1847-1865) of Smyrna, NY was an under-aged recruit to the 5th New York Heavy Artillery, joining at age 16, though he told recruiters he was 18. His diary begins with his capture on 18 October 1864: "Battle of Winchester, our men charged on the rebs 3 times and drove them 3 or 4 miles. We were captured and marched all night." After two more days of marching, he was loaded on a train for Richmond, and then three days later for the dismal Salisbury Prison, NC, then approaching its peak occupancy and death rate. Tuthill's diary became a daily register of the meager rations he received. A typical entry reads "Keeps cloudy and cold as Greenland. We drew half a loaf of bread and some rice soup" (22 November 1864). An occasional ration of meat or molasses enlivened his diet. Here is a holiday feast: "Cold yet. We drew rations for Christmas, half a loaf of bread and a ration of soup. Rain all night." On 27 December, he noted the death of a soldier from his regiment named Elliot Franklin; he later added a "list of the dead" with nine names.
Shortly after their arrival, Tuthill celebrated his 17th birthday in prison on 30 October 1864, and noted "Nel went into the hospital." This apparently was his friend and brother-in-law Nelson Scarritt. In a POW camp, a hospital stay was often akin to a death sentence, but on 13 January he noted "Nel come out of the hospital." Four days later they drew a ration of molasses in addition to the usual rice soup and bread, and noted "Nel and I had a very good meal." Big news was recorded on 14 February: "Blankets came. . . . We got one blanket to two men." A new suit of clothes was issued on 18 February, and the next day prisoners began to be sent out on exchange. Tuthill marched up to 15 miles per day, sleeping out in the rain. The diary does not record his release, but history shows that both he and his brother-in-law made their way together to a Union parole camp in Pennsylvania. However, Tuthill was weakened by his ordeal and died there in March 1865. Provenance: found in an envelope of his nephew Frank L. Tuthill (1883-1962) of Fillmore, NY.