Description:

Commander Balch Commends Lt Comm. Bunce's Service Aboard the Pawnee 1863

Commander George B. Balch gave his Lieutenant Commander Francis M. Bunce this letter when Balch was reassigned to the USS Patapsco, an ironclad monitor that had been commissioned in January 1863 and had participated in an attack on Fort Sumter. In mid-July the Patapsco and other ironclads began a lengthy bombardment campaign against the fortifications defending Charleston harbor. This bombardment eventually led to the capture of Fort Wagner in early September, which the famous 54th Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry, an African-American regiment led by Colonel Robert Gould Shaw had unsuccessfully attacked in July.

GEORGE B. BALCH, Manuscript Letter Signed, to Francis M. Bunce, July 15, 1863, USS Pawnee, Stono River, South Carolina. 1 p., 8" x 13.25". Expected folds; general toning.

Complete Transcript
U.S. Steam Sloop "Pawnee"
Stono River S.C.
July 15th 1863.
Sir,
In handing you the order detaching you from the "Pawnee," I feel that I can do no more than in justice to you, to express my sense of the very important and valuable services you have rendered me since I have been in command of the "Pawnee."
The admirable drill of the crew, and the efficient working of the Battery, upon which I have always felt that I could rely in any emergency, has left me no cause for anxiety, no matter how great might have been the cause for instant service. To your unwearied zeal and energy and skill, I have to attribute this efficient state of the crew of the "Pawnee," and I can only regret the field of usefulness opened you, by your orders to the Patapsco, should have been deemed by the Admiral Commanding as a
[guarantee?] for detaching you from the "Pawnee," where I should be most happy to continue an association on duty. You carry with you my sincere wishes for your happiness and prosperity in the new sphere in which you are called to take an active part.
Very truly your friend
Geo B Balch
Comd'g US Ship Pawnee
Lieut Comr F. M. Bunce
US Steam Sloop Pawnee / Stono River

George B. Balch (1821-1908) was born in Tennessee and became an acting midshipman in 1837. He served on a cruise to the Mediterranean and on various ships before attending the Naval School in Philadelphia, where he was promoted to passed midshipman in 1843. He served aboard the steamer Princeton during the Mexican War and aided in the landing of General Winfield Scott's army at Vera Cruz in March 1847. After the war, he again cruised to the Mediterranean and served at the Boston Navy Yard and the Naval Observatory in Washington, D.C. He was promoted to lieutenant in 1850. He served aboard the Plymouth in Commodore Matthew C. Perry's expedition to Japan in 1853. The following year, he led sailors and marines in a coordinated Anglo-American attack on Imperial Chinese troops in Shanghai who had been assaulting foreigners. He returned to the United States and served at the Washington Navy Yard before returning to sea for cruises in the West Indies and Central America. During the Civil War, he first commanded the steamer Pocahontas in action along the South Atlantic coast. In late 1862, he took command of the screw-sloop Pawnee at Philadelphia and towed the ironclad Patapsco to South Carolina before joining the South Atlantic Squadron. The Pawnee captured at least two Confederate blockade runners and participated in the Stono River and Broad River expeditions in 1864 and remained in the area to the end of the war. After the war, Balch returned to shore service at the Washington Navy Yard, where he was promoted to captain in 1866 and commodore in 1872. After several more administrative posts, including Superintendent of the Naval Academy (1879-1881), he took command of the Pacific Squadron from 1881 until his retirement in 1883.

Francis Marvin Bunce (1836-1901) was born in Hartford, Connecticut, and graduated from the United States Naval Academy in 1857. He was promoted to lieutenant by the beginning of the Civil War and participated in the Union blockade of the Confederacy as part of the Gulf Squadron and then served as executive officer of the gunboat USS Penobscot during the siege of Yorktown in the Peninsula Campaign. He later supported the attack on Morris Island and Fort Wagner outside Charleston Harbor, South Carolina. In 1863, he participated in the siege of Charleston aboard the monitor USS Patapsco. He served on or commanded several other monitors for the remainder of the war. After the war, he commanded the monitor USS Monadnock in its voyage around Cape Horn to San Francisco, the first extended ocean voyage by a monitor. Over the next three decades, he alternated land and sea duty and gained promotion to captain (1883), commodore (1894), and acting rear admiral (1895), when he took command of the North Atlantic Squadron. He favored training ships to act as a squadron rather than individually and the outbreak of the Cuban War of Independence heightened tensions with Spain. In 1897, he took command of the New York Navy Yard in Brooklyn, from which he sent the battleship USS Maine to Key West, Florida, from which it was deployed to Havana, where its explosion triggered the Spanish-American War. He was promoted to rear admiral in 1898 and retired from the Navy at the statutory retirement age of 62 on December 25, 1898.

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.

WE PROVIDE IN-HOUSE SHIPPING WORLDWIDE.

Accepted Forms of Payment:

American Express, Discover, MasterCard, Money Order / Cashiers Check, Paypal, Personal Check, Visa, Wire Transfer

Shipping

Unless otherwise indicated, we do our own in-house worldwide shipping!

Applicable shipping and handling charges will be added to the invoice. We offer several shipping options, and remain one of the few auction houses who proudly provides professional in-house shipping as an option to our clients. All items will ship with signature required, and full insurance. Most items are sent via Federal Express, with P. O. Box addresses being sent through USPS. We insure through Berkley Asset Protection with rates of $.70 per $100 of value, among the lowest insurance rates in the industry. Our shipping department cameras document every package, both outgoing and incoming, for maximum security. In addition, we compare our shipping and handling rates against those of other auction houses, to ensure that our charges are among the lowest in the trade.

Upon winning your item(s), you will receive an invoice with our in-house shipping and handling fees included. ***We will ship to the address as it appears on your invoice. If any changes to the shipping address need to be made, you must inform us immediately.***

International shipments: In order to comply with our insurance provider, all international shipments will be sent via Fed Ex and customs paperwork will show a value of $1.00. International buyers should contact our office directly with any questions regarding this policy.

Third Party Shipping Option: If a third party shipper is preferred, the buyer is responsible for contacting them directly to make shipping arrangements. For your convenience, we have provided some recommended shippers. For your protection, we will require a signed release from you, confirming your authorization for us to release your lots to your specified third party Please copy and paste this following link into your browser: http://universityarchives.com/UserFiles/ShippingInfo.pdf. At that point, our responsibility and insurance coverage for your item(s) ceases. Items picked up by third party shippers are required to pay Connecticut sales tax. Items requiring third party shipping due to being oversized, fragile or bulky will be denoted in the item description.

Please see our full terms and conditions for names of suggested third party shippers.

After payment has been made in full, University Archives will ship your purchase within 10 business days following receipt of full payment for item.

Please remember that the buyer is responsible for all shipping costs from University Archives' offices in Wilton, CT to the buyer's door. Please see full Terms and Conditions of Sale.

October 18, 2023 11:00 AM EDT
Wilton, CT, US

University Archives

You agree to pay a buyer's premium of 25% and any applicable taxes and shipping.

View full terms and conditions

Bid Increments
From: To: Increments:
$0 $99 $10
$100 $299 $20
$300 $499 $25
$500 $999 $50
$1,000 $1,999 $100
$2,000 $2,999 $200
$3,000 $4,999 $250
$5,000 $9,999 $500
$10,000 $19,999 $1,000
$20,000 $49,999 $2,500
$50,000 + $5,000