LOT #47124 |
Sold on Feb 26, 2026 for: Sign-in
or Join (free & quick)
[Confederate States of America]. Civil War Soldiers' Archive by Gilbert and R. S. Grigsby....
Click the image to load the highest resolution version.
Sold on Feb 26, 2026 for:
$2,750.00
Bid Source: HA.com/Live bidder
Get one of these:
Explore Available Items
Description
[Confederate States of America]. Civil War Soldiers' Archive by Gilbert and R. S. Grigsby. Nineteen letters dated October 1, 1862 through March 22, 1865, documenting the service of Gilbert G. Grigsby of the Tennessee 1st Cavalry and his brother, R. S. Grigsby of the Alabama 1st Cavalry. The letters contain the brothers' firsthand commentary on major campaigns and engagements, including the Vicksburg Campaign and the Atlanta Campaign, as well as numerous skirmishes and cavalry actions across Tennessee, Virginia, Mississippi, and Georgia. The archive comprises five letters by Gilbert G. Grigsby and fourteen letters by R. S. Grigsby, each accompanied by its original transmittal cover and a full printed transcript. Together, the Grigsbys' correspondence gives a highly detailed perspective of Confederate cavalry movements in the Western and Eastern Theaters during the war's most critical campaigns.In an early letter dated November 25, 1862, written from "Camp Near Smyrna," R. S. Grigsby describes cavalry operations near Nashville and Murfreesboro under General Joseph Wheeler:
"We are camped 15 miles from Nashville and 12 miles from Murfreesboro...I had been in a fight since I left home on the 18th of this month. General Wheeler took his brigade and went out near Labanon and attacked the Yankees. We drove their pickets and took four prisoners. We got 4 men wounded. Wheeler finding the enemy too strong for him. He fell back they fought with cannon a while and each party quit off even."
During the Vicksburg Campaign, he reports on the Confederate troop's movements in a letter dated June 1, 1863, from "Camp Middleton Tenn":
"Our forces at Vicksburg gained a great victory if the report that we hear is true...There was news came in camp last night that the enemy would attack our camps last night but they have not come yet. I think it all failed. A great provision of our army from Shelbyville has gone to Vicksburg...The Yankees are going to make a death stand for Vicksburg..."
The following year, during the Atlanta Campaign, he provides detailed observations of near-constant fighting and skirmishing. Writing from "Camp Near Big Shanty Ga" on June 4, 1864, he describes the constant tension with Union forces:
"Our company has fallen back to Big Shanty and the railroad are lines of battle. News from Big Shanty to Dallas then has been fighting on these lines and heavy skirmishing is going on every day and at times at regular engagements take place. I cannot tell when the regular battle will be fought. The Yankees will not come and give our men battle. They keep trying to flank but I don't think they will flank Johnston out of his position. This time we have whipped them so far..."
Later that month, in a letter dated June 24, 1864, from "Camp 1st Ala Cavalry reg," he recounts a costly cavalry engagement near Marietta, Georgia:
"We have been doing some hard cavalry fighting hear. Our brigade fought the enemy at noon at a creek to the right of Marietta and the death in which our regiment suffered the heaviest lost it ever did in any fight before. We succeeded in driving the Yankees back some three miles but lost several men...There has been heavy fighting on the left of our army. It was reported yesterday that we captured five thousand prisoners in yesterday's fight."
Meanwhile, Gilbert's correspondences primarily concern army movements, camp life, and combat losses. In one interesting letter from the Shenandoah Valley dated July 19, 1864, he describes the aftermath of a hard-fought engagement near Staunton, Virginia:
"Our men rather got defeated and some killed and some captured. Among the lost are Major King [likely Major John B. King] formily our capt and had just bin promoted to major he was killd...lost about half our regiment here."
Also included is one undated letter by B. W. Grigsby of the 7th Tennessee Infantry, describing his experiences in camp, adding further family context to the archive.
Condition: Generally good, with expected mailing folds and toning commensurate with age. Some wear to only a few letters, including a few instances of loss affecting text.
Auction Info
2026 February 26 Historical Manuscripts & Texana Signature® Auction #6328 (go to Auction Home page)
Auction Dates
February, 2026
26th
Thursday
Bids + Registered Phone Bidders: 2
Lot Tracking Activity: N/A
Page Views: 135
Buyer's Premium per Lot:
25% of the successful bid per lot.
Shipping, Taxes, Terms and Bidding
Terms and Conditions | Bidding Guidelines and Bid Increments | Glossary of Terms
Important information concerning Sales Tax and Resale Certificates. Learn More
Terms and Conditions | Bidding Guidelines and Bid Increments | Glossary of Terms