Raynor HCA 2014-01
This lot is closed for bidding. Bidding ended on 1/30/2014
A great war-date Union officer's battle letter, 4pp. 4to., written by 2nd Lt. Robert H. Crist (1829-1912), Co. L, 1st Indiana Heavy Artillery, "Camp near Fort Morgan, Mobile Bay, Alabama, Aug. 23, 1864", in part: "…Fort Gaines & Morgan are ours. I left New Orleans on Sunday [August] 14th brot with us 16 mortars, 4 8 inch & 12 10 inch. We landed…4 1/2 miles from Fort Morgan…we over within 1/2 miles of the fort with our mortars and 4.30 pdr Parrots & the Navy had 4 9 inch Dahlgrens within 1 mile. We had roads to make, sand bags to fill & pile up in front of the mortars, shells to haul, magazines to build and on Sunday night the Rebs opened…on us with grape, solid shot & shell…scared all the Niggers in their holes. White men lay close to the sand bank. Some set-up to dodge shells…they fired several shots from a 3 inch Whitworth Rifled gun-the longest range gun in use. There is but 4 of them in the U. S. we captured one in Vicksburg and this one. The Rebs still have 2 more. They are the nicest shooting iron I ever saw. Breech loading the ball the shell is…polished bright & put in tin cases. The make a noise peculiar to them selves. The ball precedes the report…Monday morning we opened on them with 16 mortars, 8 Parrots-4 9 inch Dalhgrens, 1 field battery…including the famous Rebel Ram Tennessee captured here when the fleet came in…the gunners soon got the range and strength of powder and the shots commenced falling about the ears of the Johnny Rebs. They could not get to their guns…except Minnie Balls…every body was up in plain view watching the shots. I had a splendid field glass and could see the effect…at night…a fire broke out in the Citadel and our mortars fired more briskly…the Rebs tried to put it out…between 5 & six in the morning they came out on the…outer wall of the fort with a white flag. The sand hills were soon covered with Yankees…at 3 o'clock p. m. a formal surrender was made to Brevet Gen. Bailey. I went down to see it. I talked with several officers & men. They were Alabamians and had been in Fort Morgan for some 2 years…he said they could not get to their guns…one of our Parrot guns killed one of them several days ago…they all stayed in their case mates while we were firing. We took 480 prisoners. There was some 40 guns on the fort. The D_n Scoundrels spiked most of the guns. Our guns dismounted several of them…Major Roy & myself went down & took a look at the ruins. It was awful granite steps ground to pieces. The light house nearly knocked down, trunions knocked off, gun carriages knocked into oven wood, brick walls tore to pieces, sand bags scattered…the day before the fight I went at the request of Maj. Roy to plant the stakes to sight the mortars by…mortars are behind a high embankment…a stake is put on top of the embankment and another behind the mortar which is done by some one getting behind the mortar…high enough to see the object fired at. I took a plumb bob and went along the lines and…I had to get on [a] high sand hill in rear of the mortars to see the fort & light house…the Reb sharp shooters…could see me and they commenced firing at me. I had no chance to dodge…and stood up & finished my job. The balls whistled all about me, knocked the sand in my eyes. I never had the rebs pay as much attention to me before. The boys…saying look out for your head. Get out of that…about that time they let go a 3 inch shot at me. It just passed above my head and concluded to leave before they had time to load again…we have had one or two men hurt on our side…they told me [the rebs] they expected us to charge the walls and they intended to rake us…I told them we had soldiered too long to charge a fort of that kind. We were preparing to mine and blow them up…which we should…I got a pocket bible at the fort…". Much, much more interesting content. The original stamped transmittal cover is included. Near fine.
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