June 2013 Auction Ends Thursday, June 27th, 5pm Pacific
This lot is closed for bidding. Bidding ended on 6/27/2013
Nice lot of eight Civil War letters by John D. Beach, who served with the Illinois Light Artillery (Chicago Board of Trade Battery), and the 55th Illinois Volunteer Infantry. Letters date from 17 August 1864 to 20 June 1865, with one letter, dated 18 December 1864 giving his vivid account of the Battle of Nashville: ''...Corporal Hood has been playing hell with his army. They are about played out. Mr. Thomas sees that he did not intend to fight very soon so he went for him the other morning...the first day our men more than drove him and the next day done the same as we did the first...I am detailed at Brigade Head Quarters. I am orderly for the lieutenant. I have a good horse to ride and a darkey to take care of him...we got in good plain sight of them on a big hill and we could see them forming to make a charge to take a battery so the Sergt. and I got to daring each other to go and take a gun and go in the charge with them and so we went. We got into the 36 Ill and went with them and took two pieces of artillery they skedaddled with the rest after we got up there. They run up a battery as quick as they could and then begun to play up on the Johnnies. We tride to have them let us take a number on the gun but they said their officers would not like it...we got a Johnnies gun a piece and started for camp. The next day...we met 15 hundred privates and two generals besides the other officers that our men had taken prisoners. We have killed, wounded and taken prisoners about 12 thousand...our lose is only about one thousand...we have captured 42 pieces of artillery about all the Johnnies has got...Your Brother, J D Beach...Head Quarters, Reserve Artillery / Nashville Tennessee''. In another letter to his mother, Beach writes, ''Camp near Atlanta...August 17th 1864...I am lonesome to day...I have been with the guns the most of the time...I heard yesterday that the rail road train was cut between here and Chattanooga...I do wish you would send me some papers of some kind to read to poop away time...Father sent me a copper head...Father does not like it much because I reenlisted. He thinks this war will never end as long as Old Abe is President...'' On 1 January 1865, Beach writes from the ''Small Pox Hospitle'' in Memphis, with a case of the pox: ''...The scabs are off me bu tone or two little scars...thare is danger of people catching teh samll pox from me yet...Thare is but very few marks on my face...Last night at midnight the cannon fired and I thought we was attacked...The things that was sunk on that boat was brought here to Memphis and sold as damaged goods and sold at auction and my box was amongst them...'' In the remaining letters, Beach writes of his movements with his regiment, camp life, and asks about home. Letters run an average of 3pp. on card-style stationery measuring various sizes from 5'' x 8'' to 7.75'' x 9.75''. Although the August 1864 letter is written cross-wise to save on paper, it's very legible with nice penmanship, as all the letters are. Very good condition. Accompanied by full translations.
Illinois Artilleryman on The Battle of Nashville -- ''...Thomas...went for [Hood]...we met 15 hundred privates and two generals...We have killed, wounded and taken prisoners about 12 thousand...''
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