LOT #47119 |
Sold on Sep 21, 2023 for: Not Sold
Civil War Letters to and from Chaplain William Lyman Hyde, 112th New York Infantry. ...
Click the image to load the highest resolution version.
Description
Civil War Letters to and from Chaplain William Lyman Hyde, 112th New York Infantry. An archive of twenty-four war-dated letters from August 1, 1862 to June 16, 1865; one post-war letter dated February 25, 1866; one undated letter; one undated, post-war account; and one carte de visite of Hyde. Four of the letters are written by Hyde and the remaining twenty-one are addressed to him. Documents are written in pencil and ink and measure in size from 4.43" x 7.37" to 7.25" x 9.5". Hyde mustered in on October 10, 1862 and mustered out June 13, 1865. Letters written by the chaplain were published in Jim Quinlan's Armed Only with Faith, a compilation of Chaplain Hyde's correspondence and journals.The 112th New York Infantry organized on September 1862 and served until the end of the war in 1865. When the regiment was created, so many men enlisted from Chautauqua County, NY that the soldiers were informally called the "Chautauqua Regiment." The 112th fought in numerous battles throughout the Civil War. This included the Battle at Deserted House, the Siege of Suffolk, Dix's Peninsula Campaign, Cold Harbor, the Sieges of Petersburg and Richmond (including the infamous mine explosion), Fort Fisher, and the capture of Wilmington. In total, the regiment lost twelve officers and 312 soldiers to casualties and disease.
During the early months of the Civil War in 1861, the War Department approved the presence of one chaplain per regiment to "report to the colonel commanding the regiment to which he is attached, at the end of each quarter, the moral and religious condition of the regiment, and such suggestions as may conduce to the social happiness and moral improvement of the troops." Accordingly, Hyde joined the 112th New York Infantry for three years, traveling with the soldiers as they trekked throughout the South.
Hyde wrote four of the letters included in this collection, providing detailed insight into his experiences with the 112th New York. In the summer of 1863, the regiment was tasked with destroying the railroad bridge crossing the South Anna River. The railroad was one of two running out of Richmond that met at Hanover Junction and were considered vital to supplying the Confederate troops. In a lengthy July 4, 1863 letter to his wife, Elizabeth, Hyde described the arduous march, the plantation of a relative of former President Zachary Taylor, and the attempted burning of the South Anna Bridge. He wrote, in part:
"About 3 we marched again; reached Hanover court house about 5 and at 9 were near South Anna bridge, whc. we intended to burn. Alas we were not a sufficient force... When we got down near the front we were deployed on each side of a road under trees and waited as a reserve, while Col. Wardrop & Col. Spear with a battery went down to the point. From Scouts we ascertained that the rebs had strong earthworks to defense the bridge & that thro [sic] some means they had learned of our coming and had got heavy reinforcements from Richmond. We were not strong enough to do what we wanted and also were in a bad position, as they might easily get in our rear. Col. Waldrop however sent 2 companies over who after a brisk fight captured 10 prisoners, with some loss. We don't know how many the rebs lost. While we lay in our position, the rebs commenced shelling. They did not however get our range as we made no reply. The shells came few as near as I ever wanted to have them... So we moved back to Taylor's plantation..."
A year later, Hyde writes about his experiences at the Battle of Cold Harbor and its immediate aftermath. On June 8, 1864, he wrote, "They have now sent away the last remnants of those wounded in the battle of the 1st June...I went back Sunday after my sorrowful mission with the body of Colonel Drake and reached the hospital about 3 pm. I found Captain Chaddock very sick. He has some form of gastric trouble. His bladder is diseased and he is generally out of kilter. I am fearful that he will now be obliged to give up. He has just had notice of his appointment as major of the regiment and Major Smith, lieutenant colonel. Captain Mathews is now in command. Oh dear, the regiment will never again be to me what it once was. It is torn to pieces and my best friends on the staff are gone."
