LOT Old Heritage Auctions  /  2007 June Civil War Grand Format Auction #663  / 

74386

30 Letters and Documents of Sgt. Charles Willard

Currency:USD Category:Collectibles Start Price:875.00 USD Estimated At:3,500.00 - 4,500.00 USD
30 Letters and Documents of Sgt. Charles Willard
<B>Archive of 30 Letters and Documents of Sergeant Charles Willard, 137th Ohio Infantry.</B></I> A twenty-two year old watchmaker, Willard enlisted in the Ohio National Guard for one hundred days of service. After training at Camp Dennison, he was sent to Fort McHenry where he extended his service an additional hundred days. In twenty-five letters to his father, Willard tells of “<I>playing soldier in the city</B></I>”. When his unit was transferred, he writes, “<I>I hear it rumored that we will move to Washington in a few days, if so I hope Gen'l Grant will have all the rebels killed before we get there.</B></I>” <BR><BR> Once in Maryland, Willard tells his father about the execution of a rebel spy, “<I>he was brought to in an ambulance from his cell with heavy irons on his wrists and ankles. The irons were taken off his ankles when he arrived at the scaffold and he trotted up the steps as light as a cat…the prisoner was perfectly calm and quiet during the time the charges were read to him and did not seem to be the least affected…the noose was then placed around his neck. The black cap drawn over his face. The prop was pulled from under the trap door and he was launched into eternity... He died very easy</B></I>”. <BR><BR> On August 7th 1864 Sergeant Willard disobeyed his father and went to Washington for the day, “<I>I am well pleased with Washington. The capitol with its fine paintings, marble floors, and staircases, the Smithsonian Institute with its collection of curiosities, the Patent Office with a model of every piece of machinery that a human ever invented.</B></I>” <BR><BR> In addition to the interesting letters, the archive includes: Willard's Certificate of Honorable Service, The United States Volunteer Service, December 15, 1864; State of Ohio Adjutant General's Office, Service Record, January 14, 1925; Pension Award, Department of the Interior, Bureau of Pensions, November 8, 1907; Discharge Certificate, August 19, 1864; Promotion Certificate as Fourth Sergeant, May 2, 1864; and a Certificate of Election, County Councilman, November 10, 1910. A very nice, researchable group in fine condition.<BR><BR><b>Shipping:</b> Flat Material, Small (<a target="_blank" href="http://www.heritageauctions.com/common/shipping.php">view shipping information</a>)
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