Auction Date:2009 Jun 24 @ 10:00 (UTC-04:00 : AST/EDT)
Location:6270 Este Ave., Cincinnati, Ohio, 45232, United States
1863-1897. 83rd Ohio Infantry. 85 items (22 war-date letters -- some incomplete, 57 post-war letters, 4 reunion items, newspaper, carte de visite of Susan Brown McGregor, and two large format photographs, including a vignetted portrait, probably of McGregor, 11" x 14", mounted, and an albumen photograph of an armed infantry company, probably McGregor's own Co. E, 83rd OVI, 11" x 15.5", mounted).
Frank McGregor was an unusual soldier for the Civil War, not so much for his military exploits, but for his heartfelt correspondence with his fiancée, Susie Brown, much of which was published in Carl E. Hatch, ed., Dearest Susie: A Civil War Infantryman's Letters to his Sweetheart (NY, 1971), a copy of which is included. The collection here, however, consists of fifteen letters that did not appear in that volume, along with nine additional letters to his family, all of which bear the hallmarks of publishability. Frank is a graceful writer, devoted to Susie, but dedicated to serving his country.
The bulk of these letters were written in the last year of the war, from late summer 1864 through the summer 1865, when the war had begun to wear him down. Although there are occasional references to military action, such as a brief excursion undertaken from Morganza, La., in September 1864, the letters focus on the daily life in camp and the hopes he and Susie had for a life together. There are stunning accounts of daily life, such as the sight of the beautiful prairie in Vermillion Bayou, La., and the hardships endured by the population, but longing for home and weariness with war are constant themes. To give a flavor of the quality of these letters, on Jan 5, 1864, Frank writes: The Creoles coming daily to dispose of their surplus fruit say this is the worst winter they have seen for a number of years, attributing it to the unusual dry summer & fall... Although there is much murmuring against this place & the authorities that sent us here, we are pretty comfortable and have not much cause for complaint... The Brigade commander, he continues, insists on the soldiers holding guard at camp, which they had not been asked to do since early in their service. The boys feel it very irksome, he noted, so much so no soldier will perform the duty of a guard, but allow all of the regiment to pass in and out at pleasure, so that it is only a guard in name…. We are missing a great deal of pleasure, Susie, in being here, for away from friends & home, but will not every thing be doubly sweet if it please our Heavenly Father to return us safe home, & we feel we have done our duty to our Country in assisting in our humble way to sustain its laws and honor. This separation too, irksome, wearisome as it is & longing as I do for your society, has it not taught us much of each other that would take months to learn though daily together. This separation with a happy termination as I trust it shall be will knit our hearts more firmly together & we can meet the dark clouds hat in the brightest life will come, with stout hearts, trusting & loving to the end.
From Barrancas, Fla., in Feb. 13, 1865, things seemed cheerier. Once it appeared that the regiment would not have to undertake an expedition into the interior, they seemed to settle in: We are now trying which Regt. can outdo the other in adorning their camp. It would surprise you Susie to see how tastefully & beautifully some of them are planted & arranged by rough soldiers, as well as the unique devices made with the pure white sand from the beach. I never saw the decorations at one our fourth of July celebrations that was an approach to some of them. The planting of evergreens is by the Genl. Order "rather a new order for generals." He must be a very conscientious one, for the ground where we are belongs to the government Navy Yard adjoining Warrenton in the vicinity. He remarked it would serve the double purpose of heaving a good moral effect on the men "Infantry Implanting a love of the beautiful I suppose he meant," as well as in years to come would make timber for the navy yard...
Ordered into the final assaults on Fort Blakely (not discussed here except in passing) and then into the interior of Alabama, the war's end came a relief for all. When occupying Selma on May 7, 1865, the relief became palpable: Day before yesterday Dick Taylor who with a force is out at Citronella sent in his surrender and now we may count of peace on the east side of the Miss. We look forward daily to hear from Kirby Smith Comdg the Trans Miss Dept to follow in the wake of the other leaders of this infamous rebellion. The Confederacy that has been tottering for over a year has fallen quicker than I expected. And it is strange how very humble the good citizens of Selma have grown & how very loyal, the majority say they never were in favor of the movement, and now since they have lost their wealth by Wilsons Cavalry they think still less of the Confederacy...now that the war is over, people are beginning to return to their homes. At any time of the day squads of foot weary soldiers from Lee's Army may be seen going through the streets. This coming home in small bands is quite in keeping with the unsuccessful attempt to overthrow the mist lenient government the sun shines upon. The loyal army will come home like soldiers in organized bodies bearing their battle scarred banners, to receive the thanks of a grateful people...
