2004-09
This lot is closed for bidding. Bidding ended on 8/31/2004
An intriguing war-date ink inscribed Union soldier’s 4pp. 8vo., letter written by Pvt. Edward Plummer, Co. A, 2nd New Hampshire “Camp at Fort North near Alexandria, Va., Sept. 16, 62”concerning the many battles of the Army of the Potomac, and of the horrors he had witnessed while on the battlefield. Curiously, this letter was written just one day before the battle of Antietam. Our nation’s bloodiest day, in part: “…I am still alive and well…we are under marching orders…they had…another fight at Hagerstown Md. [battle of South Mountain]…our forces whipped them and drove them from the field and [they] left their dead and wounded…it [is] about time for our forces to commence doing something…[at] Bull Run we have been whipped twice…the last time was not so rough…on the Peninsula…we were whipped and drove back…Malvern Hill was the fairest battle…while McClellan’s army was on the Peninsula…thousands of lives have been sacrificed for nothing…what is a man’s life in the army?..not so much as a scratch of a pin at home. To go over a [battle] field and see thousands dying some with one arm. Some without either leg and in fact without any head. It is enough to make a man’s blood run cold…you must not get discouraged…for we all came out here to fight or die…to preserve our country…”. The original transmittal envelope is included. Plummer paid the ultimate price in his defense of the country, since he would be killed in action during the battle of Gettysburg while fighting in the Wheatfield July 2, 1863. Minor stains, else very good.
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