Confederacy, Confederate Soldier's Letter. 8-page letter from Confederate 3rd VA Cavalryman Thomas B. Booth, datelined Yorktown, June 12, 1861; plus original cover, plus transcription; letter talks about the Battle of Bethel Church …My Little Darling, I received your dear sweet letter and the box you so kindly sent me. You cannot imagine how much obliged I feel to you for it. I was on picket duty at the time it landed at the wharf. Saw it pass in the wagon camp. That was day before yesterday morning. Last night I was relieved, got to camp about dark and the first thing I inquired for was the box because I knew there was a letter in there from Little Darling. Bless your heart for both box and letter. According to promises I write to inform you we have had an engagement with those outrageous invaders. We met that at a church called Bethel about eighteen miles from here where we had thrown up a very strong fortification. I have only to say the enemy were badly whipped. we lost only one man. the enemy met with great loss, from one to three hundred. They were hauling them off from the time of the first gun fired, they had about three to four thousand men to our twelve hundred … the retreating enemy were followed by cavalry to two and a half miles of Hampton [VA] … I hardly think they will return. One of our pickets was just captured. We had an engagement yesterday morning that lasted three hours, F.-V.F. Estimate  $500 - 750. $0 (Image)

Confederacy, Confederate Soldier's Letter. Richmond, VA to Augusta, GA, franked with 10¢ rose, postmarked May 29, 1862, from C.S.A. officer Harry Hammond to his wife Emily Hammond who is staying with her parents during the war (a common arrangement). We know he is an officer, otherwise the letter would have been sent postage due, and we learn later from the letter that he is a cavalryman. The envelope is addressed to his father-in-law (presumably) Col. H.H. Cummings, who is also obviously in the C.S.A. Army. The envelope was prepared by Harry on May 27 and he is assiqned to the 31st (presumably the 31st Virginia but could also be the 31st Georgia) brigade, according to the docketing marks; envelope also carries the manuscript notation "For B.L.H.", directing the contents to his wife Emily., Very Fine; with 1995 P.F. certificate. Scott No. 5  Estimate $750 - 1,000. This letter is remarkably historic in timing, setting and content. The writer notes that his negro manservant and mare, brought along to his enlistment, are both serving him well. Confederate soldiers generally brought their own menservants and steeds. The letter shows that the writer is serving under Brigadier General John Gregg who is under Confederate Army General Joseph B. Johnston. The letter is written just before the two day long battle of Fair Oaks (Seven Pines), in which over 6,000 Confederate troops and over 5,000 Union troops were lost with an indecisive outcome. Historians generally agree that Johnston made some very bad decisions during this battle. Note the writer's remark about the war being a game of chess, reflecting the mixed popularity of General Johnston. He was never held in high regard by Confederate President Jefferson Davis. The writer is either naive or does not wish to frighten his wife regarding the fighting and about his regiment being marched south into battle positions around Richmond. History shows that the fighting and skirmishing were intense all along the Fredericksburg to Richmond corridor between April 1862 and the end of June 1862 as the union and Confederate forces amassed along this corridor. By the descriptions in the letter, the writer is apparently with an advance guard and he describes moving troops further south east of Richmond into battle position while under enemy artillery fire. The writer describes searching for discarded weapons from the stony Creek Point Skirmish and Confederate retreat two days before this letter was written, on May 25, 1862. By April 4, 1862, McClellan's Union army had started its advance up the James River toward Richmond. Yorktown had fallen to McClellan by May 5, clearing the way for the union army's further penetration up the James to ultimately threaten Richmond. McClellan's advance forced the Confederates to abandon Norfolk and several other positions north, concentrating their troops around the defense of Richmond. The author describes his part in that concentration move from Fredericksburg. This letter, written on May 27, precedes by four days the disabling wounding of General Joseph B. Johnston at Fair Oaks, leading to the appointment of General Robert E. Lee as commander of the Confederate Army. $0 (Image)

Confederacy, Confederate Soldier's Letter. Confederate officer 2-page letter, from S.H. Dent to his sister, plus original transmittal cover, plus transcription. The letter contains valuable new information not in the O.R. about Confederate troop movements after Bragg's defeat at Chattanooga. Until now, details of those movements and their associated command structures have been unclear. S.H. (Stouten Hubert) Dent is a more important person in history than this letter suggests. A devoted pre-war secessionist, Dent resigned his commission and was allegedly connected with the Northwest Conspiracy that attempted to destroy the north. After the war, Dent was pursued by Union General John T. Croxton who sought to have him arrested and tried for treason. S. H. Dent's name appears on a captured Ku Klux Klan document, leading to the speculation that he was a participating member. As a practicing attorney after the war, Dent is known to have authored at least one of the local "black codes" that restricted Alabama black citizen's freedoms. Dent's views subsequently moderated, according to the record of his service on the committee that wrote the 1901 Alabama state constitution. This same constitution remains in effect in Alabama today., F.-V.F. Estimate  $500 - 750. $0 (Image)

Confederacy, Confederate Soldier's Letter. 2-page letter from Confederate 10th VA infantry soldier Dilman Eastep to his sister datelined Sept 20, 1863, "Camp 12 miles below Orange Court House"; written after Gettysburg but before the Mine Run campaign…Times are hard at this time everywhere and things of every description are so dear that men in service getting but eleven dollars of this Confederate money per month cannot support their families. Consequently, if the government does not do something soon for us we will have to suffer and if speculation does not stop and if our money is not made legal tender the Confederacy must go under; Included are a tintype photo of Eastep, his wallet, a transcription of his letter and his soldier's record., F.-V.F. Estimate  $400 - 600. $0 (Image)