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- Capt. George Randolph Dyer AQM--Lincoln-Signed
Capt. George Randolph Dyer AQM--Lincoln-Signed Commission and Pilot Knob Archive Comprising an early eagle mast head commission partially printed on vellum 12.25 x 15.75 in. matted framed and glazed 14.25 x 17.25 in. dated 21 February 1862 appointing George R. Dyer as Assistant Quartermaster of Volunteers with the rank of Captain. Signed by Abraham Lincoln (1809-1865) as President and Edwin M. Stanton (1814-1869) as Secretary of War (1862-1868) with a later conveyance letter from the Adjutant General??Ts Office; plus the earlier formal appointment letter to George R. Dyer signed by Secretary of War Simon Cameron (March 1861-January 1862). The archive portion consists of 31 file folders 24 of which contain primarily wartime personal correspondence coinciding with Captain Dyer??Ts assignment as Assistant US Quartermaster at the Pilot Knob Missouri post. The letters span January 1862 to July 1865 but are scant on details regarding the quartermaster operation at Pilot Knob (in fact Geo. Dallas Dyers??T letters are more illuminating). Additionally there are several pieces of interesting ephemera including Captain Dyer??Ts original 1885 GAR membership certificate from the Baxter Springs Kansas Post No.123 an 1864 dated military railroad pass original telegrams and two manuscript documents written and signed by noted abolitionist and educator General Clinton B. Fisk (1828-1890) a personal friend of George R. Dyer. Rounding out the lot are eleven civilian portraits (five are duplicates) of George Dyer taken between the late 1870s (a cdv) and 1892 (mostly cabinet cards) including one view of the regal old gentlemen wearing his MOLLUS medal. A file of 19th century manuscript Dyer biography and George??Ts printed 1895 MOLLUS ?In Memoriam? pamphlet complete the lot. George R. Dyer??Ts Pilot Knob letters contain no battle content and very little concerning the day-to-day operations of the quartermaster department at the post. There are large gaps in the letters and most consist of newsy correspondence between various friends and family members living back in Chicago Elgin and Plainfield Illinois. Even at the Pilot Knob post the presence of family is evident??"the captain??Ts son George Dallas Dyer worked as a clerk and died there in 1863 while Mrs. Dyer seems to have visited her husband with some regularity during the war. As the tempo of operations moved further south after 1862 Pilot Knob became something of a Missouri backwater albeit for sporadic guerrilla warfare that flared in a region dotted with Rebel sympathizers. The letters hint at legitimate business dealings as the buying and selling of ?contraband horses and mules? became a reoccurring theme. The quartermaster seems to have also speculated locally in food supplies and animal fodder systematically ?hauling it in teams? from a radius around the post. Captain Dyer who frequently complained of ill-heath was able to take leave on occasion and just happened to be absent ?in the North on sick leave? in September 1864 the one time Pilot Knob came under attack during Sterling Price??Ts ill-fated Missouri Invasion. After 1863 Captain Dyer hinted once or twice at pursuing loftier goals ??" a staff position with General Fisk ??" but remained at his post until his resignation from the army on May 15 1865. A few excerpts from the letter collection: September 10 1861 from Patience Huntington Dyer??Ts sister: Not all in Illinois were stirred by the prospect of war and buoyed by patriotism. George sister was terse in her feelings: ?I am about to employ all my powers of argument and persuasion to prevent you joining the army. Under other circumstances it might be your duty. Were your wife in vigorous health and your children (not so young) and your own health firm I would say no word to prevent it??|but our patriotism must not make us forgetful of the virtues we owe to those for whom none can be a substitute??|? Having reconciled his conscience with family responsibilities George Dyer enlisted on October 31 1861. The centerpiece of that decision is the Lincoln signed commission and accompanying War Department paperwork rarely found together after 150 years. January 8 1862 to his wife Elizabeth (Howell Kimball) a long letter: Already Captain Dyer confesses his loneliness writing that the pain of being separated from his children is ?harder than I thought it would be.? He hopes to return home ?some time next month? if he can get a leave of absence. George briefly describes his duties ?I have a vast amount to attend to? and tells Elizabeth that ?George (their eldest son George Dallas) arrived the 2nd day of this month and has done very well since he came??|? He offers some insight into business matters ?We sold 52 horses & mules that had been taken from the enemy I had to sell them. They brought 1300. They were very poor and small (and) sold rather low. Some were good but I did not buy for I thought I would rather send all the money home I could for you.? The letter includes a lengthy list of goods that Elizabeth should bring to Pilot Knob ??" ?towels butter tea a lamp or two? ??" as ?some items can??Tt be had in this country.? He will express his pay ?Only 156 dollars instead of the 200 as I expected but I hope to have George have 60 per month which will help pay for being scattered all over the world.? The family might have been experiencing some financial difficulties as Capt. Dyer then rationalizes the quartermaster job lamenting ?If I can stand it for one year it will help my family some and that is all I am at work for.? He gives some instructions relating to the livestock management at the Plainfield farm and concludes by asking Elizabeth to send ?my cane for it would help me to get through the mud which is very deep.? September 15 1862 to sister Patience: Young George Dallas Dyer has left his Pilot Knob clerkship and joined the army. A proud but fearful Captain Dyer writes ?My poor boy only 17 years old gone to defend his country. Sister he is a fine boy manly as most men of 25 years (see George??Ts military cdv) & capable of doing any kind of business??