Detailed Second Assault on Vicksburg Battle Letter.

This lot is closed for bidding. Bidding ended on 11/18/2022

War-date Union soldier's battle letter, 4pp. 4to., written by Corp. Jotham Tilden Moulton, Jr., (1836-1909), Co. I, 33rd Illinois Vols., "Before Vicksburg, June 5th 1863," to his sister, Caroline R. Moulton (1845-1928), concerning Grant's May 22, 1863 offensive against Vicksburg (Second Assault on Vicksburg) during the siege of that city, reading, in part: "Dear sister Carrie , I have not written to you-since we crossed the Mississippi-Carr's division first crossed the river, seized the narrow defile near the landing where a comparative handful of determined men might have delayed us till reinforcements could come up. Carr's division opened the battle of Port Gibson and…gained the victory at Black River bridge-[they] suffered more severely than any other in the unfortunate assault on May 22d, losing 845 men killed and wounded. In this last fight, I missed my way inn the charge and lay within the enemy's lines all day while the battle raged around me and shot and shell were whistling and screaming all the time over our heads. About thirty of us lay for two hours in a little hollow where we could not come out for fear of the enemy and the rebels could not come upon us for fear of our sharpshooters. They tried to hurt us with buckshot and hand grenades but we lay snugly enough. The colonel [Charles E. Lippincott] of the 33d and Lieutenant [William T.] Lyon, commanding our company were in the same hollow so I did not conceive myself exactly disgraced by my rather inglorious position. After dark we heard the rebels making up a party to capture us. Some sneaked off in good order, every man for himself. Some of us were shot at but no one was hit. Frank was in a warm place that day-he is aid de camp to General Benton and had to run back and forth upon errands a number of times under a severe fire. He took one cannon up tolerably close to the enemy's works and kept firing through the embrasures till the place became too warm for him and the artillerymen ran away. He and one cannoneer dragged the gun back to a place of safety. When we were charging over the hill-I found that my canteen was in my way and I threw it over my head and have not seen it since. All that terrible day I lay in the sun without water, but the excitement kept me from suffering. As soon as I was safe-[that] night. The thirst became intolerable and I ran about almost distracted till I found water. Losing my canteen was a lucky accident for me, for it was the cause of my getting a cup of coffee after dark-as I returned from the hollow-I picked up a canteen which happened to have a tin cup attached. A large string tin cup with a riveted handle much better than my own, which a bought of a nig*er in Louisiana for twenty five cents-as I sat resting a soldier came to me and asked me for a tin cup to drink some coffee-I was electrified at the idea. I had ground coffee in my haversack, but on opportunity to boil it-I told him that I would give him a tin cup for a little coffee. He filled the cup-poured it into my new cup and I was refreshed…our present duties are rather rough. Almost every night we must work in the rifle pits or stand guard in them-when we sleep we cannot take off our clothes or accouterments-we were greatly exhausted by fighting, forced marches, exposure and privation when we arrived here and the hard work of siege is wearing us out at a terrible rate. Vicksburg will be taken-but it will cost us many thousand lives-[June 7th]-I have been very much worn out by the [?] exposure of this campaign-when we left Ste. Genevieve, [Missouri] I was in splendid heath, never felt better or stronger in my life and I had a good share of strength when we crossed the Mississippi & marched upon Port Gibson, but that is all gone now. I have hardly strength to go to the spring for a drink of water and I am suffering from diarrhea-I live out of doors and sleep exposed to all the nuisances of this most unhealthy climate. I have some boards under me, plenty of blankets and a slight shelter overhead affording me partial protection protection against the direct rays of the sun in the daytime and here I lie almost constantly when not on duty-yesterday I had no duty assigned me and felt too weak to move about-If Vicksburg surrenders soon I mean to [?] myself faithfully-I am not likely to be in Bucksport [Maine] next fall but whenever I do get there I mean to see whether your Xmas hasty pudding was not better than that made on morning in my tin cup and ate without salt or sweetening-brother, Tilden." In 1856 Tilden graduated from Illinois College and later graduated from Missouri State University becoming editor of the Farmington, Missouri Herald. Last two pages a bit light, but legible, overall VG.

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