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Civil War-Dated Court Martial MDS Recording Desertion Charges Against African American & Jewish Soldiers - Fascinating!
Civil War-Dated Court Martial MDS Recording Desertion Charges Against African American & Jewish Soldiers - Fascinating!
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Civil War-Dated Court Martial MDS Recording Desertion Charges Against African American & Jewish Soldiers - Fascinating!

A 10pp manuscript document signed, being General Orders No. 91, "Proceedings of General Court Martial," conducted at U.S. Forces Headquarters on Morris Island, South Carolina on December 13, 1863. The document, which is likely a contemporary clerical copy, is secretarially inscribed on red-ruled blue-lined legal size paper and signed in print by Brigadier General A.H. Perry at its conclusion. The double-sided pages are secured by a pale pink ribbon at top. Docketed in the lower left corner of the first page. Expected wear including flattened paper folds, a few extra gentle wrinkles, and minor isolated edge darkening, else near fine. 7.875" x 12.5."

This military document contains a list of 8 soldiers and officers of the U.S. Army, then stationed at Morris Island, South Carolina in December 1863, who had been court-martialed for a variety of offenses ranging from desertion, neglect of duty, disobeying an order, and conduct prejudicial to good order and military discipline; to misbehavior before the enemy, and contempt and disrespect shown to superior officers.

The accused misdeeds had taken place between January 1862 and October 1863 in locations where the soldiers had then been serving: New Hampshire, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and South Carolina. Five privates, two sergeants, and one corporal were charged. They were enlisted in the following battle units: the 3rd Regiment U.S. Colored Troops, the Independent Battalion of New York Volunteers, the 52nd Regiment of Pennsylvania Volunteers, and the 7th Regiment of New Hampshire Volunteers. The court martial records details of the charges, verdicts, and punishments meted out against the accused. 6 of the 8 men were convicted, leaving 2 acquitted. Punishment ranged from a public reprimand (least harsh) to six months' term hard labor wearing a 24 lb. ball and chain (most harsh). Some forfeited part or their entire salary, while officers were reduced in ranks.

Morris Island was an 840-acre island in Charleston Harbor that had been abandoned by the Confederates in early September 1863 following two months of intensive bombardment. Just six months before these court martial proceedings were held, beginning in July 1863, the U.S. Army had tried unsuccessfully to take the Confederate-held Forts Wagner and Bragg on the island. (The 54th Massachusetts Regiment commanded by Robert Gould Shaw had been part of the disastrous Federal assault against Fort Wagner, as portrayed in the movie "Glory.")

The accused included:

1. Private Theodore Christie, Co. G, 3rd U.S. Colored Troops
2. Private Andrew Bumbah, Co. G, 52nd Pennsylvania Volunteers
3. Sergeant Howard F. Parsons, Co. F, 4th New Hampshire Volunteers
4. Private Alfred Levy, Co. H, Independent Battalion New York Volunteers
5. First Sergeant William N. Richardson, Co. D, 52nd Pennsylvania Volunteers
6. Corporal Ferdinand Halsted, Battery B, 3rd New York Artillery
7. Private Curtis Williams, Co. G, 52nd Pennsylvania Volunteers
8. Private Cyrus G. Pinkham, Co. G, 7th New Hampshire Volunteers

We will focus on two of these soldiers, #1, Private Theodore Christie, Co. G, 3rd U.S. Colored Troops; and #4, Private Alfred Levy, Co. H, Independent Battalion New York Volunteers, because their situation was somewhat unique in the Union Army: Christie was Black and Levy was Jewish.

- (#1) Private Theodore Christie had deserted around August 6, 1863 at Camp William Penn, in Chelton Hills, Pennsylvania, after having mustered into the 3rd Regiment of U.S. Colored Troops just three weeks earlier, on July 18, 1863. The 3rd U.S. Colored Troops had been organized near Philadelphia for the specific purpose of being sent directly into combat conditions on Morris Island; indeed, as one regimental history described it, the Federal siege was in "full progress" when the 3rd U.S. Colored Troops arrived there in late August. It is unclear when Private Christie was apprehended, and whether he avoided serving during the bloody Sieges of Fort Wagner and Gregg.

Private Christie was convicted of desertion and sentenced to six months' hard labor, a quarter of his sentence chained to a "24 pound ball attached to his right leg by a chain four feet long." He also forfeited part of his monthly soldier's salary. Hard labor with ball and chain was a relatively common punishment for deserters. Though today this punishment would be considered cruel and unusual, ball and chain labor was perhaps a preferred alternative to flogging, branding, or execution. Private Christie served out his sentence and likely served with the 3rd U.S. Colored Troops in Hilton Head, Jacksonville, Tallahassee, and other assignments before being discharged on a surgeon's certificate three weeks before his unit was officially disbanded, on October 11, 1865.

- (#4) Private Alfred Levy (1843-1921) belonged to the Independent Battalion of New York Volunteers, a colorful unit variously known as the German Legion of New York Corps of Light Infantry, the "French regiment," or the Enfants Perdus (Lost Children). The unit seems to have attracted many recent American immigrants from eastern France or western Germany, probably Alsace-Loraine, and among them, a large minority of Jews. Alfred Levy, along with his two brothers Ferdinand and Benjamin, were the three sons of Colonel Simon Levy (1809-1898), a French-born émigré. All four Levys enlisted around the same time, and three of the four, including Alfred, were assigned to the Independent Battalion.

Alfred Levy was charged with desertion, apparently having disappeared for over two months, from early August to early October 1863, on and near Folly Island, South Carolina. When he was apprehended, he was dressed in civilian's clothes. Though the circumstantial evidence against Alfred Levy appeared considerable, he was one of only two men acquitted by the court martial. (Alfred would have a lot to live up to; in addition to his father's leadership position in the Independent Battalion, his brother Benjamin, a teenaged drummer boy, was the first Jewish soldier ever awarded the Medal of Honor, in March 1865; and his brother Ferdinand later became a prominent New York City coroner and register.) Alfred himself later became a lieutenant. For an in-depth study of the Levy Family, as well as the role of Jewish volunteers in the Civil War, please see Simon Wolf, "The American Jew as Patriot, Solider and Citizen" (Philadelphia: The Levytype Company, 1895), especially pp. 275-276.

Desertion from both Union and Confederate forces was fairly typical during the Civil War. Out of the two million men enlisted in the Union Army, for example, it is estimated that 200,000--or 10%--deserted at some time. Strangely, a full half of Union Army deserters came from New York, Pennsylvania, and Ohio, where indeed, 75% of our court martialed men hailed from! December 1863 is an especially interesting time frame of Civil War history to examine as desertion spiked during the winter and spring of 1863 following the Union losses at Fredericksburg and Chancellorsville.

This item comes with a Certificate from John Reznikoff, a premier authenticator for both major 3rd party authentication services, PSA and JSA (James Spence Authentications), as well as numerous auction houses.

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