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John B. Villepigue Letter Signed Transporting a Suspected Spy Together with Three Related Letters....
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Sold on Sep 21, 2023 for:
$937.50
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Description
John B. Villepigue Letter Signed Transporting a Suspected Spy Together with Three Related Letters. The four letters average 7.5" x 9.5" in size. Villepigue's letter is written from "Hd Qrs 4th Sub. Dist. Of the Miss., near Abbeville, Miss." on August 26, 1862. He writes a letter to Assistant Adjutant General Manning M. Kimmel: "In obedience to your dispatch of yesterday, I have the honor to send, under guard, Samuel Shock, arrested as a spy. I enclose the letter which led to his arrest." Signed, "Jno. B. Villepigue."Together with the letter referenced by Villepigue, which is a secretarial copy of a letter dated July 29, 1862 sent by Thomas S. Snead explaining the arrest of Sam Shock. It reads: "I have been requested by several gentleman who seem to be well informed & who are perfectly trustworthy that a Mr. Shock of Memphis, who enjoys the confidence of our generals is really a spy & that he has an agent in whose possession conclusive evidence of the fact can be found."
Also included in this lot is a letter dated August 27, 1862 by H. T. Scott, Chief of Ordnance of the 4th Sub. District of Mississippi, stating that he is a friend of Sam Shock and that the accusations are false. The one and a quarter page letter reads, in part: ".... I have known this man long & well & never had a doubt of his loyalty or soundings on the contrary I've always regarded him as a true & rabid southerner... I am inclined to think our Capt. Harbor a quartermaster in Genl Price's army is at the bottom of this arrest as he is an inveterate enemy of Shock & is himself a northern born man & I believe is now more of a spy than Shock..."
A letter from Thomas Snead dated August 31, 1862 cites that there is no evidence against Shock and says that the letter to Villepigue (probably citing Scott's August 27 letter) is all the information he has on the matter.
We could not find a service record for Samuel Shock, and do not know the outcome of his arrest. All four letters have filing dockets on the verso.
Villepigue would go on to lead troops at the Second Battle of Corinth five weeks later on October 3 and 4, 1862. He led with distinction both in the attack and during the retreat, but the hardships of battle resulted in illness. He was sent to Port Hudson, Louisiana to recuperate, but died of pneumonia on November 9, 1862. War-dated signatures by Villepigue are scarce.
Condition: All four letters have flattened mailing folds, and toning, especially along folds on verso. Scott letter has some dampstaining along the right. Snead, August 31 letter has showthrough from dockets on verso.
Provenance: From the Private Collection of a Mississippi Gentleman.
Auction Info
2023 September 21 Historical Manuscripts Signature® Auction #6272 (go to Auction Home page)
Auction Dates
September, 2023
21st
Thursday
Bids + Registered Phone Bidders: 1
Lot Tracking Activity: N/A
Page Views: 152
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