He continued in another letter dated June 16, 1864, writing, "We left about 4 am and toiled on marching and halting, and did not get to this point until about 9. We crossed the Appomattox on a pontoon bridge. We found that part of the 2nd Corps men already before us having crossed the James near City Point and marched across. Just before we crossed the Appomattox we heard some heavy firing and when we marched [to] the outer line of the defenses of Petersburg about 5 miles from the city, we came across an earthwork and line of rifle pits which the colored troops had just taken by assault. These troops had never before done any storming of fortifications and they were tickled enough. After we got in front of the 2nd line of defenses we were met by a pretty rough artillery fire and quite a number of casualties occurred in driving back their skirmish line. I remained at the hospital till afternoon then went and lay down to get some rest if possible. About 4, I went up to where the regiment was lying. The shot and shell came over us once in a while though we were in reserve. After being there about half an hour, the musketry began to rattle and the cannon poured in an awful fire. The Rebs replied, and shell and shot came whizzing over our men engaged and fell into our camp but fortunately no one was hit. It was a terrible strife but brief for soon the cannon ceased. We heard a yell, then a volley and so on for ten minutes, when a tumultuous shout arose, we had taken a redoubt and the earthworks."
Six months later, he wrote his wife from "All Ripped Up" on January 25, 1865, recounting the Battle of Trent's Reach: "The orders foreshadowed in my last have come for the regimental baggage to be sent to Wilmington. Today we go to Deep Bottom where we expect to embark. The 108 men, however, who are here will remain a few days. There is some reason to suppose that Richmond is being evacuated and I understand a larger force will move tomorrow out on the right of our lines. The 2,000 men of our division who are here will have to guard the picket line while the force is gone out and then they go...I rode to Bermuda yesterday on business and such a ride. It rained for one half of last week and up to Sunday morning and then Monday it poured. Yesterday the Rebel rams came down the James River as far as Dutch Gap and Lee had planned a grand demonstration all around. He was to send the ironclads down to City Point and Bermuda Hundred. Meanwhile the army was to attack us on all sides. But we were too vigilant. The battery near Dutch Gap sunk one of their ironclads the first fire. Two others got aground and had the monitor in the river not been out of gear, they would both have been destroyed. It was a finely laid plan but it did not work and they lost two or three hundred men captured. I don't know what is on the checkerboard for the next move but I guess when Sherman is heard from, Grant will move. I think that something is up at Richmond for the cars have for over a week been running incessantly."
One of the last major naval battles of the Civil War, the Battle of Trent's Reach took place on January 23 and 24, 1865. Eleven Confederate warships floated down the James River led by Commodore John K. Mitchell with the goal of diverting Union General Ulysses S. Grant's attention from his siege on Petersburg. The rebel flotilla engaged four Federal ships at the blockade at City Point, however; low tides worked in the Union's favor and took out four of the Confederate ships. After two days of constant fire from Union batteries, Mitchell's forces retreated back up the river.
In addition to letters written by Hyde, this archive features a number of letters written by friends and family members of soldiers who died in the war. Many of them thank the chaplain for his services and share religious sentiments. For example, one letter dated January 6, 1863, reads: "Your letter of the 27th Dec bearing the sad tidings of the death of my brother James Lewis of Co. D. came to hand on the 3d inst. It was rather a hard blow for us, yet I can say (although I am led to mourn the loss of a near & dear brother) thy will O Lord be done. I have many times prayed that if it was consistent with the Lord's will that my brother might return home once more. But all my hopes in that are cut off. Yet I have another hope still greater than all earthly hopes that is a great consolation to me. I have a hope that reaches beyond this veil of tears, that I shall meet that brother in the Paradise of God where there will be no more war, tears, or Death."
One undated account, likely written by Hyde, completes this collection. The document, titled "The Union Soldier as I knew him eleven years ago," muses on the character of enlisted men and the ways in which they changed throughout the war. He writes, in part, "The soldier, however, of 1864 was somewhat different from the same soldier in 1862. Then he was a new recruit fresh from the farm or the shop. In many cases utterly unacquainted with any portion of the big world a hundred miles distant from his rural home...But the soldier of 64 was toughened up. He knew what to expect, hard knock, the arrogance of power..."
This archive offers detailed insight into key battles throughout the Civil War while simultaneously showing the gratitude of the soldiers' families for the presence of a chaplain. Letters offer candid descriptions as well as heartfelt reflections on the Christian faith.
Condition: Creasing along folds for all documents. Intermittent foxing and staining, occasionally affecting text. The letter dated July 4, 1863 has staining at the left and bottom margins as well as at the center, affecting the text and the integral page. Carte de visite is toned with minor staining at the margins recto and verso.
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: 225
Buyer's Premium per Lot:
25% on the first $300,000 (minimum $49), plus 20% of any amount between $300,000 and $3,000,000, plus 15% of any amount over $3,000,000 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