Auction Date:2009 Jun 24 @ 10:00 (UTC-04:00 : AST/EDT)
Location:6270 Este Ave., Cincinnati, Ohio, 45232, United States
1862-1865; 104 letters.
An 18-year-old shoemaker from Abington, Mass., William Foster enlisted as a new recruit in the 12th Massachusetts Infantry on August 11, 1862. His regiment was already well seasoned as one of the harried members of the Army of the Shenandoah, and was soon to be subjected to some of the hardest fighting of the war. Foster joined his new comrades in the field just after Cedar Mountain, and just in time for Pope's Northern Virginia Campaign and the Battles of Bull Run and Chantilly, which he attempted to describe to his surely horrified parents on Sept 9, 1862: I lost everything I had except what was on my back in the battle… When we was on the battle field fighting I felt just as cool as iff I were gunning till the order came to retreat and then I felt a little timid. There was not a man hurt in the least till that order came. I was just behind B [a relative?] when the ball struck him the same ball that struck him passed within three inches of my head very close shaving wasn' it...
The carnage left a strong impression on the young man. The Brigade he wrote, that is what is left of it the Brigade makes about a full regiment now it was terribly cut up at the last Battle. All there is left of our company is about 15 as near as we can tell of all that went into the fight of our company only 7 came out while... Foster had not been present with his comrades at Bull Run, having fallen out of ranks a few days before, and he clearly felt guilty about it: I had rather been with them than not because it was my wish to go through all they did… I tell you mother it was a terrible scene. I saw the largest part of it from a mountain near the fight that is wher the keanist fighting was and I tell you it was awfull. There was a continual roar of infantry and artilery all the time it was impossible to try to give you any idea of it, you cannot imagine anything to great to compare with it. The first dead that I saw when I came out here was at Slaughter Mountain [Cedar Mountain] that was when we were going to join the regiment. I thought that was awful to see a mans toes sticking out of the ground but come to see men so close together that it is hard work to keep from stepping on them when you are walking along. You can see the difference. I have seen men piled up 2 deep for 10 or 12 rods they were shot down in regiments just as they marched up there on the Mountain at Middletown Valley. I saw hundred of men laying in the road and in the woods side of the road in all forms an shapes some of them dead some dying and some of them wounded...
A couple of weeks after Antietam, the 12th Mass. was reviewed on the battlefield by Lincoln himself: I think he is a verry fine looking man he does not look anything like his pictures for he lookes better. When he came onto the field he was saluted with 21 guns. He only rode along in front of the line and then we went out of sight... In the same letter, Foster wrote that he badly wanted to go home, but that his longing would never lead him to compromise his duty. If they want me, he wrote, I am ready to go in again I am ready if needs be to go in to day and fight till this things is settled but then I don’t care any more about fighting than anyone else but I do want to see this thing stopped. They may say what they will this thing will not be stopped without more fighting. They have had rumors afloat that the rebs wanted to compromise. I hope it is so but I don't think it. They are to blood thirsty but they have got to do something before winter or they will starve and I wish the leading ones would. I don’t want the privates to suffer for they don’t deserve it...
During the long and comparatively quiet winter near Belle Plains, Foster witnessed one fascinating episode, the discovery of a female soldier: There was the queerest thing happened out on piquet the other day that ever I heard of. Thare was a Corporal of the 136 Pa. Vol. that had a Baby, a young soldier this Corporal has been with the regt. ever since it was formed and the reg. did not know but what she was a man. She is a Dutch woman what her object was for enlisting was I do not know she must be a queer woman.
Pregnant soldiers aside, the long winter began to wear on his nerves, and after killing a water moccasin in April 1863, he insisted to his parents that he would rather stay heare and fight them than go south and fight the rebs, for I had about as life get bit by a snake as get bit by one of the rebs bullets, one is about as dangerous as the other... A week later, his regiment moved across the Rappahannock, and he wrote we expect a battle before long...the enemy are on the other side of the river about a mile, we can [see] all their batterrys quite plane I don’t know as we shall have to go across. Some think we are only placed heare to draw the enemys attention while Hooker is getting around on their flank, but it is only a rumor...
On May 5, he wrote to say he had survived that Battle -- Chancellorsville. We are haveing a rough old time of it, I tell you. We are all mixed up with the rebs day before yesterday we went out skirmishing (our regt) and we took 102 Prisoners. We took more prisoners than we had men in our regt, we got so close to the enemy in the night that we could hear them whisper but we are laying behind our breastworks now and they are good ones. I tell you the whole rebel army might charge on them and they would get drove back. We had some very hard fighting all along our lines... The collection also includes a 14 page letter written three days later describing the entire campaign: you will see wether I kept up a brave heart when you read the account of our regt or what was left of them for after we got to the battlefield there was only about fifty or eighty of us...[they marched in] when we fell back to a large dry ditch we all got into that and lay thare all the time they kept shelling us quite hard. One shell killed and wounded twelve men only one of our regt was hurt, a little fellow in Co. I named Critchett. He lost his leg. when they was carrying him off he kept telling them to bring his leg along with them… the enemy kept shelling us till after sun set we could see the shell pass over us. They would strike in front of us and then pass over us and go to the rear about a mile. We lay in the ditch that night and the next two days. The 3d we left the ditch and too up our line of march for the U.S. ford... Much more on the march, fighting, capturing prisoners, including this: Col. Bates started to go back to the Brigade when he got a little turned round and got into the enemys lines. He saw two of them washing with their guns leaning up against a tree. He walked up to the guns and took one of them (the guns) and told the two Johnny rebs that they wer his prisoners and he marched them into camp...
Foster wrote two letters during the hard march, stalking the Army of Northern Virginia into Maryland and Pennsylvania. Fighting on the far right of the 1st Corps lines at Gettysburg, Foster was wounded in the leg just below the knee. When I get home, he wrote, with a sardonic smirk, I shall be perfectly docile but you had not aught to wonder about my talking about shooting while this bullet wound runs in my blood. I have got a large debt to pay Johnny reb with interest but he will have to trust me some time longer before I cancel it. Please do not talk to much about niggers Matt, for if you do I may tell you what I think of them. I can feel it coming now so I will talk about something else...
After recovering in hospitals in New York and Rhode Island, and failing to work family influence with the Governor to gain a commission, Foster was sent to a Convalescent camp near Alexandria, Virginia, in January 1864. By the end of that month, he reported I have been Tried, Condemned, and Sentenced to serve my time out in the Invalid Corps. Don’t despise me for I could not help it... I shall write home for a box and have you send me my Flute and some other of my nic nax for I am going to be a Gentleman Soldier the rest of my term of service. Going to play Soger well I think I have been enough of reality, that’s so. If it was not for the name of the thing I would be glad that I was in then I.C.
Having transferred out of 12th Mass on March 1864 into the Veterans Reserve Corps, Foster was mustered out of the service on June 25, 1864. He died Dec. 8, 1894.
With wit and a clever sense of humor, Foster packs a great deal into his letters, which include everything from camp scenes to excellent battle content, mentioning Cedar Mountain, Bull Run, Chancellorsville, and Gettysburg, and a moving account of being wounded and taken out of duty. A solid archive of a motivated young New Englander in an active regiment. Good condition throughout with typical wear, some separation along folds, and uneven punctuation.
Condition:
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
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| Tax | Rate | Desc. |
| Ohio |
5.5% |
Ohio State Tax |
Buyer's Premiums:
| From (Incl.) | To (Excl.) | Premium |
| 0.00 |
Infinite |
17.5% |
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