Description:

Civil War
various, ca. April-June 1862
Civil War-Dated Letters by Chaplain of CT 5th Infantry, 39pp + Hand Drawn Map of the First Battle of Winchester!
Archive

An incredible collection of four very lengthy handwritten letters by Horace Winslow, a chaplain in the Connecticut 5th Infantry Regiment, to his wife, Charlotte. Penned on various styles of bifold stationery and dated between April 10 and June 3, 1862. Densely packed with superb contents and accompanied by a detailed hand drawn map of the Battle of Winchester, noting all key points of the engagement. Expected wear including mailing folds and creases, minor foxing and toning, and scattered ink smudging/splatter. Some separation at folds of map. Overall, the collection remains in very good plus condition.

Comprises, in chronological order:

1.) Autograph Letter Signed, "Horace," 8pp, on bifold, blue-lined, United States of America / Thirty Seventh Congress / House of Representatives letterhead, 5" x 8", Washington City, April 10, 1862.

In part: "You will doubtless be surprised to receive a letter from me at this place. I am here however on business...I left Camp on Monday about 11 AM for Winchester and Washington. I have been treated with kindness by the Officers and every day they show me that they value my services and desire my presence more and more. I do not need to preach liberty - for all these Northern men who now see the work of slavery hate with a perfect hatred."

2.) Autograph Letter Signed, "Horace," 12pp, on bifold, blind-embossed, ruled sheets of pink and green stationery measuring 5" x 8", Williamsport, Maryland, May 27, 1862.

In part: "We reached Winchester about 8 Saturday...an attack was made on the advance train with the sick, a few were killed and taken, but the enemy soon retreated [he draws a small diagram of their position]...The first brigade was stationed on the Front Royal Road...the battle commenced about 5 in the morning...I then rode out into the field where the regt. was and where the shells were then falling...went to work to render assistance to the wounded...This is a great smash up, yet we had not half troops enough to meet the enemy..."

3.) Autograph Letter Signed, "Horace," 12pp, on bifold, blind-embossed, ruled cream-colored stationery measuring 5" x 8", Williamsport, Maryland, May 28, 1862.

In part: "I send inclosed a little plan of the battle of Sunday at Winchester...the retreat was made in two days a distance of 53 miles...and fighting most of the way...The where I stayed is marked 'H' on the plan...I rode back into the field behind my regt. marked '5'...the Col. had been thrown off his horse...orders came to send the wounded to the Union Hospital...I found some surgeons who told me to take the men to the seminary...I understood it was a retreat..."

4.) Autograph Letter Signed, "Horace," 7pp, on bifold, blind-embossed, cream-colored stationery measuring 5" x 8", Head Quarters / Williamsport, Maryland, June 3, 1862.

In part: "Genl. Banks' movement was a strategy. The first was he had driven the enemy over a hundred miles from the Potomack [sic] and then his forces were so reduced that he was obliged to retreat...to Winchester...the enemy surrounded us on 3 sides attacked us at 5 Sunday morning. We fought this whole force for 3 hours and then, not having but a third as many men as the enemy, retreated...I now see that it is all nonsense to talk about Chaplains not being in danger. They are in as much danger as any except the common soldier..."

The author of our correspondence is one Horace Winslow (1814-1905). Born in Greenwich, Massachusetts, he earned his Master of Arts degree at Hamilton College, then attended the Union Theological Seminary in New York, graduating in 1841. Winslow was ordained at New Windsor, New York, in June of 1842, by the North River Presbytery, and settled at Lansingburgh, New York. He married Charlotte Henrietta Pettibone (1824-1905) on May 8, 1850. She was the daughter of Captain Jonathan Pettibone and Fanny (Phelps) Pettibone. Born in Simsbury, Connecticut, she graduated from the Hartford Female Seminary at the age of 16. Together, they had three children: Fanny, Lillian, and Mary. In 1862, he accepted an appointment as chaplain of the 5th Regiment Connecticut Volunteers under the command of General Nathaniel P. Banks (1816-1894). Winslow served several months and then resigned.

The 5th Connecticut Infantry Regiment served in the Union Army during the American Civil War, organized at Hartford, Connecticut, and mustered in for a three-year enlistment on July 26, 1861, under the command of Colonel Orris Sanford Ferry (1823-1875). The regiment lost a total of 193 men during service; 6 officers and 104 enlisted men killed or mortally wounded, 1 officer and 82 enlisted men died of disease.

The First Battle of Winchester, fought on May 25, 1862, in and around Frederick County, Virginia, and Winchester, Virginia, was a major victory in the Confederate Army Major General Thomas J. "Stonewall" Jackson's (1824-1863) Campaign through the Shenandoah Valley during the American Civil War. Jackson enveloped the right flank of the Union Army under Major General Nathaniel P. Banks and pursued it as it fled across the Potomac River into Maryland. Jackson's success in achieving force concentration early in the fighting allowed him to secure a more decisive victory which had escaped him in previous battles of the campaign.

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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