American Historical Ephemera and Photography

Extensive archive of approx. 100 letters spanning 1857-1865 (bulk 1862-1865), including 81 war-date letters written by Ballentine (sometimes spelled "Ballantine" in war records) while in the field with the 6th Pennsylvania Cavalry. Ballentine's letters generally 4pp+, all addressed to his older brother William S. Ballentine. Accompanying the letters is a small notebook, 18pp, approx. 7 x 8 in., which contains a post-war introduction to the letter collection written by Ballentine, along with what appear to be transcribed versions of his first five letters home. Ballentine's soldier's letters reveal a man of humor and wit, while presenting a depiction of cavalry life with all of its challenges and dangers. Engagements referenced include Antietam, Fredericksburg, Beverly Ford, Brandy Station, Gettysburg, Manassas Junction, Bristoe Station, Wilderness, Yellow Tavern, Opequan, and more, as well as regular skirmishes with Confederate guerillas and cavalry. Ballentine was present at Appomattox Court House for the surrender of Lee and his army, capping a remarkable cavalry career which included carrying a wounded captain Col. Albert P. Morrow of the 6th PA Cavalry off the field of battle at Gravelly Run near Five Forks. An exceptional letter grouping from a cavalryman who served with "Sheridan's Raiders" and participated in many key Eastern Theater battles.

Ballentine's post-war notebook reads in part: "This is a list of letters Wrote By H. Ballentine to Wm. S. Ballentine From his departure for the Seat of War to the end of the war in 1865. Before commencing I would say as the Writer of these letters that they are founded on true fact with the exception of the day and date of the battle.... Fatigue and Want of Sleep together with other bodily suffering rendered the mind incapable of retaining a full memory of the days....Many [of the letters] was wroten while in the saddle at the same time using the crown of my hat or the wet leather of my stirrup for a writing desk....[The writer] has followed the Army of the Potomack from its organization to after it was disbanded...without ever been sick in hospital, wounded or captured. Never missed a march nor a battle..." (selections quoted here and elsewhere in description utilize edits to original spelling and punctuation for clarity purposes). Ballentine's early letters are written from Camp Barclay on Meridian Hill in Washington as the regiment prepares for the battlefield. He writes on 2 March 1862: "I think we will have it hard after we leave here. We cannot take anything with [us] but what we really need....All I am sorry for [is] that I cannot take my own horse...I have a fresh horse every day. The other day I got throwed in a charge and broke my lance and saber...." The 6th Pennsylvania was the only cavalry regiment in the Civil War to be armed with the lance, and references to this unique battlefield implement can be found scattered throughout the letters.

Letters from 1862 record various hardships, reconnaissance, and skirmishes. Ballentine's company serves as bodyguard to General William B. Franklin prior to Antietam. Ballentine writes of this engagement that he was engaged nearly every minute to near 12 o'clock at night, and that "I have no horse of my own since my one was killed the one I have belongs to a man that was captured in the hospital in front of Richmond." Prior to the Battle of Fredericksburg Ballentine remarks upon the "suffering is enough to make a man curse God and die...." The 6th PA has no tents and sleeps outside in snow that is 4 inches deep, causing Ballentine to lament "I think this campaign is going to kill more men than has been killed in the Battle of Antietam...." A 3pp letter of 15 December 1862 from the "Battlefield near Frederix Burg Virginia" records details of the battle. Ballentine states that as the advance of General Smith started he "rushed on the pontoon bridge facing a very hot musketry... General Franklin and Smith and staff rode around the lines and had just returned to the center where the Hd. Qtrs stood General Bird came up and had not been there but a few minutes when the[n] came a cannon ball and struck him in the side...at the same time another one rooted up the ground under my horse's belly...."

By March 1863 Ballentine and the 6th are battle-tested. Writing on 17 March from Camp near Belle Plains, Ballentine remarks that "Col Rushes Celebrated lancers is now in the best fighting prime they ever were they were in...and nearly all the other men has got new lances really the regt lookes warlike...." Ballentine writes on 23 April about the pursuit of a party of guerillas belonging to the Confederate's "Black Horse Cavalry," noting in a later letter that the area is so infested with guerillas the regiment has to be out almost every night. May brings the Chancellorsville Campaign, and Ballentine's letter of 12 May provides a wonderfully descriptive account of action in the field including skirmishes, the deaths of horses and prisoners in the mud, and river crossings. An 8pp letter of 10 June describes the Battle of Brandy Station. Ballentine writes, in very small part: "Pressing on to the woods in the face of a heavy fire skirmished through a thick woods for a 1/2 of a mile when we came to an open plain with a brigade of Rebel cavalry drawn up in a line of battle separated by 4 [?] pieces of artillery. Getting to the edge of the woods we got the command charge we charged with drawn sabers. In front of the enemy about one hundred yards from the woods was a ditch about 10 feet wide ... getting to this ditch on a full charge with 4 pieces of artillery blazing on us with grapeshot and canister with horses falling ... the ditch was filled at that moment it was hand to hand combat and every man for him self...." On 8 July, Ballentine writes 10pp describing events surrounding the Battle of Gettysburg, and his regiment's maneuvering to "annoy" Lee 's army and avoid Stuart's cavalry. Ballentine also describes the ways in which the locals supported and protected the 6th during the fighting there.

