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34th MA Infantry ALS 1862

Currency:USD Category:Collectibles / Autographs Start Price:100.00 USD Estimated At:NA
34th MA Infantry ALS 1862
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4pp. letter from Robert Wilson, 34th Massachusetts Infantry, who was later wounded and taken prisoner. Datelined ''camp near Alexandria 7 September 1862,'' letter reads in part: ''…I was a guard yesterday and last night…We are liable to march any minute. We have two days rations always cooked ahead so that we will be ready…Every thing has been verry quite arraund here for the last few days both sides are taking a rest and making ready…The north has got army enough to eat the rebels all up and would if we only had good officers. We have some good ones no doubt but a great many of the officers of the new regiments is greener than what the men is. We hear all kinds of reports about Stonewall Jackson. Yesterday we heard he had crossed the Potomac into Maryland. Today we hear that he was drove back and had 800 men killed…I see in this morning Washington news that Jackson has crossed the Potomac…about half way between Washington and Harpers Ferry. I expect to hear of him in New York and perhaps Boston within a month…'' Wilson mustered into Company A on 13 July 1862. He was wounded and taken prisoner on 15 May 1864 at New Market, Virginia; just one of 840 Union soldiers to fall when Confederate General John Breckenridge halted General Franz Sigel's advance toward Lynchburg. Wilson later died in captivity on 25 August 1864 at Andersonville, Georgia. The 34th Massachusetts Infantry did make it to Lynchburg one month after Wilson's capture, but was forced to retreat after sporadic fighting because of a lack of supplies. The regiment also fought at Berryville, Opequan and Petersburg. Letter, written in pencil, measures approximately 4.5'' x 7.5''. Separation at folds repaired with tape. Chips, toning and foxing, otherwise good condition.