| He has gone & I hope he will do his duty. He is the youngest man in his company & is the captain. They all like him & I hope he will return the confidence of his company??|? November 2 1862 from Lt. W.F. Crain 5th Illinois Cavalry: A mundane request asking Captain Dyer for his help in locating and recovering ?a dozen lost or stolen horses? from the regiment. The animals were left at Pilot Knob and were due to be returned by cavalrymen convalescing in the hospital. A newspaper article dated January 8 1863 reported on an abundance of new from Pilot Knob giving scope to the quartermaster operation there as well as featuring the approbations of Captain Dyer??Ts peers who had presented him with a ?superb gold watch? on New Years Eve. The correspondent noted ?An air of unusual bustle and activity pervades this usually quiet town caused by the arrival of 300 wagons from General Davidson??Ts Division Army of Southeast Missouri. They are now loading with commissary stores for his army??|? destined for Little Rock. The article quoted the lengthy testimonial ?engraved on the case? and showered platitudes ?Our Government has been blessed and cursed with many faithful and unfaithful disbursing officers but few who stand so noble and deservingly high as Captain Dyer where is known and appreciated.? The author noted that Captain W. L. Banning was ?relieving him (Captain Dyer) of the duties of the Commissary Department from January 1st.? What follows in an extended gap in the letters. The next two letters written to Captain Dyer at Pilot Knob date to June 1863 from a Joliet friend named Willis Danforth formerly Captain Company F. 13th Illinois Cavalry. June 1 1863: Danforth writes at length conveying the conditions in Joliet and mentioning ?speculators and traitors.? He is spiteful of ?Vallandigham Copperheads? and complains that soldiers and those serving in the army get no respect. He mentions Colonel (Frederick A.) Bartleson of the 100th Illinois a local Joliet hero later killed at Kennesaw Mountain and finally asks Captain Dyer to intercede on his behalf with General Davidson as there are ?charges pending? against him ostensibly having to do with a forged signature for payment. Captain Danforth had resigned from the army on February 7. A prominent Chicago homeopathic doctor and medical instructor Danforth would be exonerated and restored as surgeon of the 134th Illinois. He later gained notoriety as one of the five physicians who gave testimony at Mary Todd Lincoln??Ts insanity trial in May 1875. Danforth??Ts testimony was said to be ?particularly damning? to Mary's cause ultimately forcing her into Bellevue Place a private mental institution in Batavia Illinois. In a follow-up letter dated June 9 1863 Danforth wrote of a little known incident in Chicago that fundamentally challenged the very basic First Amendment principle of free speech. The Democratic leaning Chicago Times newspaper had published articles supporting the controversial Clement Vallandigham who had been arrested and convicted by a military court of ?uttering disloyal sentiments.? District commander General Burnside ordered the paper suppressed and publication was suspended under armed Federal guard. Groups of armed citizens from rival political factions begin congregating and troops from nearby Camp Douglas patrolled the streets in the midst of rising tensions and vocal threats by angry Democrats to ?gut the Tribune office? (the Chicago Tribune the Republican mouthpiece). Chicago was a tinderbox and Danforth an eyewitness inferred that ?a single pistol shot fired by some disorderly drunkard would have exploded the whole machine & cost at least 900 lives??"fortunately the occasion passed without any accident.? Danforth added that ?W.B. Ogden (Chicago Mayor) and some few Republican friends joined the terrified Democrats in petitioning honest old Abe to revoke Burnsides order??"which was done the next day & freedom of the press restored and (indignantly) such freedom!? He ended the letter with the observation that ?Chicago is standing still no growth but money is plentiful ? adding that the city is in the midst of ?diphtheria? outbreak. September 19 1863: The long summer gap in Dyer??Ts letters is unexplained. However this original double-sided telegram exchange between Captain Dyer and General Clinton Fisk reinstated Captain Dyer to duty at Pilot Knob. Dyer requested that he be reassigned to the post and General Fisk quickly accommodated ?BG Allen/CQM/St. Louis Mo./ If agreeable to yourself I would be glad if you would relieve Capt. S.H. Moore AQM from duty at this post (Pilot Knob) & assign to the vacant place Capt. Geo. R. Dyer again./(signed) Clinton B. Fisk/BG.? On the same day son George writes his father from Pilot Knob with the news that the captain had been reinstated to duty and included a verbatim transcription of the earlier telegram