Beschreibung:

Lot of 24 war-date letters, May 1861-May 1865; 1862 CSA almanac found at Yorktown; and cabinet card of Private David W. Sharpe, Co. B, 1st Connecticut Heavy Artillery. David W. Sharpe enlisted in the army with ambitions of becoming a captain. Even though he served throughout the war, from May 22, 1861 until September 25, 1865, he never received a single promotion. The same day he enlisted for the army, he mustered into the 1st Connecticut Heavy Artillery, Co. B, and stayed with the regiment for his two terms of service. The first year was very quiet despite traveling often and intensely training for the battles that would eventually come. Before his first chance to experience action, Sharpe wrote home to his family: I believe I have not told you about our Siege Train. We are the first volunteer siege train ever got up in the United States...We are within a mile and a half of the rebel entrenchments. We shall…siege Yorktown in a few days. I suppose the people north are wondering why we do not attack Yorktown but if they could see the work we have to do to get ready they would not wonder at it. We have twenty mortars (ten of them ten-inch mortars), twelve thirty-two pounder rifled siege guns, two howitzers, five one hundred pounder rifled siege guns and more guns and mortars to come. Our company (B) has the five one hundred pdrs…the rifled guns throw shells as well as shot. Some of the officers have been firing one thirty-two pdr this afternoon. It easily threw a shot across the river, a distance of two or three miles from here (Camp Engalls, near Yorktown, VA, April 19, 1862). Despite throwing some shells towards the enemy, there was not much more action that day. Finally, a few weeks later, Sharpe and his men met their enemy on the field. He described the Siege of Yorktown to his family: We had the first brush with the rebels yesterday…the engineers commenced to throw up a breastwork on the right of the battery for another two-hundred pounder (in plain sight of the rebels). They commenced to throw shells at us…their shells all went over us but few of them burst. They had fired but a few times when we had orders to prepare for action…we had those guns loaded in least time imaginable. We threw shot and shells into Yorktown and in their batteries and solid shot from our two-hundred pounder at their shipping in the harbor. One of our shots carried away the end of the dock and another struck a schooner and damaged it so much that it had to be towed away…we fired thirty five rounds during the afternoon and the rebels between twenty and thirty. None of us was hurt and it is not known how many of the rebels were killed…the war will be ended soon after we take Yorktown…[May 3rd]…Hurrah for the war!... You would laugh to see us drop on our breast when we see a shell coming. We like…dodging the shells but we gave them fun…( No. 1 Battery near Yorktown, VA, May 1st, 3rd and 7th, 1862). Fighting continued into June. His regiment averted disaster thanks to the warning of two African-American men: There were two regiments of infantry and one masked battery lying in ambush for us…the n*****s met us when we got within a mile of them and told the colonel…the next time we went out…with General Porter's Division and drove the rebels back beyond the Richmond and Harrisburg Railroad [Virginia Central RR] and took over 500 prisoners. Our regiment was on the field but were held in reserve. There were 250 of our men killed, wounded and taken prisoner. We are now in General Sykes Brigade which is the reserve…the attack on Richmond will commence in a day or two…(Camp ten miles before Richmond, VA, June 2, 1862). Sharpe wrote home again about the action throughout the Seven Days Battle Campaign and the Battle of Malvern Hill. In one of the letters he wrote: I did not have time to write half what I wanted in the last letter…in my last I spoke about Andrew Bodge being wounded in the leg…he was seriously wounded but it is only a flesh wound. He was wounded