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"It's like the fourth of July here" in Washington, N.C.

Currency:USD Category:Collectibles Start Price:45.00 USD Estimated At:90.00 - 120.00 USD
 It's like the fourth of July here  in Washington, N.C.
Dramatic letter of Union soldier Augustus Chapman of 27th Mass. Volunteers, taken P.O.W. at Drewry's Bluff, Va., 1864, dying in Andersonville. From Washington, North Carolina, Apr. 13, 1863, in neat, legible pencil, 5 1/2 x 7 1/4, 1 1/2 pp. To his parents. "A steamer ran the blockade below this place, bringing reinforcements and the mail... The rebels have us blockaded so closely that no mails can reach us. My position as I write this is at the rear of a fort which is a stronghold. On the hills around the fort are seven rebel batteries which have been erected since our arrival. They commenced to bombard us ten days ago...a continual fire on this place. The batteries on the hills are a short mile from here and we can plainly see the traitor flags and the men at work...The rebels generally open upon us about sunrise, and the way that they pair shot and shell into us for an hour is a caution. It's like the fourth of July here and we hunt for our holes pretty lively when they open fire. We have had many narrow escapes and I have had shot strike within ten feet of me. I hugged the ground for dear life as the shells exploded around me. When the grand fight comes off, it will be a great slaughter and whether or not we are whipped, I can assure you that the rebels will get a belly full, for we will make it a very hot time for them. Reb shooters killed one of the boys last week and it was a sad time indeed. He left a wife (and) a new baby behind, but such are the fates of war...The rebs are shelling us just now as I write. Sounds like thunder...." Few lines along folds light but legible where smudged by writer's hand, else about fine.