Auction Name: 2026 February 26 Historical Manuscripts & Texana Signature® Auction

Lot Number: 47142

Shortcut to Lot: HA.com/6328*47142

Civil War Soldier's Letter Archive by John McDonald Smith of the Pennsylvania 38th Infantry. Comprises 50 letters by John McDonald Smith, a soldier of Company A, 38th Pennsylvania Infantry, documenting his service from his enlistment in May 1861 until his death at the Battle of Glendale on June 30, 1862. The archive also includes nine additional letters from Smith's wife and other family members; fifteen cartes de visite of his extended family; Smith's pre-war college notebook dated circa 1854; and a later enlarged photographic reproduction of Smith in uniform, mounted to a board to an overall size of 8 x 12 inches. Together, the material offers a remarkable portrait of a young Union soldier's military service, personal life, and ultimate sacrifice during the war's first year.

The 38th Pennsylvania began its service training at Camp Tennally, outside Washington, D.C. Smith writes several vivid letters from this early encampment, describing both daily routine and the evolving structure of the Union Army. In a letter dated September 2, 1861, he offers a revealing account of Signal Corps training:

"Dick Dale was chosen as one of the signals I suppose on acct. of being a friend of an Adjutant, his duties are to learn the signals used by the army & to be able to read the meaning of them for the benefit of the reg. The signals consist of rockets & different colored lights &c. & he is sworn not to tell the meaning of the different lights &c..."

Just two days later, on September 8, Smith records the severity of military discipline, describing a man sentenced to death for sleeping while on guard duty:

"A man named White is to be shot in the 3rd Vermont regt. tomorrow for sleeping on his post while on guard. I caught a man asleep on his post last night, but did not report him hereafter I will report every man found asleep, as he risks the lives of all in camp by sleeping."

From Camp Tennally, the regiment moved to Great Falls, Maryland, where the men undertook picket duty and experienced their first combat against Confederate forces. Writing on September 15, 1861, Smith describes the line of battle and the powerful weaponry employed by both sides:

"The 'seceshes'...have stopped firing on us now finding that it does not pay to deal with Sharpes Rifles & Minnie muskets, before we came they had only old smooth bore muskets to fight against. They are armed with first rate muskets or rifles as a bullet from one of them went thru a ladder about 3 1/2 or 4 inches thick which was at the gallery on top of the hill 1/2 a mile off..."

The regiment briefly returned to Camp Tennally in late September. In a letter dated September 26, 1861, Smith recounts the murder of a private by an officer in the regiment:

"A man by the name of 'Baker' shot & killed another named 'Cozen.' 'Billy Cozen' as he was called. Baker is a very hard man & has almost killed a man once before. C. is said to have been a very good sort of a man & was a favorite in the Co., his remains will be taken home today. The shooting was done on picket & was from all accounts unprovoked..." In a follow-up letter dated September 29, Smith reports that Baker was reassigned to the Provisional Volunteers.

The 38th later marched to Camp Pierpont, near Langley, Virginia. Writing on December 12, 1861, Smith pens a lengthy letter, describing a visit to Mathew Brady's photographic studio as well as his role in the arrest of a drunken ambulance driver:

"I went to Brady's but finding that he took only Photographs, that he would not take less than 1 doz. $3 & that he could not let me have them until Thursday, I left him & went to Plums gallery & got two ambrotypes...I saw Capt Hall (Division Q. M.) who asked me to call the Sergt & a file of men to arrest a drunken ambulance driver who was there, so they took him off at once him in the ambulance & I got up & drove it up to Genl McCalls head qrs., where the man was put into the guard house & the horse & ambulance taken care of."

Later that month, the regiment saw its first major combat at the Battle of Dranesville. Writing on December 20, 1861, Smith reports the engagement and its immediate aftermath:

"We had a sharp fight for an hour or so...All of our company so far as we know (some dozen or so are missing) with the exception of Alexr. Smith, who is shot in the neck & left arm, escaped without serious injury..." On the verso of the letter, he adds a note in pencil: "No letter from you tonight Capts. Dick & Galway were both wounded the former in the thigh the latter in the calf." A subsequent letter dated January 15, 1862, reports that Alexander Smith died from his wounds.

In a letter dated February 26, 1862 from Camp Pierpont, Smith goes on to describe a visit to the hospital, offering a grizzly view of the battle's toll:

"At the hospital I saw several of our wounded men, four, all that are left in the hospital out of thirty odd sent here, two of them have had a limb amputated one a leg, the other an arm, both are doing well. & both belong to our regt Out of sixty odd wounded in the brigade, these are the only ones who lost their limbs. The worst wounds were in our regt. So you see the chances of losing a limb are not great...Out of the five wounded rebels taken to division hospital, four died, the other was yesterday morning sent to the City, eh was shot through the left breast just above the nipple with a Minie ball & yet he is almost well..."

The following months proved especially difficult for the 38th. After advancing on Manassas and Falmouth, the regiment was assigned to duty at Fredericksburg until early June. Smith's final letter, dated May 21, 1862, describes a regimental drill at camp near Falmouth. Shortly thereafter, the regiment moved toward Richmond, seeing combat at Mechanicsville and Gainesville during the Seven Days Battles. On June 30, 1862, Smith was killed in action at the Battle of Glendale.

Condition: Generally good, with expected mailing folds; toning and minor wear throughout, commensurate with age. A few instances of staining, small separations, or minor loss, only occasionally affecting legibility. CDVs with minor creasing and edgewear. Enlarged photo of Smith with a few light stains, as well as minor loss to the top left corner of the board mount.

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