Three Gettysburg Soldier Letters, 1862-1863
Hammer Price w/ BP
$854
| Lot #: 276 Three Gettysburg Soldier Letters, 1862-1863 |
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Three autographed letters, signed and written by two New York soldiers during separate Gettysburg-dated periods of the war. From the 10th New York Cavalry and the 94th New York Infantry, 1862-1863. Including a wounded soldier's account of the first day of the battle. Continue below for extra description. |
| Framed: 15 x 12 in. |
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Provenance Estate of Nathaniel Hoyt Thomas of Buffalo & Rochester, New York. |
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Auction Date May 21, 2026 |
Details:
George S. Potter, 10th New York Cavalry - Two letters from the regiment's winter encampment at Gettysburg, January 1862, written eighteen months before the battle:
A.L.S. to "Dear Father," "Head Quarters 10th Cavalry Regt N.Y.V., Gettysburg, Pa. January 7th 1862," one page, recounting the regiment's march from Elmira on 24 December 1861, the townspeople's warm reception, and the quartering of troopers in halls and schoolhouses pending construction of barracks. Framed, 15 x 12 in.
A.L.S. to "Sister Sarah," "Head Quarters 10th Cavalry Regt N.Y.V., Gettysburg, January 16th 1862," bifolium, two pages, describing a mile-long supply train descending the Blue Ridge from Gen. Banks's division and notably the proposal to re-designate the regiment as the "1st N.Y. Lancers" - a plan ultimately abandoned, and for which contemporary soldier accounts are uncommon. Signed 'Geo. S. Potter'.
Edward Williams, 94the New York Infantry - A pencil letter from the I Corps 2nd Division field hospital, written five days after his wounding on the first day of the Battle of Gettysburg:
A.L.S., signed "Ed," "Hospital of the 2nd Division near Gettysburg, July 6th [1863]," to "Dear Mother," bifolium, three pages closely written in graphite pencil, by Edward Williams of Company D, 94th New York Volunteer Infantry, then a wounded prisoner-of-war recently paroled on the battlefield. Williams writes: "We have met the enemy here and cut them to pieces, but it cost us the old first Corps dear... our poor regiment in fact our division are all killed wounded, or taken prisoners," recording the capture and wounding of Col. Adrian R. Root, the loss of 140 men of the regiment, the disposition of named comrades, his own arm wound ("the bone is broke"), the field parole subsequently held non-binding, and notably his personal round-count in the engagement: "I shot 107 times and you may suppose I done some exicution but my shooting days are done." Accompanied by a mid-twentieth-century typewritten transcript prepared by a descendant of the writer, pencil-annotated 'Edward Williams, my uncle - P.P.'
A.L.S. to "Dear Father," "Head Quarters 10th Cavalry Regt N.Y.V., Gettysburg, Pa. January 7th 1862," one page, recounting the regiment's march from Elmira on 24 December 1861, the townspeople's warm reception, and the quartering of troopers in halls and schoolhouses pending construction of barracks. Framed, 15 x 12 in.
A.L.S. to "Sister Sarah," "Head Quarters 10th Cavalry Regt N.Y.V., Gettysburg, January 16th 1862," bifolium, two pages, describing a mile-long supply train descending the Blue Ridge from Gen. Banks's division and notably the proposal to re-designate the regiment as the "1st N.Y. Lancers" - a plan ultimately abandoned, and for which contemporary soldier accounts are uncommon. Signed 'Geo. S. Potter'.
Edward Williams, 94the New York Infantry - A pencil letter from the I Corps 2nd Division field hospital, written five days after his wounding on the first day of the Battle of Gettysburg:
A.L.S., signed "Ed," "Hospital of the 2nd Division near Gettysburg, July 6th [1863]," to "Dear Mother," bifolium, three pages closely written in graphite pencil, by Edward Williams of Company D, 94th New York Volunteer Infantry, then a wounded prisoner-of-war recently paroled on the battlefield. Williams writes: "We have met the enemy here and cut them to pieces, but it cost us the old first Corps dear... our poor regiment in fact our division are all killed wounded, or taken prisoners," recording the capture and wounding of Col. Adrian R. Root, the loss of 140 men of the regiment, the disposition of named comrades, his own arm wound ("the bone is broke"), the field parole subsequently held non-binding, and notably his personal round-count in the engagement: "I shot 107 times and you may suppose I done some exicution but my shooting days are done." Accompanied by a mid-twentieth-century typewritten transcript prepared by a descendant of the writer, pencil-annotated 'Edward Williams, my uncle - P.P.'
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