Goldberg Coins and Collectibles

Sale 33

Manuscript and Collectibles Auction

U.S. Civil War-Union

Lot	Photo	Description	Realized
Lot 352		Archive of Albert J. Whitley, 141st New York Infantry. A collection of 70 items, including 65 soldiers' letters written between 1862-65, most to his sister or brother, and with excellent content on Sherman's decisive campaigns. At 43 Whitley was mustered into the 141st in Sept. 1862. His first letters write of fort building, guard duty, the Siege of Suffolk: "there is scarcely a night but what we are routed out after we get to sleep to stand in line of battle an hour or two…" and West Point Landing: " I was on picet…when a Rebel signal was discovered…The thunder of cannon & the bursting [of] shells made plenty of musick for us…." The 141st pursued the Army of Northern Virginia after Gettysburg, then performed guard duty on the Orange and Alexandria Railroad "[some soldiers] have the idea that the Potomac Army will never fight another battle." Whitley's regiment was transferred to the bloody fields of East Tennessee. From near Chattanooga, he wrote: "You have reason to be thankfull that your home is not in one of the Seceding States; such utter destitution as is to be seen heare in evry house & on evry hand is enough to make one sad….Oh how very cruel it looked to me as I walked over the battle field of Wahatchie…." The 141st took part in the pivotal battles around Chattanooga, including Orchard Knob, Tunnel Hill, and Mission Ridge, and assisted in the relief of Knoxville. About Mission Ridge: "I saw most of the battle. After a sharp fight of an hours duration he [Sherman] whipped the Rebs [and] took 1,500 prisoners & gained posshion of the mountain. The 26th Sherman broguth on a General engagement near Mishionary Ridge & on the left of our line of battle the roar of Cannon was awfull, & the Musketry fireing was very heavy but our men carried evry point & captured 10,000 prisoners & sixty pieces of Artillery…." In his next letter: "…the entire Rebel Army of the South West has been put to flight & it will be hard to rally thease whipped & disheartened soldiers again. Those we take prisoners say the Confederacy is a failure & they would rather be in our hands than not." In early Jan.: "we are waiting for Jef. [Davis] to disband his Trator army, & make himself scarce in this Country…his rank & file have already deserted in large numbers, they are anxious to secure the Presidents Pardon & the protection afforded them by our government." In May, the 141st swung into the Atlanta Campaign and Whitley was wounded at Resaca. Near Dallas: "we advanced one mile in line of battle through the woods when we halted the Rebels opened on us with grape & canister, the carnage was awful. Our men are now fighting behind brest works…." Two weeks later: "I have seen the horrors of War on two bloody battlefields…Sherman is a cautious brave…& I think he is a good General. He rides along our lines with onely one man for his escort. Hooker is brave beyond descresion, often being seen in front of his men & leading them on; Thomas is a brave & good General & defeat can not change him in the least-neather does success seem to excite him; he is the coolest man on the Job except Sherman." About Kulp's Farm, in June: "…the rebels came on in three lines of battle. The artillery & musketry was auful…We shot over 60 rounds & the rebels broke…We allowed them to remove the most of their killed & wounded. We picked up 500 guns on the field. Our loss was one killed and 2 wounded in the 141…" At Atlanta: "after I got into the fight I hardly stood on a spot of ground that was not covered with blood…I have seen fighting enough!" Twelve letters during this campaign contain descriptions of incessant skirmishes, battles, and military movements. Whitley's experiences turned him against the war. "[A]s for being in favor of the War I am not, for I have dyed my hands as deep in the blood of my fellow Country men as I ever wish to do, & I hope the day is near at hand when an honorable peace will be secured…let those who are in favor of war shoulder their musket & come to the front & there view things in their true light instead of staying at home & crying War War to the knife, as many are doing." The 141st joined Sherman's March to the sea, described in three letters and the March through the Carolinas, described in another three. All of the letters are in generally good condition; each letter has a transcript with footnotes. A fine collection. Estimated Value $4,000 - 6,000. View details and enlarged photo	Realized $4,255
Lot 353		Civil War Prints. Three items: (1) Chromolithograph of "The Battle of Kenesaw Mountain," by Prang & Co., Boston, 1887, 17"x23½" (a couple of small marginal tears (2) color lithograph of Maj. Gen. George B. McClellan on horseback, by Ehrgott, Forbriger & Co., Cincinatti, n.d. (light edge foxing and one scrape in background); and (3) a chest-up engraving of U.S. Grant, by H.B. Hall's Sons, N.Y., 1885, 20"x16" (image is 10½"x9"), fine. Estimated Value $400 - 600. View details and enlarged photo	Unsold
