Raynors HCA 2016-10
This lot is closed for bidding. Bidding ended on 10/21/2016
A great Appomattox Campaign letter, 4pp. 8vo., written by Pvt. Charles E. Clark(e), Battery C, 4th New York Heavy Artillery, [n. p., but near Petersburg, Va.], April 23, 1865, in part: "I received your…letter three days before we left our last winter quarters and now will try to write a few lines to you…have had much hard marching to perform since Apr. 1st and I can truly say we feel doubly paid for all we have endured. My health is better now than when we left camp. I have managed to along with the company the most of the time…the 4th of Apr. was the first day I could not keep up with the company…we marched as much as 25 miles that day…that day our division was ahead & I got behind three divisions and did not see anything of our company until about an hour after they stopped for the night. The next day we did not march but built a line of breastworks. This gave me an opportunity to rest…the morning of the 6th we resumed our marching but I did not get so I could keep up till afternoon. Some nights half of the company has been behind when we stacked arms…one night we marched very hard & more than half of the men fell behind. I thought I was standing that days marching first rate until we stopped when I begun to feel sick…I slept about an hour got up and was in so much pain I did not undertake to sleep anymore…the next morning it was all I was able to do to keep around, but we had a hard days march before us. We marched considerably fast and did not stop for the night until about 12 o'clock…about sunrise we started again and marched about as fast as we could until about 10 or 11 o'clock when we drawn up in line of battle and were advancing on Lee's Army when we were halted and an officer come along with the cheering news that Lee had surrendered. Such cheering I think you never heard. Some of the men acted more like children than men. They threw their knapsacks and hats into the air as high as they could. For a few days after Lee surrendered we were in camp near Appomattox Cort House with only two hardtack a day…this suited us much better than it would to be allowed full rations and be obliged to fight the Rebs. Now we are guarding the railroad 19 miles from Petersburg…C. E. Clark." VG.
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