from General Fisk to General Allen. Attached to the letter is a small 3.50 x 2.25 in. printed ?St. Louis & Iron Mountain Railroad Pass? filled out to ?Captain G.R. Dyer & family? good for 1864. Also a missive entitled ?4 Rules of Live.? October 20 1863: A extemporaneous tongue-in-cheek three stanza rhyme written on the front of a large envelope by General Fisk to Captain Dyer from ?Head Quarters D.S.E. Missouri/Pilot Knob.? One stanza will serve to convey some unknown but deliberate frivolity at play ?Respectfully returned to Captain D./Who smokes his pipe from dinner to tea/With information from General Fisk/ That playing with sick is attended with [risk].? The playful rhyme hints at some shared secret and underscores the bond between the two officers and friends. November 2 1863: A two-sided letter from brother Dr. Charles V. Dyer who writes from Geneva Switzerland with much travel news from the past several months indicating that he ?had been to Africa to establish my court.? Charles Dyer had been appointed by President Lincoln in 1863 ?as judge of the mixed court at Sierra Leone for the suppression of the slave trade.? November 17 1863: Young George Dallas Dyer died at Pilot Knob on November 13 of gastroenteritis. Captain Dyer was devastated by the loss of his son and this heartfelt letter from S.J. Kimball the husband of Dyer??Ts sister Patience offers sympathy and advice for finding solace ?Look to God for support for the Bible alone can direct us in time of affliction.? December 11 1863: To Capt. Dyer from Uncle Alonzo Huntington. Another condolence letter in the wake of George??Ts untimely death offering what else but more Biblical support. September 17 1864: After another long gap a parting letter from Clerk Charlie Price to Capt. Dyer as he leaves Pilot Knob traveling back to Plainfield on business or sick leave. Price relates an interesting bit of news saying ?the photographer Hunt at Ironton (was) arrested & put in the Guard House last night for feeding secreting & assisting Rebs.? There is no suggestion that Confederate General Sterling Price is poised to invade Missouri later in the month with his Trans-Mississippi Army. Captain Dyer missed the battle of Pilot Knob (September 27) where Price captured Fort Davidson while suffering crippling casualties that allowed the Union army to escape. September 19 1864: Another short letter from Clerk Charlie Price informing the absent Captain Dyer of the state of affairs at Pilot Knob. Price assures Dyer that everything is well and that he will update and keep him ?informed as necessary.? Still no hint of impending battle. September 20 1864: Another short communication letter from the ever efficient Charlie Price ?Everything running in pretty good shape. Rice still acting as Forage master and speculating in hay. We posted in shops this morning the following Order: -NOTICE-/It is hereby positively prohibited to manufacture or repair any other than Government Stores at this shop. Except by Special Order from this Office. All employees transgressing this rule will be discharged without pay and will be reported to the Commanding Officer for severe punishment./Geo. R. Dyer/Capt.AQM.? November 4 1864: A short note on ?Head Quarters St. Louis? letterhead from General Fisk acknowledging Capt. Dyer??Ts request for a letter of recommendation to be forwarded to Secretary Stanton ?in securing advancement for you.? Fisk adds ?I would be glad to see you promoted and trust that you may be signed Clinton B. Fisk/Brig. Gen?. March 8 1865: A full page manuscript letter from General Fisk answering Captain Dyer??Ts earlier inquiry regarding a position on Fisk??Ts staff. The general responds ?I would be much pleased to be able to confer upon you my former faithful staff officer any position of honor or trust within my gift ? but Fisk doubts that he will get another command and demurs without offering a firm answer. ?Colonel Beveridge and the officers of the 17th Illinois Cavalry? are mentioned in closing. Fisk had been brevetted and the letter is now signed as ?Maj. Genl.? The last letter from July 1866 illustrates Captain Dyer??Ts transition from military to civilian life. Captain Dyer resigned from the army on May 15 1865 and returned home to Joliet Illinois. George Randolph Dyer??Ts original hand written biography later edited and published in the 1878 History of Will County is included as is the MOLLUS ?In Memoriam? pamphlet printed at the time of his death in 1895. The first is by far the most comprehensive history of Dyer while the second ??" composed by committee ??" focuses necessarily on his military service and bears annotations in the hand of cousin Mabel E. Green. George Randolph Dyer was born in Clarendon Rutland Country Vermont on June 3 1813 from a lineage of illustrious ancestors going back to 13th century England. Among his early Colonial brethren were Roger Williams of Rhode Island and the unrepentant Quaker Mary Dyer martyred on Boston Common in 1660. Dyer??Ts father Daniel Dyer had served in Revolutionary War and George Randolph later inherited the commission signed by John Hancock. Educated at Rutland Academy in Vermont George trekked westward in 1834 to Chicago then little more than a small settlement and trading post on Lake Michigan followed by his older brother Dr. Charles V. Dyer who later served as post surgeon at Fort Dearborn. George then moved to Milwaukee and during that time aided in the organization of the territory of Wisconsin in 1838. George surveyed ?the Fox River with a view to