New York Soldier’s Archive

This lot is closed for bidding. Bidding ended on 11/6/2014

War-date Union soldier’s letter group of Hiram C. Barney, 21st New York Cavalry, includes seven (7) letters, all multi-page, penned between October 30, 1863 and October 31, 1864. They read in part: “...[10/30/63] I suppose we shall go into winter quarters after a while. Standing a little way from my tent I can see in the valley below on the Potomac a row of buildings, perhaps five hundred feet or more in length, reaching for nearly a mile which are for winter quarters...Capt Graham...is very strict with his men and I am for one glad of it. We want them to keep their bodies clean, their clothes also and everything about them...A band of music is now playing Washington’s March, it sounds spiriting...[12/18/63]In a preceding letter I think I promised you to write more at length in regard to the moral condition of our regt. and the modes of punishment inflicted upon offenders. I mentioned walking the ring as one way of inflicting punishment. Tieing up by the thumbs to a tree or anything else with a rope and a gag in the mouth when the culprit will not keep still is another mode of chastisement. When a soldier is found guilty of theft he is placed upon a barrl with the word ‘Thief’ written upon a board in large letters hung upon his breast suspended by a large rope from his neck, in this manner he is posted in some conspicious place. I have seen four soldiers walking the ring at once, one after the other with rails upon their shoulders, a stake in the ground in the middle of the ring with a paper pinned to it with the words upon it ‘punished for stealing rails’; in this way they are made to walk for several hours. The moral condition of our regiment I am pained to say is very low...Capt h was in the habit (till the thing was stopped by a regimental order, embracing the whole camp) of receiving a lady into his tent about every day, she coming to his tent in a hack. The Capt is a married man. Women have been found in the tents of he privates a number of times. There are a great man woman hanging around the camp, selling pies, cakes, apple dumplings, etc. alsocigars...not long since three gypsey girls were in our camp singing, a crowd gathered around them, one of the soldiers asked one of the girls if she would let him F__k her;...[2/21/64]We have a good spot of ground for our camp...Below us on the hill are several other regts infantry and cavalry and still a little further down the road to Harpers Ferry are several batteries, artillery guns. There are nothing but guerillas around here and sometimes they are very uncerimoniously brought within our lines. The boys like to hunt them...[portion of a letter from late March or early April 1864]Accordingto promise I will give you an account of the capture & escape of Sergeant Wetherbee, Corps Simpson & Van Antwerp of our Co. On Friday March 25th Capt. E. B Gere of our regt was sent out iwth 125 men to the neighborhood of Berryville and Winchester on a scout and encamped at Millwood about six or eight miles from the former place...went some two miles from camp to get supper at a farm house and while waiting for the long delayed supper were surprised to see the parlor door open and several revolvers suddently pointed at them behind each pair of which was Col Mosby a Rebel Captand a lieut. all rather determined men with ‘shoots in their eyes’ who demanded the immediate surrender of the aforesaid ‘Yankees.’...Col. Mosby was highly elated by the big haul he had made and required the prisoners to follow him...Corp Van Antwerp while pretending to get his horse hid himself in the hay and escaped. Col. Mosby ordered his Lieut. to go into the barn and thrust his sabre down through the hay and bring him out if there and call upon him to surrender himself at once and if he did not when found to shoot him down...[5/18/64] There was one rumor afloat in camp that we were going to Annapolis to guard rebel prisoners but one thing is pretty certain that the government begins to see the necessity of using every available soldier where his service will count in squelching this accursed rebellion...[6/22/64] quite a number of the boys are at the depot and getting ready to march to camp. It was really refreshing to see those we knew and take them by the hand with a hearty good shake and hear them relate their soldier raid experience. The narrow escapes the bold dashes and captures made. They surprised a picket post of nine men, bagging seven of them. At one time they were cut off from the main force by five hundred of the enemy who occupied the place where they were to pass; some of them had in the darkness of the night, for it was in the night, struck over the hills and through the fields over fences and ditches until they could smell teh fresh air once more and know that ‘Libby Prison’ had no walls to environ them - to claim them as occupants of the space they enclose..[10/31/64] We have just recd marching orders and shall no doubt pack up and leave for Martinsburg tomorrow morning. It will take us between three and four days to get there. I think we are going to join Sheridan in the Valley ‘Sheridan the ablest of generals.’...” Most are very good or better condition. A nice group of correspondance from this 21st New York soldier.

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