Raynors HCA 2014-11
This lot is closed for bidding. Bidding ended on 11/6/2014
War-date Union soldier's letter, 4pp. 8vo., written by Corp. Samuel C. Kirkpatrick [WIA in the face at Port Gibson, Miss., 5/1/63], Co. E, 11th Wisc. Vols., "Camped on Black River, Mo., Dec. 18, 1862," concerning the flooding of their camp along the Black River in Missouri. Kirkpatrick blamed the flood on the marriage of General William P. Benton to war widow Emma A. Lenhart after a ten day courtship. Emma was widowed after her husband, William McAfee Pettit, was shot and killed while removing his family slaves from harm's way near Miller's Bluff, Arkansas in January 1862, in part: "…we have had a pretty rough time since I wrote to you. It commenced raining the 12 and it rained…till the 15…the morning of the 15th the adjutant came around at about 2 o'clock and said if we did not want to get wet we had better get up and start for the bluffs. I jumped up and packed my knapsack…by that time the water was coming in the tent and we started for the bluff but the water was too high. It had got all around our camp. The ground that the Col. tent stood on was the highest and…we all stood on about a quarter of an acre…some of the boys pitched into it and swimmer across. the Doctor of the 33 Reg Ill. ordered two ambulances to be hitched up and take the sick across. they started across and it was too deep. The horses had to swim and they got tangled in the harness and before they could get them out one…drowned. General [William Plummer] Benton swan six horses over to us and seen what a bad fix we was in…he went back and ordered the pontoon bridge to be sent to us immediately. When it came we took it too pieces and used it as canoes…by this time the water had quit rising and our tents stood in about 9 feet water…the Col. was afraid the water would carry them off…so we started in for the tents…the water was up tot my waist…we moved our camp about a quarter of a mile. The water raised the fastest that I ever saw…the reason why this storm came was that general Benton got married the other day to a widow…". The original transmittal cover is included. Kirkpatrick's phonetic spelling has been corrected. VG
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