Raynor HCA 2014-04
This lot is closed for bidding. Bidding ended on 5/1/2014
A great pair of war-date Union soldier's letters, totaling 8pp. 4to., written by Pvt. Everett W. Miner, Co. C, 7th New Hampshire Vols., St. Augustine, Florida, Nov. 11 & 25, 1862, reading, in small part: "…when the Burnside left last time Col. Abbott & his wife took passage aboard of her…off the coast of Georgia while in a storm the Burnside lost her rudder and propeller & drifted around…she was discovered…by the U. S. Gunboat Sedate which…towed her into Hilton Head…the Neptune…proceeded to load with Quartermaster stores for this place…she [was] overloaded & while at sea began to leak and they had to put hands to the pumps to keep her afloat. They ran her into Fernandina and…beached her. They unloaded half of her cargo…this morning she appeared off the bar…with the rest of her load. From here she is going to the St. Johns River for a load of limber…Co. E of the 9th Maine…are going…with theta steamer as guards for they expect the rebels will trouble them while taking in the lumber…9 gunboats & the 47th P. V., 6th Conn. Vol., 4th N. H., 55th P. V….under the command of Gen. Brannan proceeded up to the Port Royal Ferry to burn the bridge of the Charleston & Savannah R. R. They attacked the rebels at Popataligo Village S. C. The rebels had just begun to break & run when the engine whistle was heard and in poured sixteen carloads of rebel troops from Savannah. They fought the fresh troops for some time…and then Gen. Brannan gave the orders to retreat. They retreated back to Beaufort…the 47th Penn. & 6th Conn. covering the retreat. The Fourth…[had] their Col. Bell wounded, 3 or 4 men…were killed & some wounded…Co. M 1st U. S. Artillery…had quite a lot of their men killed, some I knew…the Neptune…brought news that Gen. Mitchel, the commander of this department & Capt. Warfield, our brigade commissary died with the Yellow Fe[ver] which they have got at Port Royal…St. Augustine, Nov. 25, 1862]…the Goose hangs high yesterday. The store was shut up by the Colonels order…the Regt…had a drunken row lately and the Colonel and the Provost Marshal want to find out where they got their liquor so they ordered most of the stores to be closed & they went around & searched but did not come near our store. The Col. said there was no need of searching there for he knew the Sutler did not keep anything but Claret wine and [had] not sold any of that since he got an order not too. They found a lot of liquor at the Florida House which they confiscated …[I] got a pass to go by the pickets…the stable keeper would not let me have a horse to go outside the lines for fear of getting captured by guerrillas…most of their horses here run wild and are caught about half tamed and…[can] count their ribs at a miles distance, whenever our men see the citizens riding by on their ponies…they commence to mimic crows 'caw, caw, caw'. All they feed their ponies here is salt grass cut on the banks of the river & creeks. There is no hay here only what the quartermaster has…I passed the pickets on the Jacksonville road…they are stationed about middle way of the entrenchment's which our Regt. dug some time ago…the entrenchment's are about a mile long. It 8 feet deep. It is between the North River & Mary Sanchez's Creek…the ni--ers have been to work & cut down trees & hauled the brush on to the entrenchment's & burned the ground…for a good ways the rebels could not steal upon the pickets…close to this post at the entrance is a deserted house where some…Co. of the Regt…stay over night [with] a drummer who in case of an attack beats the long roll…which alarms them at the Fort which is about a mile and a half distant…then they fire off one of the cannon…which alarms the whole post…I came to the Fairbanks place…the rebels used to make it their headquarters…the Fourth…marched out and burned it to the ground…two or three Negro huts where still standing…everything was in desolation which was once so pleasant…buzzards flying around only made the scene more dismal filling the air with their screeching…". Also included is the letter's original 7th New Hampshire regimental cover. Both letters are unsigned, but the cover is addressed to Miner's mother at Enfield, New Hampshire. Last page of first letter is a bit light, else VG.
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