Civil War soldier letter Parris M Law 18th Ct Harper\'s Ferry April 17, 1864
When you click on links to various merchants on this site and make a purchase, this can result in this site earning a commission. Affiliate programs and affiliations include, but are not limited to, the eBay Partner Network.
Civil War soldier letter Parris M Law 18th Ct Harper\'s Ferry April 17, 1864:
$60.00
Up for sale
Civil War soldier letter, 3 of 4, 3.5 pages, April 17, 1864, to wife and children from Parris Law, Pvt, 18th Connecticut, recounts his journey from Norwich to Harper\'s Ferry, thought we were going to Tennessee, stopped in the cars at the Ferry, in the morning, we ran across the river looking for our old camp which was occupied by the 34th Mass, troops piled up topsy turvy to see what they could find of theirs, some would take whatever they could find and call it their own, was lucky to find all of my things, now have our tents pitched on a new piece of ground and getting this regulated, one regiment and two batteries were ordered to go towards to Charleston to some place not known, our regiment left here for further orders, soldiers coming and and out every day as though there is some movement of considerable note, had a terrible storm for 24 hours, now cleared but camp is deep in mud, have to (walk) very carefully for fear of falling flat in the mud, which is soft as putty.
Parris M. Law
Residence Killingly CT; Enlisted on 8/13/1862 as a Private.On 8/18/1862 he mustered into \"K\" Co. CT 18th Infantry He was Mustered Out on 6/27/1865 at Harper\'s Ferry, WVOther Information:died in 1896 Buried: Woodstock Hill Cemty, Windham Co., CT(Wife Emily Berry died 1888 age 70)TheBattle of Summit Point, also known asFlowing SpringsorCameron\'s Depot, was an inconclusive battle of theAmerican Civil Warfought on August 21, 1864, nearSummit Point, West Virginia.[1]
The battle was part ofUnionMaj. Gen.Philip Sheridan\'sShenandoah Valley Campaign, which took place between August and December 1864. While Sheridan concentrated his army nearCharles Town,ConfederateLt. Gen.Jubal A. Earlyand Maj. Gen.Richard H. Andersonattacked the Union forces with converging columns on August 21.[1]Anderson struck north against the Unioncavalryat Summit Point. The Union forces fought effective delaying actions, withdrawing to nearHalltownon the following day. The battle resulted in approximately 1,000 REGIMENT C. V. INFANTRY.
(Three Years.)
WRITTEN BY BVT. BRIGADIER-GENERAL WILLIAM G. ELY, LATE COLONEL OF THE EIGHTEENTH CONNECTICUT VOLUNTEERS. AUGUST 4,1862, in response to the call of Governor William A. Buckingham, the formation of the Eighteenth Regiment Connecticut Volunteers was begun at Camp Aiken, Norwich, Conn., under the supervision of General Daniel Tyler. August 11th Colonel William G. Ely, who had been promoted from the lieutenant-colonelcy of the Sixth Regiment, took command. Officers and men were inspired with patriotic enthusiasm, and in eleven days left Norwich with a full regiment, composed of the best blood of New London and Windham Counties. They marched under elegant colors, presented by the ladies of Norwich. August 24th the regiment camped at Fort McHenry, Baltimore, and remained in that vicinity until ordered to the Shenandoah Valley, May 22, 1863. Its first battle was at Winchester, Va., June 13th, 14th, and 15th, under General Milroy\'s command. The engagement was disastrous to the Union forces. Milroy had but 7,000 men, and his opponent, General Early, 30,000, and 87 field guns. The Eighteenth won unqualified praise from General Milroy for its desperate fighting. In a third and last charge it wholly disabled a Confederate battery; but it had charged into the center of General Johnson\'s Division, 9,000 strong, and 500 of its men were captured. General Walker, of Stonewall Jackson\'s Brigade, generously praised the valor and discipline of the Eighteenth Regiment, and returned Colonel Ely\'s sword to him on the battle-field. Color-Sergeant George Torrey escaped with the regimental colors. General Milroy met the Eighteenth at Martinsburg, on their return from rebel prisons, and made the following speech: \"SOLDIERS OF THE EIGHTEENTH: Since I last saw you, you have suffered captivity in rebel prisons. We have been separated since then; but I have come to see you, and to praise you for your gallantry. \"I saw you in the second day\'s fight, as you charged the enemy from your rifle-pits and drove them back upon their reserves, holding them in check until night, when you fell back, but with your face to the foe. Again I saw you the next morning, facing as hot a fire as I ever witnessed. I looked in vain to see you waver. \"Boys, it was a hot place,--a hot place. \"I saw you go where none but brave men dare to go; saw you make three successful charges, preserving your line as well as if on dress-parade. I witnessed it all. I saw you as you broke the first line of rebel infantry, and charged up to their batteries, driving away their gunners, still pressing on, and breaking their reserves. But a third line was too strong for you; I knew it was. Only then did you fall back, when your lines were broken, and many brave Connecticut men lay bleeding on the field. But you only fell back to re-form, and give them another taste of your steel. I knew it was madness to order you forward again; it was ordering you to death and annihilation. Boys, I watched you with pride as you charged the third time; but when I saw your ranks withering, and your comrades falling, it made my heart grow sad within me, and I ordered you to fall back. You know the rest. You were surrounded, and there was no escape. But I miss your noble commander, Colonel Ely. May he soon return to you! Boys, to your valor I owe my safety. You come from a State whose soldiers never disgrace themselves nor their Flag. I am proud of you.