using that stream as a feeder for the Illinois canal.? In 1841 he sold his Chicago holdings and relocated to Will County Illinois becoming one of the earliest settlers in the area. There he acquired farmland near present day Bolingbrook-Plainfield. For the next decade George and his wife Elizabeth H. Kimball of Elgin Illinois engaged in farming and stock-raising adding to their modest wealth while raising six children. The other characters in our story of our lots sons George Dallas Dyer and Daniel B. Dyer were both born on the Will County farm. Both boys helped to work the property as dark war clouds descended across the land. Sometime during the 1840s George Dyer befriended a young lawyer named Abraham Lincoln who was then traveling the state as a circuit rider (1840-1847). There is reason to believe that Lincoln occasionally stayed at the Dyer farm during the decade thus the source of an undefined friendship that survived into the Civil War years. George and brother Charles Dyer became committed Abolitionists during the 1850s and fairly early on family story relates that the George Dyer??Ts Plainfield farm was surreptitiously used as a way station on the Underground Railroad. In 1856 George Dyer was elected Sheriff of Will County residing in Joliet the county seat where he became acquainted with like-minded politicians and influential power brokers of the anti-slavery Republican Party founded in 1854. By 1860 George and Charles could claim sufficient stature as party loyalists to be named electors in the Republican nominating convention where all energy was focused on launching the states??T favorite rustic son Abraham Lincoln ??" soon to be known as the ?Rail-Splitter? ??" on a course toward the Whitehouse. Captain Dyer??Ts war years as Assistant Quartermaster at Pilot Knob are well documented by the important Lincoln signed commission and the letter archive offered for sale here. Following the war Captain Dyer returned to Joliet and according to the History of Will County ?entered the hardware trade continuing in that until 1870 since which time he has not been engaged in active business.? Dyer??Ts earlier letters suggest lifelong health problems yet he lived until 1895. In retirement he must have spent long hours adding to the Dyer family genealogy and perfecting his Will County biography. In March 1880 his younger son Daniel B. Dyer then serving as Indian Agent at the Quapaw Agency saw fit to write and entice his father and mother with a government job teaching at the Indian school. Despite Daniel??Ts solid economic persuasiveness George Dyer apparently declined. By 1884 George and Elizabeth had relocated to Baxter Springs Kansas closer to Daniel where the captain became a charter member of the local GAR Post No.123 parenthetically once more listing his occupation as ?farmer.? George R. Dyer died at Excelsior Springs Missouri on July 13 1895 age 83. He was suitably memorialized by friends and fellow citizens for his ?loyal nature and esteemed service to country? and buried in Joliet Oakwood Cemetery. Descended Directly in the Dyer Family Condition: Lincoln commission is complete and intact without damage or noticeable fold lines. The ink is somewhat lighter than desirable but both Lincoln's and Stanton's signatures are strong enough to read without assistance. The blue seal is undamaged and vibrant. A hint of brown toning is noticeable around the edges. The commission was not removed from the frame for inspection. Except for expected fold lines all letters and documents are undamaged and completely readable. The photographs show varying degrees of wear else fine.
- USS Brooklyn Landsman George Tittle
USS Brooklyn Landsman George Tittle Civil War Archive This archive of seven letters written between January 16 and June 18 1861 by Surgeon??Ts Steward George A. Tittle aboard the USS Brooklyn gives the reader an eyewitness account of some of the earliest actions of the war at Fort Pickens in Pensacola as well as Brooklyn??Ts encounter with a notorious English blockade runner at the start of her illicit career. On January 16 1861 Tittle writes his sister mentioning obliquely the Brooklyn??Ts mission to besieged Fort Sumter: Since you received my last we have been to Charleston - arrived there on the 12th and returned here on the 14th... Only two of our officers have resigned they are from Alabama all the others are ?true blue.? The Brooklyn had been sent to deliver new orders to the ship Star of the West which was en route to Fort Sumter with desperately needed supplies. However Confederate shore gunners forced the supply ship to abandon her mission before the Brooklyn caught up with her. After reconnoitering the defenses at Charleston the Brooklyn returned to Hampton Roads where she was loaded with troops and artillery to reinforce various forts in Florida in an attempt to prevent their seizure by Rebel forces. On January 31 Tittle writes from Key West: ...tomorrow we leave for Tortugas where we will leave a lot of Howitzers and Field Pieces we have on board for the Fort there then we will proceed to Fort ?Pickens? (Santa Rosa Island near the Pensacola Navy Yard) where we will leave the Soldiers we received on board from Fort ?Monroe. The Brooklyn arrived at Fort Jefferson on Dry Tortugas on February 2 and then proceeded on their mission to reinforce Fort Pickens. When they arrived off Pensacola on February 6 they found a truce in effect at Fort Pickens similar to the one governing events at Fort Sumter. The Pensacola Navy Yard and the other