25460

Union General William Averell: An Extraordinary Union General William Averell: An Extraordinary Acco

Currency:USD Category:Collectibles Start Price:1.00 USD Estimated At:1,000.00 - 1,500.00 USD
Union General William Averell: An Extraordinary Union General William Averell: An Extraordinary Acco
<B>Union General William Averell: An Extraordinary Account of Bull Run!</B></I> Autograph Letter Signed, as "Bvt. Maj. USA, Late Bvt. Genl. USA", 3 pages, recto and verso, 6" by 9.5", Bath, Steuben County, New York, October 31, 1887. To Daniel S. Farrington. In fine condition, albeit an over-enthusiastic soul has pencilled Averell's name at top of letter. With typed transcription. Here the distinguished Calvary commander answers the question, how did he feel in his first battle? His reply: "<I>...My first battle was Bull Run in 1861. My feeling on entering the battle was, as I saw the enemy hastening to their positions, that there was a great and useless Crime about to be Committed; - the second as I can remember the whizzing and hurling of my first solid shot from the enemy through the trees and tearing along the ground was of the fierce and terrible force of a cannon ball; - next I was startled, amused and horrified to see a man who had been hit on the head by a fragment of shell springing about and shedding blood like a chicken with its head just stricken off; after the wonder at the excitement amounting to a kind of delirium of some of our Chief Commanders who galloped about yelling to anyone who would listen, about what the enemy were doing and generally calling for reinforcements like frightened idiots; then the woeful lack of a capable Commander of all our forces with a headquarters was felt; and to skip to the last uncontrollable indignation and mortification at the failure of our army to win the battle... The only Consolation to be found was to know that the enemy was not much if better off than ourselves...</B></I>" From the Henry E. Luhrs Collection. Accompanied by LOA from PSA/DNA.