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Civil War Archive of Medal of Honor Recipient Wilmon W. Blackmar, 15th Pennsylvania Cavalry and 1st West Virginia Cavalry. ... (Total: 2 )
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Description
"Our country is worth saving, the great national heart is right and all the disgusting filth is being washed in blood from the garments of our Goddess"
Civil War Archive of Medal of Honor Recipient Wilmon W.
Blackmar, 15th Pennsylvania Cavalry and 1st West Virginia
Cavalry. An archive of ninety-seven war-dated letters November
3, 1861 to March 28, 1865, with one letter endorsed by General
William S. Rosecrans; nineteen postwar letters dated April 12, 1865
to January 20, 1880; sixty-five original transmittal covers; one
certificate of furlough dated May 11, 1863; one certificate of
mustering out dated April 8, 1864; one typed copy of a postwar
letter dated April 16, 1865; one presentation letter for a West
Virginia service medal dated August 27, 1867; one receipt from the
Adams Express Company for $100 dated June 16, 1865; and three
undated photographs. Documents are written in pencil and ink and
measure, on average, 7.25" x 9.25".Wilmon W. Blackmar (1841-1905) was born in Bristol, Pennsylvania. In August 1861, while attending Phillips Exeter Academy in New Hampshire, he returned home to Pennsylvania and enlisted in the Anderson Troop, afterward known as the 15th Pennsylvania Cavalry. Blackmar participated in various engagements with Company H and later Company K in the Western Theater as well as with the Army of the Potomac, including the Battle of Antietam. He was subsequently promoted to corporal, sergeant, first sergeant, and then to first lieutenant in charge of Company H of the 1st West Virginia Volunteer Cavalry, to which he had been transferred. On April 1, 1865, Blackmar fought at the Battle of Five Forks in Virginia. During the battle, he formed a line and charged into Confederate forces, causing them to disperse. For his heroism, Blackmar was promoted to the rank of captain by General George Custer and subsequently awarded the Medal of Honor, the nation's highest and most prestigious personal military decoration bestowed for acts of valor in service of their country. He later served as Provost Marshal and Assistant Adjutant General to Colonel Henry Capehart of General Custer's Third Division of General Phil Sheridan's Cavalry before Lee's surrender at Appomattox. Blackmar mustered out of the army at the conclusion of the war, graduated from Phillips Exeter Academy, and studied law at Harvard Law School. He served as a lawyer and then, upon retirement, as a judge advocate to several Massachusetts governors. Blackmar was elected Commander-in-Chief of the Grand Army of the Republic in 1904.
Blackmar's letters reflect the same patriotism and dedication to the Union cause that led to his impressive military career. On September 26, 1862, Blackmar reported from Antietam only days after the battle. He wrote, in part, "Last Saturday four from each company the rest remaining in line of battle -- advanced on the Williamsport turnpike, I was among the skirmishers and having advanced within 2 miles of the Potomac just as we capped a little hill the Rebs opened on us with a full battery and sharpshooters. Our officers ordered us to keep moving and spread ourselves out in the adjoining fields the fences being thrown down, we did so and the bullets, shot & shell whistled in a very lively manner but too high to do any damage to us."
Following the bloody Battle of Antietam, Lee ordered his troops to withdraw across the Potomac. However, they continued to engage Union forces. On September 19 and 20, Lee's rear guard skirmished with Federal troops, including Blackmar's, at Shepherdstown before crossing the Potomac and ending his failed Maryland Campaign. Although Antietam was technically a draw, the Confederate retreat gave President Lincoln enough momentum to issue the preliminary version of the Emancipation Proclamation on September 22, 1862.
Blackmar commented on this controversial decision in a letter written October 3, 1862, claiming, "That Proclamation why it is the first bold, sensible stroke at Treason the President has made - now there is some sense in my fighting." The next day, he clarified his position, "You know me well enough to know how heartily I support the President in his Emancipation Proclamation and how heartily I despise the party of the North who would still side with the South by raising a cry against the Administration in its Common, Honorable, and Sensible endeavor to crush Hell's pet lamb and Treason's backbone."
Five months later, on March 13, 1863, Blackmar reminisced on his experience at the Battle of Stone's River earlier that year. He wrote, "We love Rosecrans for he shares the danger with us and then shares the credit of victory. In his special field order to our regt. he mentions with a soldier's pride but a woman's tenderness the death of our 'brave young majors' who both fell while gallantly but rashly leading about 300 of us in a charge upon a brigade of So. Carolina Troops, which lay concealed in a wood & corn field. On Wednesday eve of the battle week, we charged, routed, and took the colors of a portion of Wheeler's Brigade. One-third of the men in my regt. who fought were either killed, wounded, or missing when roll was called after the battle; in my mess of six one was killed one wounded & two taken prisoners."
