(CIVIL WAR--PENNSYLVANIA.) Thomas P. Kinsey. Two letters written in proximity to the Battle of Antietam, and other family papers. 5 manuscript letters by various parties, all 8vo, minor wear; and memorandum book, [80] pages, oblong 12mo, numerous leaves excised. Various places, 1839-1872
Thomas Pomp Kinsey (1822-1887) was at the age of 40 called up for emergency service in the 11th Regiment of Pennsylvania Militia in response to the Confederate Maryland Campaign of September 1862. In his first week, he was sent nearly to the front lines for the bloodiest day in American history. On the day of the battle of Antietam, he wrote: "A battle has been going on within 6 miles of us. The cannonading was very distinct. The Rebels attempted to cross the Potomac 9 miles below Hagerstown. . . . If we don't have a hand in the fight, we shall at least get to see some prisoners." Four days later, he wrote with an update: "We were drawn up in line of battle in the morning after being supplied with 45 rounds of ball cartridges. . . . McClellan was shelling Jackson's force at this time, and the flash of the gun could be plainly seen from where we were. About half of F. Bickley's Co. left their position, but I am proud to say that there was but 4 of our Co. skedaddled." Thomas was apparently a practicing Quaker, a pacifist faith. His wife wrote on 21 September: "William and the rest of the Friends think you have done rong by going, but as long as you think you have done wright it don't matter what thay think."
Also included is a letter from brother George Washington Kinsey (1834-1917) of the 26th New Jersey Infantry, in camp at Hagerstown, MD, 29 October 1862; and an 1872 letter from Thomas's son Irvin Kinsey to his brother Harry describing gun practices in Texas: "I have had no time to hunt alligators or deer. The only use I have known people to put them to in Austin is to shoot one another, and that is something I don't care about doing."
Also included in this lot is a peculiar memorandum book kept circa 1839-1840 by Thomas P. Kinsey as a young man, consisting partly of instructions for magic tricks and circus acts: "To make a room seem all on fire"; "To make an air balloon"; "Thunder powder"; "To render hedious the faces of all present." Some of these are copied from Harry Dean's magic classic, "The Whole Art of Legerdemain." These are followed by less exotic recipes and instructions, such as "To enamel picture glasses with gold" and "Method of cutting glass without cracking." A few pages are devoted to his "account of where my money went the 2d year at Butz & Miller's Foundry," and many pages are illustrated with mechanical drawings, cartoons, and doodles, including a circus scene titled "Elephant Menagree."
