American History: Premier Auction

Lot of 15 letters written by Corporal James Funston, Co. H, 3rd Missouri Infantry, Private Adam Funston, Co. A, 96th Illinois Infantry, and 2nd Lieutenant Andrew D. Murphy, Co. G, 16th Iowa Infantry, to the Funston home in Illinois. The letters date from November 1861 to May 1865, with one post-war letter written by "Lizzie Funston" in April 1869.

Correspondence begins in the fall of 1861. In mid November of 1861 James Funston informs his mother that the Federal troops were “Victorious at Piketon, Kentucky. Four Hundred rebels killed One Thousand taken prisoner.”

In a November 28, 1861 letter to his mother, James describes his steamboat trip to Cairo, Illinois on the steamer Platte Valley. His task was to guard 16 prisoners taken at Camp Jackson.

Sergeant A.D. Murphy writes to Adam Funston that he expects the Union to attack the fortifications around Corinth [ MS ] any hour. He credits the “Far Famed Beauregard” for designing the defenses. The sergeant believes the Confederate strength to be 150,000 while the Union Army draws rations for 200,000 men. “There will be many killed on both sides...we sleep on our arms every night so as not to be taken by surprise.”

James Funston notes that McClellan has been superseded by Burnside in a November 14, 1862 letter to his mother. James’ discussion of war topics concludes with...“the affairs of the country at present is in a rather poor condition...”

In a letter on December 8, 1862 Adam tells his mother that he carries the regimental flag of General [Nathaniel] Lyon. “I will try to get rid of it if I can” he states. This letter again shows the deep faith in God shared by the Funston family.

Early in 1863 James Funston’s letter to his brother Adam reveals a deeply imbedded faith in the Lord to protect his brother and himself. James states that work is ongoing to excavate the canal [intended to allow Union ships to avoid the Confederate guns at Vicksburg]. He discusses that a Federal ram boat and a gun boat had run the Confederate blockade at Vicksburg but had become stuck on a sand bar and became easy pickings for the rebels.

Letters from James Funston to his mother recount the food that he consumed. “We lived on the very best of hen chicken but would not look at turkeys.” In May 1863 James wrote his sister “We have plenty I will name a few...soft bread, coffee, tea, pork, beef, beans, peas, sugar, molasses, vinegar and plenty of sope.”

On July 28, 1863 James informs his mother “...two days after I wrote from that place [Jackson, MS ] we marched for a little town called Canton thirty miles from Jackson on the Memphis and Jackson Railroad...it was a regular depot of rebel supplies.” James is astonished that “...our general let Johnson out of Jackson.”

James wrote his sister on December 11, 1863 from Bridgeport, AL, “Sherman marched his divisions to Knoxville to relieve Burnside from being gobbled by Longstreet...Now Longstreet is in full retreat I think to Virginia...”

Woven into the content of the soldiers’ letters is their sincere belief that their unbending faith in God would carry them safely through the violence and death common in the Civil War.