Raynors HCA 2016-06
This lot is closed for bidding. Bidding ended on 6/17/2016
A great Confederate soldier's letter, 2pp. oblong 4to., by Pvt. James F. Cameron, [KIA Gettysburg, 7/2/63], Co. B, 11th Alabama Infantry, "near Richmond, Va.", June 22, [1862], in part: "…every time the postmaster returns from town the boys crowd around him like children around an exhibited monkey demanding a loud tone for letters. Everything is still this morning. The pickets seem to get in bad humor last night. They were fighting several times in the night. I never get up unless the long role beats or the order is given to fall in. I have just got over [our] hard march [that] we taken yesterday…a week ago orders came about sun set [for] us to fall in and march to Gen. Stuart's assistance who had crossed over the Yankee line and destroyed 3 millions dollars worth of commissary stores, 3 Yankee gun boats, captured 700 horses, 40 mules and taken 750 prisoners and tore up their rode and played the devil generally with them. His men fired onto a Yankee train of cars when the engineer saw our men on the rode he threw on all his steam…and run over the obstructions that was placed in the rode by our men to throw the cars off the track. The engineer was killed and fell off the track. The last that was heard of the train was that in 2 miles of Chickahominy River going at a rate of a mile a minute without a engineer. The Yankees was about to cut Gen. Stuart off and ketch him. We was ordered to his assistance but fortunately the general made his escape with his booty [and] without our assistance. We had to march at a quick time all night on a dusty rode. We suffered mitely. Next morning we were turned back for our camps where we arrived that evening. The Yankees was very much surprised at Gen. Stuart's earnestness and boldness…Jas. Cameron to Magie Cameron." Most of Cameron's phonetic spelling has been corrected. Expected soiling and folds, else VG
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