surrounding forts had been seized but the rebel commander promised not to attack Fort Pickens if the US did not reinforce the tiny garrison there. Since neither side wanted to be the one to start a shooting war the Union warships were ordered not to land their reinforcements. Quoting Tittle??Ts February 7 letter (note that this letter is mistakenly dated 1860 but references the contents of the January 31 1861 letter): The troops are still on board of us... On our arrival here we received dispatches ordering us not to land the troops until further orders from Washington. The Union squadron comprising USS Wyandotte (which had escaped Pensacola Navy Yard where she was under repair when Florida seceded from the Union) USS St. Louis USS Sabine and USS Brooklyn packed with soldiers patrolled off Fort Pickens for the next ten weeks. On April 12 Fort Sumter was attacked by Confederate forces in Charleston igniting the war. Events quickly developed in Pensacola when the news arrived as Tittle relates in his letter of the 21st: On the night of the 12th inst. it was rumored that the secessionists were making preparation for an attack on Fort Pickens before sunrise in consequence of which we received the ?Sabine??Ts? & ?St. Louis? Marines and some of their sailors on board and ran up near the Fort and landed them with the soldiers and our Marines (in all about 350 men) who immediately marched into the Fort; this manouver being seen by the secessionists caused them to postpone the attack... Yesterday the Sailors & Marines returned from the fort to the fleet - there are now over one thousand men (soldiers) in the fort and they are engaged day and night in mounting guns inside and erecting Sand-Batteries and placing large Mortars along the beach while the sailors are busy with boats landing Ordnance provisions &c from the Store Ships. Two weeks later he proudly writes his sister that: The work on Fort Pickens and the several Batteries on Santa Rosa island is so nearly completed as to be able in a very few days to defy the whole force of the Southern Confederacy. The last letter of the archive is dated June 8 1861 and finds the Brooklyn off the mouth of the Mississippi River in company with USS Powhatan capturing blockade runners. On May 31 the Brooklyn encounters the soon-to-be notorious British blockade runner General Miramon: on the 31st a steamer hove in sight with a secession flag at her peak and on discovering us hauled down the secession and hoisted the English flag and stood off to the S.W.; we immediately went in pursuit of her and when we were about a mile and a half astern of her fired a shot to heave her to but she paid no attention to it; we then gave her a 10 inch shell (from our pivot Gun) which burst directly over her and had the desired effect; she proved to be the ?Genl Miramon? (formerly a Mexican Man of War) bound from Havana to New Orleans. - as our captain had some doubts as to her being a legal prize he sent her in charge of a prize crew to the captain of the U.S. Str. ?Niagara? off Mobile who left her at Havana a short time ago for him to decide if she is a prize or not. A former warship belonging to the conservative rebel faction in the Mexican civil war of 1860 the General Miramon had recently been purchased in New Orleans by blockade runners. Official records show that Mr. Golding the British captain carried British registration for the ship and claimed that he sailed from Havana with a cargo of cigars before news of the blockade had arrived hence the question of her status. The Brooklyn??Ts prize crew sailed the Miramon to Mobile where records show that Captain Golding begged Captain McKean of the USS Niagara to let him into port. The Miramon was out of coal and food and had a very sick woman passenger on board. Despite signing a pledge to not offload or accept any cargo in exchange for being allowed to dock Golding promptly sold his cargo and bought another to export escaping to Havana before he was caught. His actions led to a serious diplomatic incident between the US and Britain at the highest level. The Miramon made five blockade runs before being captured for good under the name Elizabeth on May 27 1862 by USS Keystone State while inbound to Charleston. George A. Tittle enlisted in the US Navy on January 11 1859 as a surgeon??Ts steward. He served aboard the USS Brooklyn until she was decommissioned for overhaul in October 1861 re-enlisting as surgeon??Ts steward on December 3 for duty on the USS Kearsarge. He was on board Kearsarge when she sank the CSS Alabama off Cherbourg France on June 19 1864. He completed his term of enlistment on December 2 1864 after Kearsarge??Ts return to the US.
- Turner Ashby Confederate Lieutenant
Turner Ashby Confederate Lieutenant Colonel War-Date DS Turner Ashby (1828-1862). A signed Confederate States of America pay voucher February 7 1862 no place acknowledging receipt of $555 for three months service November 1 1861 to January 31 1862 signed in black ink Thomas Ashby / Lt Col Comdg Cvry. Ashby served as a Confederate Cavalry Brigadier General. He mustered into Co. A Virginia 7th Cavalry on July 1 1861 as a Captain and was commissioned into CS General & Staff on May 23 1862. Ashby gained prominence as Stonewall Jackson's cavalry commander in the Valley Campaign in the Shenandoah Valley in 1862. Despite his vigorous reconnaissance and screening efforts in this campaign Ashby was KIA on June 6 1862 at Cross Keys Virginia. Condition: Toning a small burn hole at center and scattered minor stains.