Lot 354		Doubleday, Abner (1819-183) Union general; purported to be the inventor of baseball. In 1861, Doubleday was stationed at Fort Sumter; when Confederate forces attacked on April 12, he gave the command for the first Union shot to be fired in retaliation. Autograph Letter Signed "Genl A. Doubleday / U.S. Army," 1p, 7¼"x4¾", Mendham Morris Co., New Jersey (18)89, Sept. 25. Very good; minor soiling at lower left corner; small edge split. To Smiths Homeopathic Pharmacy, 5th Avenue, New York, asking for "a fifteen cent bottle of Gelsimicum 3th dilution pellets, and a ten cent bottle of Phosphoric acid 30 pellets…." Estimated Value $800 - 1,000. View details and enlarged photo	Realized $1,150
Lot 355		(Eight Soldiers' Letters). Six letters from John Cope to his mother in Cadiz, Harrison County, Ohio; one from his brother, Samuel, and one from F.C. Bower, total of 28 pp, 8"x5", written in pen and pencil, from Tennessee and Georgia (three from the hospital) between June 1863 and March 1865. Fine overall; light toning and soiling. No company or regiment is mentioned. A few excerpts: (6/3/63) "…there was a prettey hard fight at franklin yesterday…our men took 200 prisners and kild a grait meney of them…this is the place the battle of Stone river cominst…."; 2/8/64 "our division was ordered out to guard a station on Knoxville and Chatanooga rail road….Jeff Davis has offered to surrender if the president would pardon his officers…."; 3/25/64 "they have darkeys…living here near camp some of them draw rations here just the same that we do…."; 6/8/64 "we are about 25 miles from Atlanta where i expect they will make their stand…i think…this campain will end the war.…" 1/14/65 - from the hospital in Nashville, "My hand…will never be so that i can handle a gun"; 2/26/65 "the rebels …are deserting from Lees army alone at the rate of over 100 per day…their only hope is in richmond and lees army and that we will have in a few days…." More content. Envelopes for six of the letters are included. Estimated Value $1,200 - 1,500. View details and enlarged photo	Realized $690
Lot 356		Fireman's Exemption From Military Duty. Notarized document: "Application of Active and Exempt Firemen Doing Active Duty" by which John F. Cooper, an active member of Hose Company No. 17 of the New York Fire Department, has obtained a substitute for military duty, New York City, 1863 Sept. 14, 17½"x8½". A Voucher of Foreman and Secretary is attached at top, certifying that Cooper is an active member of Hose Co. No. 17, and affixed to the bottom a voucher certifying that John Woods has been mustered into the service as a substitute for Cooper. Overall toning, moderate soiling and some fold tears and chips. Accompanied by a Statement of Volunteer for John W. Burnett of New York, who received a $300 bounty, 1 p. 7¼"x8¾", 1864 Mar. 12. Fine. Estimated Value $300 - 400. View details and enlarged photo	Unsold
Lot 357		Sherman, William T. Autograph Letter Signed "W.T. Sherman / Maj Genl," in pencil, 1½ pp, 7"x4½", n.p., n.d. (latter part of Dec. 1862). Very good; some soiling and creasing; a couple of small holes affect nothing. To Col. Backlund, in full: "Telegraph to Genl. Grant that tomorrow we will be at Holly Springs - if that Place be cleared out we could turn to the west on Jackson at Coldwater. Telegraph to Genl Grant that I am on the march to Holly Springs in obedience to Hallecks orders to act in concert with Gen. Rosecrans coming from Corinth via Ripley. Jackson is after our train. I hope the Infantry Regt. will make him pay dear - so. of Worthington. The attack is on the small detachment. I don't think the force large enough to attack a Regt. At all events I cannot turn back now. Let Worthington & you hold your Posts. And we must trust the Train. I think as soon as Jackson hears we are after Holly Springs they will return south. Answer all parties according & telegraph Halleck actual facts. W.T. Sherman Maj. Genl." The Union command structure in the West was in a state of confusion at this time. President Lincoln had given Gen. John McClernand authorization to recruit, equip and organize a force in Grant's department, with the goal of leading an expedition to Vicksburg, without officially notifying Grant or Henry Halleck of his decision. Grant read the rumors in the newpaper and moved to regain control of his forces. While McClernand was still in Illinois, Sherman took command of the troops in Memphis and embarked down the Mississippi (the Yazoo Expedition), planning to meet Grant in Vicksburg around Christmas. While Grant and Sherman were worrying about what was going on in Washington, Earl Van Dorn and Nathan Bedford Forrest made cavalry raids that disrupted Grant's timetable and placed his forces and Sherman's in jeopardy of being isolated deep in enemy territory. Col. William H. Jackson, referred to several times in Sherman's letter, was part of Earl Van Dorn's 3,000 man cavalry force that raided the Union garrison at Holly Springs, Mississippi on Dec. 20, 1862, destroying $1,500,000 worth of food, ammunition and equipment. (Jackson was appointed B.G. C.S.A. for his action at Holly Springs.) Van Dorn's raid on Holly Springs, along with N.B. Forrest's raids in west Tennessee, contributed to the abandonment of Grant's campaign in central Mississippi. Estimated Value $10,000 - 15,000. View details and enlarged photo	Unsold