The ten letters to family members were written during the fall 1864 through January 1865, when the regiment was stationed first near the White River, Ark., and then at Natchez, and each reveals the same longing for home after so long under arms.
McGregor apparently returned to civilian life, married Susie, and established himself as a florist in Springfield, Ohio. The balance of the collection, however, is far from routine, consisting of dozens of letters from McGregor's children, Grace and Bertha, documenting adventurous trips west in 1896, 1897, and 1906, the latter trip also including Susie. The children seem to have inherited their father's literary abilities, and provide engrossing accounts of crossing the country by rail with stops at Yellowstone and Yosemite (a brilliant look into early tourism there, with two fine letters from each), Los Angeles, San Jose, and San Francisco.
Perceptively written, riddled with the middle class views of the writers, the letters are remarkable documents from a boom period in American tourism. From Yosemite in 1897, for example, Grace commented on recent changes in the way hotels handle tourists: The men at the hotels contrive to hold the tourists as long as they possibly can -- and to do this they make a separate day trip to each point of interest, charging outrageously for each trip. When we reached Wawona, the hotel manager positively assured us that unless we made a separate day trip to the Maraposa grove, we would only see one or two of the bug trees, and that only from the stage as we drove by, so we decided on the whole day trip. We left yesterday morning at ten in a buckboard with two seats... We had a most delightful drive up to the grove in a fine shower of rain, just enough rain to lay the dust and not soak us. When we reached the great tree called "Fallen Monarch," I told the driver I must stop and climb on that. As we had engaged him for the day, he was at our command and did exactly as we wished. I climbed up into a crack of this fallen tree and standing up straight in the crack as the tree lay on the ground I was five feet from the ground and had three feet above my head to spare... In another letter, she describes a visit to the giant trees in the hills above Santa Cruz, mentioning that it took a chain of 13 girls to link arms around the General Sherman sequoia.
The highlight of the post-war letters, however, are three letters describing an excursion to Alaska in July 1897. Each of these letters is long and detailed, richly descriptive, and either humorous or sad, depending on one's perspective. In an 8pp letter from July, Grace brought her father up to date on their activities: We were sorry not to have a few more hours in Sitka, for though smaller than Juneau, it had much more of interest, and was a great deal cleaner. Another thing, it did not smell quite so bad, though likely you would have gone about, as one of the girls did who was with us. When we were going through what they call in Sitka The Ranch, where most of the Indians live, Miss Sloane would go up to a door and speak to the old women, all the while holding her nose so tightly that one could not understand her, and better than the Indians. We went all through the Presbyterian mission, one of the teachers, an Indian girl taking us about. This girl (Miss Campbell) had been in the east for ten years, being educated, and had only returned a short time ago. She is very pretty and it was quite interesting to hear her talk of the work they are doing among the Indians especially the little girls. A week later, she wrote a 12pp letter describing the sights of glaciers, the town of Dyea, and especially, the sight of a long procession of gold miners seeking their fortune. The final letter, written just after their arrival in Tacoma, Wash., on Aug. 2 (11pp) discusses the Indians they saw at Fort Wrangell, totem poles, and a visit to an Indian house: It is just the nastiest, dirtiest, worst smelling place, I believe, in the world. We looked in one hut, and there was an old Indian, rolled in his blanket, sick, in one corner, two old women sat near the door, one of them blind, the room perfectly filthy. The fire was in the center of the room, with a small hole in the roof for the smoke, and hanging from the roof in the smoke a lot of fish, I suppose being smoked for winter use... The letter continues at considerable length about the visit.
The collection includes four printed programs from regimental reunions in 1912 and 1915, and a carte de visite of the beautiful Susie. Accompanying the collection are typescripts of McGregor's Civil War letters home (the originals are not included in the collection) as well as some of the post-Civil War letters.
A wonderful collection from a talented family -- all of publishable quality.
Condition: Generally good condition with expected wear and tear.
Auction Location:
6270 Este Ave., Cincinnati, Ohio, 45232, United States
Previewing Details:
Tuesday, June 23, 12:00 PM - 5:00 PM
Wednesday, June 24 8:00 AM - 10:00 AM
Taxes:
| Tax | Rate | Desc. |
| Ohio |
5.5% |
Ohio State Tax |
Buyer's Premiums:
| From (Incl.) | To (Excl.) | Premium |
| 0.00 |
Infinite |
17.5% |
Additional Fees:
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