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Book That Saved the Life of A North Carolina Confederate, 

Currency:USD Category:Collectibles / Militaria Start Price:700.00 USD Estimated At:1,000.00 - 1,500.00 USD
Book That Saved the Life of A North Carolina Confederate, 

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Auction Date:2009 Jun 24 @ 10:00 (UTC-04:00 : AST/EDT)
Location:6270 Este Ave., Cincinnati, Ohio, 45232, United States
12mo (3" x 5") leather bound copy of an 1836 copy of The Lady of the Lake by Sir Walter Scott, published in Bristol, R.I. Front end papers inscribed in both pencil and ink Mrs. L(avinia)Sparrow Durham and W. L. Sparrow MD Sparrow. Volume worn, with front cover separated and crudely reattached, sewn with heavy cotton thread, top left edge of cover heavily damaged and partially missing. Front cover with an undated applied label in manuscript: This little volume of Lady of the Lake saved the life of my cousin Mr. Thomas Sparrow. He had it in his pocket of his heart when a bullet from a Yankee gun struck the corner of it. Mrs. Earl Dixon.

In April, 1861, at the outbreak of hostilities with the North, Thomas Sparrow, a Beaufort resident, enrolled as a Captain in the militia and raised the 10th North Carolina Light Artillery (later Federalized and changed to the 1st North Carolina Light Artillery). At the fall of Fort Hatteras in August of 1861, Sparrow was taken prisoner and confined at Fort Warren, paroled and exchanged at Fort Monroe in 1862. He rejoined his unit after parole, was promoted to Major and is listed on the rolls in 1864. In his published diary (Broadfoot 1982 of Clark 1901:48-4), Sparrow describes what well could have been the incident, though does not specifically mention the book. Standing in the traverse of the Fort, he notes It was while here that a shell exploded on the traverse above me, and a fragment tore my coat away from my left shoulder and penetrated the tail, tearing it badly. While lying on my side, very much at ease, a large fragment of a shell fell from the air on the platform at my side, where there had been no explosion for several seconds. It came like an aerolite, seemingly without cause and very much surprised me. Not long afterward, the Fort fell and Sparrow was taken prisoner. A fine relic. 

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