Lot 358		Union Broadside, Headquarters 1st Rhode Island, Camp Sprague, May 23, 1861. General Order No. 11, 1p. 12"x9", being a farewell message from Governor William Sprague, signed in type by Sprague, Charles Merriman, and Ambrose Burnside as Col. Commanding. In part: "I am unwilling to take leave of the First Regiment R.I.D.M., without first bidding one and all, a reluctant good bye. I have shared with you your anxieties and cares, and would not lose, by absence, the opportunity of sharing with you your first conflict in arms…." Very good; some age wear, fold repairs on verso, and a few minor chips. Burnside was commissioned Col. 1st RI on May 2, 1861. He commanded the 2nd Brigade at Bull Run and was promoted Brigadier General in August of 1861. Estimated Value $750 - 1,000. View details and enlarged photo	Unsold
Lot 359		Webb, Alexander S (1835-1911) Union general. Twenty Autograph Letters Signed ("Andy Webb," "Alex. S. Webb," and "Webb"), to the Hero of Little Round Top, Joshua Chamberlain (1828-1914), 38pp total, 8vo, some on New York: Monuments Commission for the Battlefields of Gettysburg and Chattanooga stationery. Webb, who commanded the "Philadelphia Brigade" at Gettysburg, covers many subjects with his "Dear Old Chum," including Medal of Honor scandals (medals given to undeserving soldiers because of political connections or bribes), pension bills, his own historical studies, and revising his 1881 book, The Peninsula: McClellan's Campaign of 1862 ("How much of Porter's misfortune [at Second Manassas] can I leave out?") Webb shows his concern for Chamberlain's health: "I am sorry to know that old wounds trouble a glorious old soldier" (1904); "But you are a man in every sense of the word, a Manly Man; and you will bear it all as Chamberlain can bear it" (1905). Webb offers to help enact a soldier's retirement bill in Congress and is bitterly angry when his efforts are thwarted. He tells Chamberlain, "You deserve a peaceful and a restful continuation of a well spent life. Scholar & patriot, wounded soldier famed for gallant actions….You should be recognized by the Representatives of the people….there is a certain bitterness on the part of regimental field officers in Congress…due to the fact that but few of them were over anxious to expose themselve to bullets when they were planning elections and these men vote solidly against your recognition. Your offence was that you became greater than they…." A moving correspondence from one Gettysburg Medal of Honor winner to another. Estimated Value $3,500 - 4,500. View details and enlarged photo	Unsold
Lot 360		Welles, Gideon (1802-1878) Secretary of the Navy under Lincoln. War-date Letter Signed as Secretary of the Navy, 1 p., 10"x8", Navy Department, 1863 May 6. Very Fine. To Major W.B. Stack, Quartermaster for the Marine Corps, authorizing him "to pay the enclosed account of R.G. Parker, for certain repairs to the Marine Barracks at Charlestown, Mass….". Estimated Value $400 - 600. View details and enlarged photo	Unsold
Lot 361		Whittier, Charles A. Union officer, 20th Mass. Brevets for Richmond and R.E. Lee's surrender. He served on Sedgwick's staff and was beside him when he was killed; also on Gen. H.G. Wright's staff. Autograph Letter Signed "Whittier," 3½ pp, 8"x5", Head Quarters 6th Corps (Falmouth, Virginia), 1863 Apr. 7. Fine; folds and one small hole. To his wife, Adelina, six days after he made captain. In small part: "The honest old joker, Abraham, is down here on a visit….Mrs. Lincoln is here…I hate the formality of a long review….Gen'l Sedgwick and I live together now…and in the evening, Major Generals etc. commenced to flock in - Hooker Butterfield Sickle Meade Reynolds Sykes French Slocum Benham, Hunt Wadsworth etc. Hooker leading the Cavalcade….the troops were in splendid condition - but there was none of the enthusiasm which would always greet McClellan upon his appearance and such enthusiasm never can be displayed towards any other man until some one comes and gains a decisive victory…." Estimated Value $400 - 600. View details and enlarged photo	Realized $546
Lot 362		Yates, Richard (1815-1873) Civil War governor of Illinois. Partly-printed Document Signed "Richd. Yates" as governor, 9"x13", Springfield, 1864 Feb. 3. Appointing 2nd Lt. Richard W. Grininger "First Lieutenant of Co. 'I' eighty Sixth Regiment Illinois Volunteers…." Vignette at top shows a soldier holding a flag in one hand and a bayonet in the other. Good; darkly toned; archivally mounted in a period frame. Estimated Value $200 - 300. View details and enlarged photo	Realized $115