[CIVIL WAR]. Letter with graphic content regarding Battle of Antietam written by Bugler Charles E. May, 1st Rhode Island Light Artillery. 25 September 1862.

3 1/2 pages, 4 1/2 x 7 1/8 in., old folds, toning to folds, staining to margins.

In this letter to his parents, Charles May writes, in part:

...I feel as though I must write to you, for I imagine you think I am dead or something else has happened to me, but I am yet alive; although I have seen some rough times. I tell you Farther [sic], if I live through this rebellion, I shall think myself lucky...A great many of my friends are gone, yes gone. Never shall I beehold [sic] their smiling faces again; we have lost about 40 men. We have had recruits from Rhode Island twice, the last ones were the five hundred dollar men, the most of them skedaddled the day we had the fight. That shows how brave they are; I was in the Bull-Run fight, and the battle of Sharpsburg, where there were so many killed. In the last battle, I had my horse shot out from under me, he had his hind leg shot off by a cannon ball, and the Captain had his horse shot. At the battle of Bull-Run, our first Lieutenant had his horse shot, and when the horse fell, he was on him and broke one of his ribes [sic], he is now in the Hospital at Washington. Daniel Crowty was taken prisoner, and Bill Hememway was wounded...you should have seen me coming off the battle field. I took the saddle and everything off my horse but the halter, and I started back; and the way the shells and the musket balls were flying, it was a caution to Rattle snakes, about every two minutes I would stoop down behind a stump or something else to escape the shells, most everything was a shelter for me. One one of our pieces we had every horse shot, and the men drawed it off by hand; the rebels or rather the Gray Backs as we call them say ___ is two Batterys [sic]...I tell you we layed them out in heaps. By the way, we have lost our Captain, he has gone on General Doubleday's Staff...

Signed by May from "Co 'D' R.I. Lt. Artillery, Gen. Doubleday's Division, Hooker's Corps, Army of the Potomac."

Charles E. May enlisted on 9/4/1861 as a Bugler and mustered into "Battery D" Company, Rhode Island 1st Light Artillery. He mustered out on 9/20/1864 at Providence, RI. During his time in service, he was listed as absent/sick twice, spending time in the hospital 6/15/1864.

Bob Zeller Civil War Collection

This lot is located in Cincinnati.