In addition to the front lines, Blackmar also witnessed firsthand how the Civil War ripped families apart. In a letter dated "Sunday M," he described the reunion of two brothers fighting for the Union and the Confederacy. He wrote, "I have just returned from a ride. I am so tied down that it does me good to go off once in a while and see my friends in other regts. There are two boys in the Signal Corps from Bridgewater Mass. I saw one of them this morning, he gave me two Mass. papers. Then I went to the 125 Ohio to see Ephe Evans I found that his company was out on picket and so I started on towards Dixie. I found Ephe and we went out...and waved papers as a sign that we wished to exchange. After a long time a Reb appeared at an old barn in front and waved his paper. Ephe met him halfway and gave him a Nash paper of the 3rd the latest we have and he gave Ephe a Rebel of the 10th and asked Ephe to send his major down, who has a brother on Gen Breckenridge's staff and the brother would meet him. The signal to be a wave of a newspaper & then of a hat. The major came down & soon the signal agreed upon was given and the two started out our officer going more than halfway. The Reb appeared afraid not of our men but of his own whose notice he tried to escape by keeping a deserted house between them. When they met they seized each other by the hand and shook as brothers would who had not met for years. I came away and left them talking."
On November 24, 1863, Blackmar reported from the sidelines of the Battle of Lookout Mountain, offering detailed commentary on Major General Joseph Hooker's heroic actions: "I wrote you yesterday but will send a word tonight so you may know that of all the blood which has so freely flown today, not a drop was from our regt...we no doubt lost a few in the skirmishing yesterday and will loose [sic] more tonight & tomorrow if we try to touch our right & left upon Hooker & Sherman but so far, Hooker has done the fighting and lost the men. He has done wonders today, charging and taking almost impossible places on Lookout. It was grand to see his force come round the ridge bearing the Old Flag and the Rebel hordes fleeing before the Union cheers, which we could hear and fully enjoy. I fear he must have lost terribly in killed and wounded, they have been at it all day and are still fighting tonight. The roar of cannon & rattle of musketry has been kept at all day. Hooker has no doubt gained very important ground, we saw him do it, he sent in a dispatch that he had taken 2000 prisoners."
One of the last battles in the Chattanooga Campaign, Lookout Mountain pitted Hooker against Confederate Major General Carter L. Stevenson. Initially, Union forces balked at engaging Rebel soldiers due to the rough terrain of the mountain. But after Confederate General Braxton Bragg pulled his troops back and left Stevenson's two brigades exposed, Grant allowed Hooker to make a move. Union soldiers attacked Stevenson's forces from both sides, resulting in victory by the end of the day.
On November 8, 1864, Americans overwhelmingly voted to re-elect Abraham Lincoln President of the United States in an election that decisively rejected Democratic candidate George B. McClellan's "peace plan." Blackmar expressed his joy and frustration at the outcome in a letter dated November 10: "I am so thankful to Heaven, so proud of my Countrymen to think what a vote and voice they gave for Right and Lincoln. How can any man with the honor of a fox vote for a man whose name was repeatedly hurled in our teeth by Rebels on the skirmish line. Our country is worth saving, the great national heart is right and all the disgusting filth is being washed in blood from the garments of our Goddess. How just our people have been to themselves, how nobly have they proven their appreciation of our Army by this overwhelming discomfiture of Rebel Wolves in Sheep's clothing who hang on our rear to insult the dear ones we leave at home but slurring the soldiers of the republic."
Throughout the fall of 1864 and spring of 1865, Blackmar continued to fight for the Union cause. His most valiant effort came at the Battle of Five Forks. On March 28, 1865, Blackmar described the lead-up to the battle: "Yesterday we marched up here to the left of the line, near where the ninth corps had the fight on Saturday. At one place on our march we went within 17 miles of Petersburg and the Johnnies opened on us...the ball and shell did not damage and we marched along with our bands playing and colors flying."
Four days later, on April 1, 1865, Federal troops led by Major General Philip Sheridan met and defeated Confederate soldiers commanded by Major General George Pickett. At one point in the battle, Blackmar realized that Union troops were losing ground. In response, he ordered his men to charge the rebel lines. In doing so, Blackmar broke up Confederate soldiers and allowed Sheridan to win the battle. He was awarded a U.S. Medal of Honor for his bravery.
Less than two weeks later, on April 12, 1865, Blackmar sent a quick yet impactful missive: "I was in at the Death - was in everything with Sheridan. I am thankful for Life & Limb & thankful for the 2nd coming near." Blackmar wrote this letter just three days after Lee's surrender at Appomattox Court House. The "death" he witnessed was that of the Confederacy.
In addition to Blackmar's letters, three postwar photographs are included.
Condition: All letters creased along folds. Intermittent staining, foxing, and toning, occasionally affecting text. January 4, 1863 letter detached along creases into six segments and linen backed, containing additionally damaged letter dated January 2, 1863 separated into three segments.
Auction Info
2023 September 21 Historical Manuscripts Signature® Auction #6272 (go to Auction Home page)
Auction Dates
September, 2023
21st
Thursday
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