Description:

Confederate Soldier Civil War-Dated ALS From Wilmington, Last Ever Confederate Port Holdout

A 2pp autograph letter signed by a Confederate soldier named Franklin A. Davis (1843-1904), a private in the 10th Battalion, North Carolina Heavy Artillery of the Confederate States Army. Written on July 16, 1863 from Wilmington, North Carolina on both sides of pale blue blue-lined paper. Expected wear including flattened folds and minor ink bleed-through, else near fine and very legible. 7.875" x 10." Purchase information from Jim Hayes, Antiquarian (James Island, South Carolina) is available.

Davis wrote this letter to "Granma," almost certainly his grandmother Mary Mendenhall. Davis reports on recent Confederate troop movements in the area, as well as mentioning more quotidian details about the cost of summertime produce: "We have plenty of watermillions and peaches here now watermillions sells from 2 Dollars to ten and peaches 2 Dollars per Dozen…"

Davis wrote in part with untouched spelling and punctuation:

"I seat myself this morning to write you a few lines as uncle Clem left word for me to write to you by Ben Milicord last night when he left last night about midnight to march to New river some says it is about 25 or 30 miles. They heard that the Yankees was landing down there but I cannot tell wheather Clem has wrote to you sence he come back from Warsaw or not. They stayed up there one week but got in no fite they got back last Saturday evening and on Sunday march to Topsail Sound about 16 miles and come back on Tuesday evening and started again last night they are rather fretting the 10th Battalion… "

Davis mentions three places in northeastern North Carolina: Warsaw, approximately 59 miles north of Wilmington; Topsail Sound, located to the northeast of the city, along beachy sandbars; and New River, about 55 miles northeast of Wilmington. The average Civil War soldier was expected to march 15 miles a day, or 30 miles a day on a forced march, so these distances would have reflected a serious investment in human resources. Davis's 10th Artillery Battalion was stationed in the Wilmington area until December 1864, when it was dispatched to aid in the defense of Savannah.

In July 1863, Wilmington still remained one of the most important Atlantic ports in the Confederacy, especially after Norfolk, Virginia fell to Union forces in May 1862. Wilmington would be the chink in the Union blockade of the Atlantic seaboard until February 1865, when it became the last Confederate port to surrender.

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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