Shaw, William:

$4,000 · Offered by William Reese Company · No longer available

[COLLECTION OF TWENTY CIVIL WAR-DATE LETTERS FROM WILLIAM SHAW, A UNION SOLDIER FROM KENDALL, NEW YORK, DESCRIBING HIS DUTIES WHILE STATIONED AT FORT McHENRY IN MARYLAND, INJURIES SUFFERED IN BATTLE, ... An informative collection of Civil War letters from a young Union soldier named William Shaw of Kendall, New York. Shaw enlisted as a private in the 8th Regiment, Co. K, New York Heavy Artillery, mustered out of Rochester. He describes his service at Fort McHenry guarding Confederate prisoners, southern sympathizers, and Union deserters; the severe injuries he received when he was shot through both legs; and his subsequent duties during the Siege of Petersburg. This final stage of Shaw's service is evidence of the lengths the Union army went to in the second half of the war, as re-enlistment numbers lagged, and wounded soldiers were pressed into further duties.Shaw's letters run from early January to November of 1864, in which he serves guard duty at Fort McHenry military prison in Baltimore, gets wounded (most likely in Virginia on the Wilderness Campaign), spends time at a military hospital on David's Island, then moves near Petersburg in Virginia during the Siege of Petersburg. Despite Shaw's very poor spelling, his letters are informative and personal, and he seems to be writing to his mother or a sibling. Smith mentions several times about sending money home, and asks after various relatives and friends.Smith's first letter, dated January 3, 1864 emanates from Elmira, Ne

Found via Rare Books Intel, a search across rare-book dealers, auction houses and marketplaces worldwide.