\" It is due to General Milroy to say that if he, with his little army, numbering less than seven thousand men, had not held in check the advance of Lee\'s army at Winchester for three days, by which the Army of the Potomac gained time, the battle fought at Gettysburg would probably have taken place nearer Philadelphia--and perhaps with different results. At Newmarket, Va., May 15, 1864, the Eighteenth, commanded by Major Henry Peale, shared in General Sigel\'s defeat, with a loss of fifty-one in killed and wounded. June 5th, the Eighteenth formed a part of General Hunter\'s command. Colonel William G. Ely, commanding, in his official report, says: \"The Eighteenth Regiment Connecticut Volunteers were on the right of General Hunter\'s line of battle. Its colors took the lead in the first charge, and floated defiantly until we triumphed. All of the color-guard were wounded but one. Our banner riddled by minie-balls and cannon-shot, and a loss of one hundred and twenty-seven in killed and wounded, tells our story. Officers and men behaved most gallantly, obeying orders with alacrity even in the thickest of the fight. The victory was completed by the total rout of the rebels and the capture of fifteen hundred prisoners.\" The Eighteenth participated in the engagement at Lynchburg, Va., with a loss of twelve wounded. Here General Hunter had the good sense to retire his small force of men before Early\'s advancing army, barely escaping capture by a retreat into Ohio, leaving exhausted horses and men to mark the route. In the battle at Snicker\'s Ford, under General Crook, the Eighteenth--now reduced to about one hundred and fifty men--participated in a drawn battle, with a loss of thirty-two in killed and wounded. Colonel Ely was now appointed to the command of the Second Brigade, Second Division, of General Crook\'s Corps, and Major Henry Peale to the command of the Eighteenth Regiment. A week later the Eighteenth had another battle at Winchester with slight losses, and closed the list of its engagements with a fight at Berryville, Va., September 5, 1864. Major Peale was promoted to the lieutenant-colonelcy, and the regiment served in West Virginia until mustered out at Harper\'s Ferry, June 27, 1865. It is but justice to say that the Eighteenth Regiment, during its stay at Fort McHenry and Fort Marshall, Baltimore, Md., gained a proficiency and excellence in military manoeuvers which subsequently gave it wonderful steadiness in action. For this reason it was used to cover General Milroy\'s retreat from Winchester, General Hunter\'s retreat from Lynchburg, and in especially arduous duty on several other equally important occasions, in all of which the regiment won highest praise for its gallant and efficient services. If judged solely by the number of victories it helped to achieve, the record of the Eighteenth might seem less brilliant than that of many Connecticut regiments in the civil war. Judged by the desperate nature of the engagements which fell to its lot, and the unflinching bravery and determination with which in every instance it bore its part, the Eighteenth stands as the peer of any regiment in the service. Immediately after formal muster-out at Harper\'s Ferry, Va., the regiment started for Connecticut and arrived in Hartford on June 29th, where it was most warmly received by Governor Buckingham in person, assisted by a distinguished delegation representing the city of Hartford and the counties of New London and Windham. ENGAGEMENTS.Winchester, Va., June 13-15, 1863.Newmarket, Va., May 15, 1864.Harrisonburg, Va., June 3, 1864.Piedmont, Va., June 5, 1864.Lexington, Va., June 11, 1864.Buchanan, Va., June 14, 1864.Liberty, Va., June 16, 1864.Quaker Church, Va., June 17, 1864.Lynchburg, Va., June 18, 1864.Salem, Va., June 21, 1864.Hedgeville, Va., July 10, 1864.Snicker\'s Ford, Va., July 18, 1864.Kearnstown, Va., July 23, 1864.Winchester, Va., July 24, 1864.Martinsburg, Va., July 25, 1864.Cedar Creek, Va., Aug. 12, 1864.Stony Point and Middletown, Va., Aug. 11-12, 1864.Hupp\'s Hill, Va., Aug. 13, 1864.Opequon, Va., Aug. 21, 1864.Halltown and Charlestown, Va., Aug. 22-26, 1864.Source: Connecticut: Record of Service of Men during War of MARCH 16-18, 1864.