- Confederate Order Book 1st Virginia
Confederate Order Book 1st Virginia Regiment Pre-First Bull Run 8 x 10 in. hardbound order copy book with gilt title ADJUTANTS REPORTS. /1ST. REGIMENT. This book is a record of the orders received by the 1st Virginia Volunteer Infantry beginning April 29 1861 through the Battle of First Bull Run and ending August 1 1861.The 1st (Richmond) Regiment a pre-war militia regiment was one of the first groups of infantry to arrive for training at the Hermitage Fairgrounds in Richmond (later Camp Lee) in April 1861. The early orders in this book chronicle the day to day problems of forging various mobs of spirited civilians into an army for the newborn nation. The entire army structure above the regimental level had to be made from scratch and these pages of recorded orders give an unparalleled insight into that evolving process.The first combat orders for the 1st Virginia dated May 29 1861 sent them to Manassas Junction to join Bonham's Brigade Department of Alexandria. June 1 finds the regiment at Camp Pickens Virginia where all forces are ordered to cheerfully join in the necessary labors however hard and unusual for them and immediately begin entrenching fortifications at Manassas Junction. The next day Beauregard is announced as the new commander of the Department of Alexandria.On June 16 Beauregard orders troops be supplied with 40 rounds ammo and held constantly in light marching order ready to advance on short notice with 10 days' rations (3-5 in haversacks the rest in wagons.)June 20 orders are issued forming the Army of the Potomac arranging the various regiments into six brigades and assigning brigade commanders. The 1st Virginia is assigned to the 4th Brigade Colonel G.H. Terret Provisional Army of Virginia commanding.Beauregard's HQ June 23rd: So great is the obstruction of the most important public business by the personal presentations at these HdQrs of applications for leaves of absence (generally on the certificate of a medical officer for the benefit of the applicant's health ) that it is ordered that all applications for leaves of absence hereafter shall be made through the commanding officer of the Regiment Corps or unattached company to which such applicant may belong.4th Brigade HQ Camp Pickens June 27 ...The Colonel also directs that the whooping and yelling in camp be stopped and that the men who insist on continuing this unmilitary habit be punished...July 4 1861: Camp PickensThe colonels of the Regiments comprising the 4th Brigade will at once see that their Regiments are provided with three days provisions in their haversacks and forty rounds of ammunition in their cartridge boxes and be held in readiness ?to march forthwith to the front. The alert was canceled July 5th.On July 7 Longstreet assumes command of the 4th Brigade. The next day orders are issued designating a winged badge for the brigade to be worn yellow side out on the left shoulder". Pickets are told to learn the insignia of surrounding brigades and small parties are not to be fired upon unless it is well ascertained that they are of the enemy and there is no probability of capturing them.Beauregard issues a long order on July 11 haranguing the army for grievous breaches in security. Newspapers as far away as South Carolina have published detailed dispositions of Confederate troops along the Potomac with troop strengths and regiment names and examples are provided in these orders.JULY 16 CONFEDERATE BATTLE PLANS FOR MANASSAS: Beauregard issues detailed seven-part battle plans to his command for the attack on the Federal army which that day has begun its march from Washington DC towards Manassas. In part:Head Quarters Army of the PotomacManassas Junction ?July 16th 1861Special Orders}No. 120 ???????????}The following will be observed and executed by all concerned in the special exigencies indicatedI??? Brig Genl Longstreet will hold his Brigade in readiness to march at a moment's notice and take position at Blackburn's ford one regiment to be placed with two pieces of Walton's battery in position in advance of that ford carefully concealed from the view of the enemy the other two regiments remaining on this side of the ford concealed from sight as far as practicable but ready to be thrown across at any moment and when Genl Longstreet shall hear the enemy engaged on his left at Mitchell's ford he will move and attack him in the flank and rear as already instructed keeping communications open with Bonham's brigade on the left and Jones' brigade on the right.II??? Brig Genl Jones will be prepared to move his Brigade from Camp Walker simultaneously with the 4th Brigade to positions at McLean's ford corresponding to those to be occupied by Longstreet at Blackburn's ford; as already instructed he will advance thence to the attack of the enemy's flank on the Centerville Road about halfway between Centerville and Mitchell's ford maintaining communication with Genl Longstreet on his left and Genl Ewell on his right...??? ???The next day Beauregard announced to his army that the Federal invasion of Virginia had begun:General OrdersNo. 