September 22, 2011
This lot is closed for bidding. Bidding ended on 9/22/2011
War-date Confederate officer's Autograph Letter Signed by Colonel William B. Richmond, 4pp. quarto, written in ink from, Headquarters Army of Tennessee, August 29, 1863 to the general's son Capt. Alexander H. Polk going into great detail concerning military charges against General Hindman for insubordination and of the movements of both armies during the prelude to the battle of Chickamauga. At the close of the letter, Richmond mildly chastises Polk for allowing his family members to leave the area during his leave of absence thereby causing his father to recall him to the front prematurely. Possibly this closing rebuke caused angst for young Polk and his family since within a mere few weeks Richmond would be killed in the battle of Chickamauga. In small part: "The enemy has been comparatively quiet…on Wednesday we had a artillery fight…we have lost…about a dozen men…your father [Gen. Leonidas Polk] and brother, Henry Marshall &…all the staff are well. Your cousin Genl. Lucius Polk has just returned…I enclose a copy of the charges…against Maj. Genl. Hindman. After I wrote you…the direct challenge to Hindman had been returned to Maj. Ingram…[and] he should send him a challenge immediately. Genl. Hindman assured him it was not on personal grounds [that he refused the message] as he considered Col. Sevier…very much of a gentleman…the charges were that night drawn up…it will now be seen if Bragg is the man he has assumed to be to make men 'feel the sting of discipline'….[Richmond then goes into great detail about how the young staff offices bickered over control of the controversy]…the enemy are supposed to be moving up the river on the opposite side. Crittenden's Corps is supposed to be nearly all near Blythe's Ferry. The balance of Rosecrans army are…near Bridgeport & Stevenson. The Genl extended my leave…while I was at Atlanta…tho before I left he couldn't understand…how I could exhaust my twenty days…[as] your intention to return [occurred] so soon…I never dreamed of Gale's going off in that way…I had a notion of…calling at your home before returning…I was dispatched [back to headquarters] at once at Knoxville much to my surprise…". Negligible tears with no loss, else VG Col. William B. Richmond, was aide de camp to General Leonidas Polk, was killed in action during the battle of Chickamauga on September 20, 1863. These letters were written to the general's son Col. Alexander H. Polk who was also a member on his father's staff and both provide a detailed look into the tenuous relationship that the Army of Tennessee had with its commander, General Braxton Bragg. In the first letter, Richmond gives his personal views into why Bragg lost the confidence of the army after the battle of Stone's River; while in the other he relates how internal bickering in the high command allows the army to loose faith in Bragg's ability to control his subordinates.
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