--Reconnaissance toward Snicker\'s Gap, Va. Report of Maj. Henry Peale, Eighteenth Connecticut Infantry. HDQRS. EIGHTEENTH CONNECTICUT VOLUNTEERS, Harper\'s Ferry, Va., March 20, 1864. SIR: I have the honor to represent that on the morning of the 16th instant, in obedience to orders from headquarters First Division, Department of West Virginia, I started with 3 officers and 150 days\' rations, for the purpose of reconnoitering the country in the neighborhood of Snicker\'s Gap, and also to arrest, if possible, the rebel conscription which was understood to be in process of enforcement in that section by removing the material for such conscription, and lastly to take possession for Government purposes of the cattle of all citizens so seized. I reached the gap on the morning of the 17th instant, and marched on the pike until within a mile of Snickersville, when the main portion of the battalion was halted with instructions to avail itself of all advantages of concealment by the windings of the road, &c. In company with the officers above referred to, and with a squad of 10 men, I proceeded on the Alexandria pike to a point 3 miles beyond as citizens at their houses. From the unanimity of their statements I was convinced not only that the conscription parties were not there in the neighborhood, but that they had compelled their work one week before, and had been ordered back to the main army under Lee. It was ascertained that they were composed of detachments of the Sixth Virginia Infantry, temporarily disbanded for foraging and recruiting purposes. No armed rebels were visible during our stay unless one or two suspicious-looking horsemen who appeared at a distance, and who fled on perceiving us, were such. Late in the afternoon I rejoined the battalion and marched on the submit of the Blue Ridge until within 3 miles of Ashby\'s Gap, but as I found no water, and deeming it unsafe to encamp in the valley, I returned on the same evening to the gap, and posted the command on a hill to the north of and within a short distance of the pike. During the night two camp-fires were visible to the southwest of the pike, and between 1 and 2 miles distant. Horsemen, one at a time, were also heard at intervals on the road. The pickets were doubled, but nothing further of importance occurred. In the morning a party was sent to the town after forage, and learned that a few of Mosby\'s men had made their appearance a few minutes after our departure the previous afternoon and made many inquiries as to our numbers, &c. During the greater part of the 18th the roads about the gap were traversed by small parties under non-commissioned officers, and the position of affairs at Snicker\'s Ferry ascertained. In the latter part of same day, the rations becoming low, I started on the return, taking the path on the east side of the ridge. The command marched to a point abreast of Purcellville and then crossed to the west side of the mountain and camped at a place of one or two houses known as Valley View. Here we found detachment of 2 officers and 25 men of the One hundred and thirty-ninth [?] New York. On the 19th, after impressing from the inhabitants one-half days\' rations of corn-meal and bacon, I started for this place, reaching here at 9 p. m. The information obtained may be summed up as follows, viz: First, the absence of all conscripts detachments from the sections of country embraced in a radius of 10 miles from Snicker\'s Gap; second, the presence of numerous guerrillas in the region about Upperville and Paris; third, the poverty of the inhabitants on either side of the ridge as to cattle and the necessaries of life, with the exception of corn-meal and bacon, of which they appear to have an abundance; fourth, the thoroughly rebel character of nine-tenths of such inhabitants. Had the command carried a supply of rations for five days (a matter which will receive strict attention in future), other and more tangible results might have been attained. The command during the four days marched between 70 and 80 miles. I have the honor to be, very respectfully, your obedient servant, HENRY PEALE, Maj., Cmdg. Eighteenth Connecticut Volunteers. Capt. WILLIAM M. BOONE, Assistant Adjutant-Gen. Source: Official Records PAGE 251-60 OPERATIONS IN N. C., VA., W. VA., MD., AND PA. [CHAP. XLV. [Series I. Vol. 33. Serial No. 60.]We offer domesticFREE SHIPPINGfor all Civil War and paper items. Please inquire for any international shipping charges . It depends on to what country. Shipping for these items is our actual cost.
When you visit this listing, we suggest that you click on \"see other items\" that will bring up all of our currently posted items. Then you can bookmark this page for easy access in the future. If you have questions, send them through the system. As an historian for more than 45 years focusing on the US Civil War, we have been collecting, buying, selling, and writing, (currently gathering source material for a book on Soldier\'s Art in the Civil War).
Most importantly we providefreeresearch and consulting on Civil War memorabilia and Paper Americana. We are a member of the Manuscript Society, the Confederate Stamp Alliance, and a life member of the American Philatelic Society. Good luck offerding!
Civil War soldier letter Parris M Law 18th Ct Harper\'s Ferry April 17, 1864:
$60.00