LOT #47141 |
Reserve Amount: $1,500
[Confederate States of America]. Civil War Soldier's Archive by William MacLin Rosborough of the 8th Tennessee Infantry.
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Description
[Confederate States of America]. Civil War Soldier's Archive by William MacLin Rosborough of the 8th Tennessee Infantry. A Civil War-era letter archive comprising 16 letters totaling 47 pages, dated 1861 to 1864, documenting the wartime experience of William MacLin Rosborough. Fifteen letters are written by Rosborough to his sister, with two additional letters addressed to him by fellow soldiers William McMillen and Salathiel H. Kimes. Together, the correspondence traces Rosborough's progression from civilian life in Tennessee through active Confederate service, including the deteriorating conditions in Middle Tennessee early in the war, his wounding at the Battle of Murfreesboro, and later participation in the campaigns around Chickamauga and Chattanooga. Each letter has been fully transcribed, and a Microsoft Word file containing the complete transcriptions will be provided to the buyer.William, born in 1821, was a member of the large Rosborough family that migrated from Chester District, South Carolina, to Lincoln County, Tennessee, in the 1820s as part of the household of Dr. Alexander Rosborough and his wife, Jenny Porter.
The earliest letter in the archive, dated December 15, 1861, was written while Rosborough was still a civilian in Lincoln County. He describes the rapid depletion of the local population as men volunteered for Confederate service, as well as the possibility of hiring an enslaved person to assist with his work:
"This war has thinned this country very much. It has sent about 2,000 volunteers out of a voting population of 3,200...Not much war excitement here at this time, but about 3 weeks ago the Governor ordered everybody to send their guns to Nashville to arm the state...If I don't have to go to the army next year, I will hire a hand to help me, and thought if you or William had a boy and would hire, I would give you as much as you could get anyplace. I would like to have one that I could hire several years..."
By March 26, 1862, following the Confederate loss of Fort Donelson in February, Rosborough's tone had hardened. Writing again from Lincoln County, he identifies himself with the Confederate cause, noting the rising tension in Tennessee:
"Middle Tenn is left to the Vandals. They have not arrived here yet, but I understand they are moving in slowly...As for myself, I do not intend to conceal my notions. I am a disunionist and will remain so regardless of consequences...There are companies of guerrillas making up here at this time. Or in other words, independent companies. I may join one."
Rosborough enlisted later that year, joining the 8th Tennessee Infantry in October 1862. Less than two months later, he saw heavy combat at the Second Battle of Murfreesboro (Stone's River) in late December. He was badly wounded during the fighting, and provides a detailed account of the engagement and his injuries in a letter dated January 29, 1863:
"The battle began early Tuesday morning on the left, which was kept up through the day. Early Wednesday morning, the center was ordered to attack the yanks...The 8th went into the fight with 460 men. Of that number, 320 was killed and wounded. Mostly wounded. A great many since died. Among the wounded is myself. When we got in about 2 hundred yds of the yanks, I received a very slight wound in the left cheek, which knocked me to my knees. I quickly rose, and about that time received two other wounds. A spent ball struck my left leg between the knee and ankle, not breaking the skin, but deadened my leg so that I could not walk. The other struck my left arm about 3 inches below the elbow, passing through, fracturing the small bone of my arm. It was very painful for several days, but is doing well at this time..."
Throughout 1863, Rosborough continued to write home, updating his family on his slow recovery and on the movement of Confederate forces through Tennessee and Georgia. Although the regiment saw limited action during this period, Rosborough and his comrades anticipated renewed fighting as troops concentrated around Chattanooga. After complications from his arm wound, Rosborough was sent for surgery in the city, but had to be transferred when the hospital was shelled. Writing from the hospital in Atlanta on August 28, 1863, he explains the dire circumstances:
"The Surgeon of the Regiment thought it would be best to operate on it and take out the fractured bone. Well, he sent me to the hospital in Chattanooga the 26th of July...The yanks shelled the hospital in Chattanooga pretty heavy, and the doctors thought that we invalids would be safer farther south."
The long-anticipated confrontation came in September 1863 with the Battle of Chickamauga. A letter from fellow soldier William McMillen, dated September 21, offers an immediate account of the fighting based on reports from the wounded:
"The Great Battle Commenced yesterday this side of Chattanooga, and said to be the bloodiest of the war. All the account we have is by wounded that arrived this morning. We hear all sorts of rumor. I will give you such as we have. We drove back the right & left wing of the Enemy's and captured 2,000 by Genl. Cheatham. Our loss is said to be varying from 4 to 6,000 killed & wounded-and killed & wounded of several Genls., Smith, Walker, Walthall, Gregg..."
Chickamauga was followed quickly by renewed operations around Chattanooga. In a letter dated October 13, Salathiel H. Kimes wrote to Rosborough describing the devastation of the earlier battle, continued skirmishing, and the presence of bushwhackers:
"In regard to the late battle of Chickamauga, you have no doubt read in the newspapers a better account of it than I can give. And perhaps you have seen a list of the casualties in most of the regiments...B. E. Malear was a bushwhacking the yankees again, and they had come very near getting him once or twice...We are laying in line of battle three miles from Chattanooga...The yankees are entrenched in and around Chattanooga, and we are entrenched just outside of their lines, with only a few hundred yards between us..."
By November 1863, Rosborough was sufficiently recovered to rejoin active duty. Writing on November 11, he describes constant skirmishing and the growing impact of Union raids on the surrounding countryside:
"There is skirmishing going on at Chattanooga pretty near every day. The cannon can be distinctly heard at this place. The Brigade is pretty well fixed. We all have our little cabins built. It looks like that we are fixing for winter quarters, but I would not be surprised if we moved at any time...The yanks have not done much on Cane Creek or Swan, but in portions of the county they have taken nearly all Negroes...They say there is no yanks stationed in the county, but raiding parties pass through every 2 or 3 days..."
One of Rosborough's final wartime letters, dated July 10, 1864, places him south of the Chattahoochee River, engaged in skirmishes that preceded the Battle of Peachtree Creek. His description conveys both the intensity and brutality of the fighting:
"Our Brigade was in full view of the yanks when they made a charge on a part of our Division and part of Cleburne's. I was in 30 yds of our Battery that cut their lines to pieces. It was a daring charge in the yanks...They were mowed down by hundreds. It was a sickening sight to see. The woods caught fire and burned the clothes of the dead, and perhaps many wounded that could not crawl out of the way. Our boys went out to help the poor wounded, but were fired on by the Yanky Vandals. They sent a flag of truce the next day to bury the dead, which was agreed to...The next night, I was on picket when they charged the same place...It was a brill sight, the blaze of the enfields and the blazing shells as they passed and bursted."
Rosborough continued serving with the 8th Tennessee Infantry through the final months of the war, though the regiment was decimated by the time of its surrender on April 26, 1865. His letters provide a detailed view of Confederate service from enlistment through the collapse of the Southern war effort.
The archive also includes twelve original transmittal letters and an additional letter dated 1877, in which Rosborough writes privately to his sister about their mother's declining health and urges her to visit, requesting that the letter be destroyed after reading.
Condition: Generally very good, with expected toning, mailing folds, and minor wear. Some letters written in pencil but remain very legible. Occasional separations, staining, and minor loss present, generally not affecting legibility.
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