LOT RR Auction  /  RR Auction Quality Autograph Auction 367  / 

426

James Barbour Terrill

Currency:USD Category:Collectibles / Autographs Start Price:NA Estimated At:400.00 - 600.00 USD
James Barbour Terrill

Bidding Over

The auction is over for this lot.
The auctioneer wasn't accepting online bids for this lot.

Contact the auctioneer for information on the auction results.

Search for other lots to bid on...
Auction Date:2011 Feb 09 @ 19:00 (UTC-05:00 : EST/CDT)
Location:5 Rt 101A Suite 5, Amherst, New Hampshire, 03031, United States
ALS - Autograph Letter Signed
ANS - Autograph Note Signed
AQS - Autograph Quotation Signed
AMQS - Autograph Musical Quotation Signed
DS - Document Signed
FDC - First Day Cover
Inscribed - “Personalized”
ISP - Inscribed Signed Photograph
LS - Letter Signed
SP - Signed Photograph
TLS - Typed Letter Signed
Confederate general. As colonel of the 13th Virginia Infantry Regiment, Terrill fought in nearly every major battle of the Eastern Theater. He was in Winchester during the Gettysburg Campaign but later fought in the Overland Campaign, including Spotsylvania Court House. In May 1864, the regiment was deployed to attack Union lines at Bethesda Church, near Mechanicsville. Terrill was shot but continued to give orders before being shot in the head. The next day, the Confederate Senate confirmed his nomination as brigadier general. ALS signed “Jas Barbour Terrill,” four pages on two adjoining sheets, 6.25 x 8.25, March 7, 1858. Letter to his brother George. In part: “I received your very welcome letter…& was delighted to hear that mother is recovering. I suffered a great deal of anxiety on her account during my stay in Richmond…I was sorry to hear that William was married, but think that he has made the best of a bad bargain by marrying the daughter instead of the mother. I think that Father has allowed his feelings to carry him too far. I attribute the action he has taken in this case to the too deep interest he takes in the welfare of his children in regard to such matters…The ceremonies on the 22nd were very imposing indeed, the military Regiment defied description, sufficient to say that those…under arms on that day about four thousand of the flower of Virgina’s Army wearing every shade & hue of uniform, the company from one of the Northern cities as far as dress was concerned eclipsed anything I ever saw…one of my classmates dubbed it the Millionaire Company…It would be useless for me to attempt to describe the enthusiasm manifested at the appearance of the Cadets as we were marching up Main Street amongst other tokens of admiration for the gallant.” In very good condition, with intersecting folds, one through a single letter of signature, a couple small separations along mailing folds, and scattered toning and soiling.

It was a tumultuous period for the Terrill family in 1858...with matters about to get much worse in the year ahead. As noted here, his mother, Elizabeth Pitzer Terrill, was very ill at the time. Despite the expression of optimism, she would never recover and died several weeks later. More interesting is the reference to his brother William, who would swear his allegiance to the Union Army during the Civil War, angering his family, particularly his father, a man with a deep interest “in the welfare of his children.” James remained loyal to his Virginia roots and VMI training...the institution from which he would graduate in July 1858, standing 16th in a class of 19. “It would be useless for me to attempt to describe the enthusiasm manifested at the appearance of the Cadets as we were marching...amongst other tokens of admiration for the gallant,” Terrill boasts here. According to legend, their father William H. Terrill had the phrase ‘God Alone Knows Which Was Right’ inscribed on a monument to honor two of his fallen sons.
Sign In to Bookmark Lot