Battle of Munfordville KY - PAIR of 9/16/1862 Surrender Letters - Wilder & Bragg

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Battle of Munfordville KY - PAIR of 9/16/1862 Surrender Letters - Wilder & Bragg:
$8995.00

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You are purchasing theexact two hand-carried authentic original handwritten genuine letters shown in the photographs:

First: The Union\'s Side from Colonel Wilder who commanded Munfordville\'s Union Forces and its garrison:

Head Qtrs U. S. Forces

Munfordsville, KY Sept 16th 1862

Sir:

At a consultation

of officers of thiscommand held since

dark this evening, itis agreed upon that

if satisfactoryevidence is given them of your

ability to make goodyour assertions of

largely superiornumbers, so as to make the

defense of thisposition a useless waste of human

life, we will treat asto terms of honorable surrender.

I am sir

very respectfully

Yours & c

J. T. Wilder

Col. Comg.

To Braxton Bragg

Gen. Com\'g C. S.forces

near Munfordville

Ky.

Second: TheConfederate\'s Side from what must have been an exhausted General Braxton Bragg:

Headqtrs C. S. Forces

Near Munfordville KY

16 Sept. 1862 10 P.M.

Sir

By Reference to my Note you

will see it was onlystipulated that

\"no firing willtake place if your

troops keep withintheir lines

before 9: o\'clockP.M.\" This condition

has been compliedwith.

Very Respectfully,

Your Obt servant,

Braxton Bragg,

Gen\'l Comdg.

Col. J. T. Wilder

Commdg U. S. Forces

Munfordville

Condition: The Union letter--folded into sixths--hasa piece gone from the lower right--probably contemporaneously--and has somelight staining on the reverse from perhaps being mounted to be displayed totroops. The Confederate letter is in excellent condition, also foldedinto sixths. Both have some minor wrinkling.

Here\'s the history Ihave written to accompany these two letters (one from the Federals and one fromthe Confederates) with help from Internet Sources:

The Battle ofMunfordville (also known as the Battle of Green River) was a militaryengagement in Kentucky during the American Civil War. Victory there allowed theConfederates to briefly strengthen their hold on the region and impair Unionsupply lines.

On August 26, 1862,Confederate Gen. Braxton Bragg\'s army left Chattanooga, Tennessee and marchednorth through Sparta, TN and then to Glasgow, KY. Pursued by Maj. Gen. DonCarlos Buell\'s Union Army, Bragg approached Munfordville on September 12-14, astation on the Louisville & Nashville Railroad and the location of a key1,800 foot long railroad bridge crossing Green River.

Federal Colonel JohnT. Wilder commanded the Union garrison at Munfordville and--effectively thetown--which consisted of three regiments behind extensive fortifications.Wilder\'s occupation force was first approached and then fully-engaged byConfederate Brig. Gen. James R. Chalmers, who marched on Munfordville from CaveCity, KY without orders from General Braxton Bragg. Chalmers had received anerroneous report from Confederate Cavalry under Kirby Smith that the federalforce in Munfordville had \"not more than 1,800 men, entirely raw troops,and that they were fortifying their position, but that the railroad andtelegraph had been destroyed in their rear, cutting them off completely fromall communication and re-enforcements.\" Upon fully arriving on September14, Chalmers demanded a surrender, which was rejected by Colonel Wilder, andthen proceeded to launch frontal assaults that were repulsed by the Federaldefenders. Chalmers\' brigade suffered 288 casualties in the attacksbefore retreating back to Cave City.

Confederate GeneralBraxton Bragg was angry at Chalmers for his \"unauthorized andinjudicious\" assault, but was determined to force Munfordville\'s surrenderby Federal Colonel Wilder nonetheless. Bragg believed that leaving Munfordvilleintact would \"throw a gloom upon the whole Confederate Army [but forcingits (Munfordville’s) surrender would] turn defeat into victory.\"

Bragg\'s forces made aforced march of 25–35 miles the night of September 15–16 to the edges of theTown of Munfordville. Late on September 16, realizing that GeneralBuell\'s Federal forces were threatening nearby, and not wishing to kill orinjure innocent civilians in Munfordville, the Confederates sent variousdemands for surrender. Colonel Wilder—commanding the town and itsgarrison—thought Bragg was bluffing and did not realize the proximity ofGeneral Buell\'s Union Forces. He wanted to see the Confederate lines andfortifications for himself in order to be able to verify Braxton Bragg’s claimthat his (Bragg’s) force was “far superior.” Colonel Wilder entered theConfederate lines blindfolded under a Flag of Truce. Confederate Maj.Gen. Simon B. Buckner removed his blindfold and escorted him to view theConfederate strength, which was enough to convince him that further resistancewas futile. Realizing the odds he faced (45 cannon and 25,000+ infantry),Federal Colonel Wilder agreed to surrender and he (Wilder) and Bragg exchangednotes delivered by couriers under additional Flags of Truce to negotiate aspecific moment for the cessation of hostilities—9:00 p.m.

The Union letter hereI believe to be the first Wilder sent back to Bragg after he (Wilder) returnedfrom the Confederate Lines to confer with his command staff.

The Confederateletter here is I believe to be one that Bragg sent to Wilder to confirm thatFederal troops were obeying the terms of a 9:00 p.m. order to hold theirpositions as of 9:00 p.m.

The formal ceremonytook place the next day (the 17th). The paroled Federals marched outof Munfordville with new uniforms. W.L. Trask, a Confederate soldier, said thefederals \"were well clothed, looked fat and sleek and clean and neat andwere in strange contrast to our own hungry, ragged and dirty lookingrebels.\"

Despite the captureof over 4,000 Federals and stores of supplies at Munfordville, the victory didlittle for the Confederates other than slow them down. Author Kenneth W. Noesaid \"Unless he [Bragg] intended to fight it out along the Green River, anidea that flickered only briefly under duress, Munfordville was a three-daydistraction the Confederate cause could ill afford.\" The incident isa good example of how Bragg had little overall vision for the Kentucky Campaignand instead simply reacted from event to event.

These letters werepreserved among the papers of Confederate Surgeon T. A. LaFar and this is thefirst time they have been offered publicly with adequate descriptions accompaniedby a history and provenance.

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