41 ?I.??? The General Commanding the army of the Potomac announces to his command that at length the enemy have advanced to subjugate a sovereign state and impose upon a free people an odious government; notwithstanding their numerical superiority they can be repelled and the general commanding relies confidently on his command to do it...By the 18th Union General Tyler's advance division had reached Centerville. As the enemy approaches General Longstreet addresses his men:Head Quarters 4th BrigadeBull Run July 18th 1861General Orders No. 1Virginians you are now fighting for your own soil your homes and your liberties! Let it not be said that any Virginia Brigade gave way one foot before the vile invaders! We have taken our stand; let us show the enemy that we can and will repel them hence.Beauregard correctly expects McDowell's main attack to be from Centerville towards his right flank. Tyler spoils the Union plans by advancing early on Blackburns Ford and escalating his scouting mission into a battle with Longstreet's brigade. The Confederates repulse his attack prompting McDowell to change his plans and attack the alerted Confederates on the opposite flank once the main body of the Union army arrives. Colonel Patrick T. Moore of the 1st Virginia was severely wounded in the head during this battle an injury that would remove him from field service for most of the war.July 21 1861: BATTLE OF FIRST MANASSASSpecial Order No. 136 the morning of the battle informs the brigade commanders that:Lt Col Richard Snowdon is placed on duty with this army and is authorized to join any brigade engaged and opposed to artillery in which event he will be furnished with a detachment of picked riflemen to shoot fused balls into caissons and ammunition wagons.The next order entered into the book is dated June 22 1861 the day after the battle: Beauregard orders Longstreet to detail Lieut John G Meem 17th Regt Va Volunteers to proceed to the front with a strong escort and abundant means of transportation for the purpose of collecting arms munitions subsistance etc abandoned by the enemy...Also on this day Beauregard's Special Orders No. 146 advances his army into the Centerville area:1st Brigade Brig Genl M.L. Bonham at Centerville. 2nd Brigade Brig Genl Ewell at or about Union Mills in advance. 3rd Brigade Genl D.R. Jones at a position on Union and Centerville Road about half way between Braddock's Road and Union Mills ford. 4th Brigade Brig Genl Longstreet at or about the crossing of the Centerville and Union Mill road and the Braddock road. 5th Brigade Genl Cocke at or about suspension bridge over Cub Run. 6th Brigade Col Early in a position on Bull Run one mile above Stone Bridge. Evans command at or about Stone Bridge except Hunter's Regt Va Vols which will remain at these Hd Qrs for present...On July 24 1861 Beauregard orders Captain E.P. Alexander to choose from the captured Union artillery 1 large rifled gun two 6 pounder rifled guns and two 12 pounder rifled guns with proper caissons mobile forge and battery wagon and send them to Brigadier General T. H. Holmes.On July 29 in order to absorb the huge numbers of new soldiers Beauregard reorganizes the Army of the Potomac into 8 brigades of 4 regiments each plus artillery and cavalry.The last entry is a request for a Court of Inquiry by Captain F.B. Schaeffer Virginia Volunteers to examine into certain imputations and allegations made against his conduct as a soldier on the 21st July 1861..." ?Schaeffer was rumored to have in a panic ordered his men three times to retreat during the battle.1st Regiment Virginia Infantry (Williams Rifles) ??? ????1st Infantry Regiment completed its organization at Richmond Virginia in May 1861. At the outbreak of the war it had ten companies but in April three were detached. Thus the unit contained seven companies from Richmond and in mid-July a company from Washington D.C. was added. It fought at First Manassas under General Longstreet and in August totaled 570 men. During April 1862 when the regiment was reorganized it contained only six companies. The 1st was assigned to A.P. Hill's Kemper's and W.R. Terry's Brigade Army of Northern Virginia. It was active from Williamsburg to Gettysburg except when it was with Longstreet at Suffolk. Later the unit was involved in the capture of Plymouth the conflicts at Drewry's Bluff and Cold Harbor the Petersburg siege south and north of the James River and the Appomattox Campaign. This regiment lost twenty-two percent of the 140 engaged at Second Manassas had 9 wounded at Fredericksburg and had more than half of the 209 at Gettysburg disabled. Its casualties were 12 killed and 25 wounded at Drewry's Bluff 1 killed and 77 wounded at Five Forks and 40 captured at Sayler's Creek. Only 17 surrendered on April 9 1865. The field officers were Colonels Patrick T. Moore F.G. Skinner and Lewis B. Williams; Lieutenant Colonels William H. Fry and Frank H. Langley; and Majors John Dooley William P. Mumford George F. Norton and William H. Palmer.?(National Park Service Civil War Soldiers and Sailors System) Condition: Front cover detached some leaves clipped or loose.
- [Civil War Ephemera] Two telegraphs
[Civil War Ephemera] Two telegraphs on Baltimore & Ohio Railroads on telegraph letterhead the first from George William Brown to John Work Garrett April 21 1861 informing him that he had met with President Lincoln and the Cabinet and had been assured that the Massachusetts Regt. would be removed to Harrisburg the second from John E. Wool to the commandant of officers at Baltimore September 20 1862 ordering the safe passage to Baltimore of George L. Dobbin a political prisoner on parole Estimate $ 100-150
- Civil War Military Assignment Ledger
Civil War Military Assignment Ledger for Guard Duties 1861-1862 Military assignment ledger for guard picket & camp guard duty assignments from December 21 1861 to August 12 1862 as well as ordnance accounts.? 12.5 x 4 in. with marbleized boards and page edges.? Camp Hamilton Va. and Camp Michigan are noted in several instances giving a clue to the book's origin. Condition: Shelf wear slightly warped pages.