The year 1863 marked a turning point in the war during which time the Union cavalry began to realize the dominance and success that previously had been the domain of Confederate cavalry under Stuart, Mosby, and Ashby.
The Eastern Theater's late-war campaigns relied heavily on cavalry raids, and Ballentine talks glowingly of General Philip Sheridan's "Sheridan's Raiders." Letters from 1864 describe the unending riding, raiding, and exhaustion as the cavalry continued to exert pressure on the Confederates. Writing 6 1/2pp from Malvern Hill, Virginia, 15 May 1864, Ballentine describes a raid on Richmond, the Battle of Yellow Tavern on May 11, and George Armstrong Custer: "On the morning of the 11th we started our regt in the advance and I with half of our company in the advance as flankers getting within 7 miles of Richmond. About 10 o'clock we came into contact with Stuart's cavalry there. We fought all night on both front and rear...While our brigade was driving them in front Custer charged with his brigade in the rear taking 2 pieces of artillery and several prisoners...." Custer is also referenced by Ballentine after the battles at Smithfield Crossing and Opequan.

The 6th engaged in near continual combat into 1865 as part of the Shenandoah Campaign and the Appomattox Campaign. Ballentine paints a fascinating portrait of the late days of the war, and the dramatic events of early April 1865. He writes on 11 April from Appomattox Court House describing the advance of Sheridan's cavalry upon Lee and their ultimate victory: "...in 20 minutes we could have slaughtered all the Rebs but about that time we had them at our mercy we came galloping in two majors with a flag of truce...Sheridan would not take his surrender but gave them 4 hours until Grant should come up. The surrender took place at 12 o'clock on the 9th." Ballentine later records the stacking of arms by the defeated Confederates and Lincoln's assassination. His final letter is written on 7 August 1865 from Louisville, Kentucky.

An exceptional archive, reflected only in small part by a catalog description.

[With:] Additional correspondence constituting: 4 war-date letters from William S. Ballentine to Hamilton Ballentine; 4 letters spanning 1857-1860 from Charles Ballentine to his son Hamilton Ballentine; 2 pre-war letters from Ellen Mitchell, who Ballentine married in 1868; 3 soldiers' letters written to Ballentine including a letter from a soldier at "Camp Parole" and from his friend George D. Stroud, also of the PA 6th Cavalry; 5 other miscellaneous pieces of Civil War-era correspondence.

[With:] Ballentine's appointments as sergeant and 1st Sergeant, his discharge papers from 1863 and 1865, and a June 1865 furlough. -- A small number of post-war documents including an application for acceptance into Encampment No. 20, Union Veteran Legion, which outlines in part the battles and raids in which he participated. --Ballentine's obituary from The Philadelphia Record. -- A photograph, presumably of Ballentine, inscribed on verso "Taken 1920."

[Also with:] Typed transcriptions of most letters accompany the archive, though some transcriptions do not include the portions of letters related to Ballentine's family and other personal matters. Transcriptions do not retain Ballentine's original spelling and are edited for clarity.

Born in Ireland, Hamilton Ballentine came to Philadelphia as a young child. HDS indicates that the 27 year-old coachman enlisted on 10/21/1861 at Philadelphia as a sergeant and was mustered into Co. K, PA 6th Cavalry. He reenlisted on 1/1/1864, was transferred to Co. K, PA 2nd Provisional Cavalry in June 1865, and then mustered out on 8/7/1865 at Louisville, Kentucky. He was promoted to 1st Sergeant on 6/6/1865. Ballentine's obituary in The Philadelphia Record states that he served "through 57 battles without being wounded." A proud member of the GAR, he died in Germantown, Pennsylvania, in 1920.

See Lot 147, Collection of militaria and related artifacts belonging to Sergeant Hamilton Ballentine.