- General Orlando B. Willcox Medal of
General Orlando B. Willcox Medal of Honor Winner Oil Portrait Post-war oil painting on canvas of General Orlando B. Willcox in uniform unsigned 21.5 x 25.25 in. framed 27.5 x 31.25 in. Born in Detroit Orlando Bolivar Willcox (1823-1907) was a celebrated career United States Army officer who graduated West Point in 1847 and dedicated nearly 40 years service to his country before retiring as a regular brigadier general in 1887. Willcox served initially in the 4th Artillery during the later stages of the Mexican War fighting Indians on the Great Plains and during the Third Seminole War before resigning in 1857 to pursue a law career. In March 1895 General Willcox was awarded a Medal of Honor for ?distinguished gallantry? at First Bull Run where as colonel he commanded a brigade consisting of his own 1st Michigan Infantry and the famous 11th NY (Ellsworth??Ts) Fire Zouaves and ?led repeated charges until wounded and taken prisoner.? Subsequently Willcox was held at Richmond Charleston and Columbia South Carolina before being exchanged in August 1862 and promoted to brigadier general retroactive to July 21 1861 (Bull Run). Afterward Willcox was given command of a division in fellow 1847 classmate Ambrose Burnside??Ts Corps and fought steadily at Antietam and Fredericksburg. In 1863 he commanded the District of Indiana and Michigan before returning to divisional command for the grueling Knoxville Campaign. Once more under Burnside he led his division during Grant??Ts Overland Campaign receiving a brevet promotion to major general in August 1864 for ?actions after crossing the Rapidan.? General Willcox commanded the first troops to enter Petersburg following the lengthy siege. Orlando Willcox was twice brevetted in 1867 for his Civil War service (Spotsylvania and Petersburg) and reverted to colonel of the 12th Infantry in March 1869. Toward the end of his stellar career Willcox took command of the Department of the Arizona and ?effectively suppressed the raids of the Apache Indians and for his service in this conjunction received a votes of thanks form the Arizona Legislature.? Willcox was promoted to Brigadier General Regular Army in October 1886 and was placed on the statutory retirement list in April 1887. The general was among the last of the army??Ts surviving high-profile Civil War officers when he died at age 84 on May 11 1907. The general is buried at Arlington (Section 1 Grave 18). Condition: Some edgewear and corner wear to frame.
- General Henry F. Clarke Breveted Brigadier
General Henry F. Clarke Breveted Brigadier General for Gettysburg Civil War Camp Chair Folding camp chair consisting of wood that appears to be pine with square seat of commercial patterned tacked carpet material woven in dark maroon and browns. Portable chair measures approx. 14 in. from floor to seat and 34 in. tall to the top rail of the back. The owner's name H.F. Clarke is stamped in ink on underside of chair. Underside with part of manufacturer's tag still visible which reads Patented 9 (by) Manufacturer Worcester Mass. A tag attached to the chair includes the following penciled inscription: This camp chair belonged to Henry F. Clarke my Grandfather - Mary Clarke 1899 (front); Henry F. Clarke Born 1821 Died 1887. Colonel 1861. Breveted Major General for Gettysburg also MA Cadet (reverse). Purchased from the Estate of General Henry F. Clarke's Great-Granddaughter. Henry Francis Clarke (1820-1887) born in Brownsville Pennsylvania graduated from the U.S. Military Academy in 1843. He entered the artillery serving in the occupation of Texas from 1845-1846 and in the war with Mexico. Clarke won the brevet of Captain at Chapultepec and was present at the assault and capture of the City of Mexico. From 1848-1851 Clarke worked with the Military Academy first as assistant instructor of artillery then as assistant professor of mathematics. From 1851-1852 he was engaged with his regiment in the Seminole War but went back to work with the Military Academy from 1855-1856. In January of 1857 Clarke was made Captain and accompanied the Utah Expedition in the same year as Commissary of Subsistence a position he held until 1860 when he was assigned to duty in the office of the Commissary-General. Clarke ordered the expedition of the relief of Fort Pickens April 1 1861 was appointed Chief Commissary of General McDowell's command in July of 1861 and served in the Manassas campaign. He was then promoted to Major in August 1861 and served as Chief Commissary of subsistence of the Army of the Potomac from August 1861-January 1864. Clarke was present at the siege of Yorktown as well as the battles of South Mountain Antietam Fredericksburg Chancellorsville and Gettysburg. Promoted to Lieutenant Colonel in June of 1864 Clarke had charge of purchase of supplies in New York City until 1867. Clarke was breveted Brigadier General for gallantry at the battle of Gettysburg and Major General for faithful services in the Subsistence Department during the Civil War. He served as Chief of Commissariat of the Division of the Missouri in 1868-1875 and of the Division of the Atlantic from 1879 until he retired in November of 1884 with the rank of Colonel. Condition: Expected wear to chair; overall in very good condition.
- Group of American Historic Newspapers
Group of American Historic Newspapers principally Baltimore and Boston including: ''The Baltimore Sun Vol. I May 17 1837 '' ''The Baltimore Sun April 11 1861 '' ''The Baltimore Patriot and Evening Advertiser January 24 1814 '' ''Boston Weekly Messenger August 7 and August 28 1812 '' and ''The Hartford CT American Mercury September 18 1797'' Estimate $ 100-200
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