[Civil War] Group of documents and letters related to various Civil War personages
1) Burns, Charles H. Autograph letter signed ("Charles H. Burns"), near Chattanooga, TN, 26 September 1863. 2 pp., 318 x 203 mm. Minor splits accompanied by small marginal losses at folds, toning. Contemporary battle report written in the immediate aftermath of the Battle of Chickamunga while Union forces were trapped under siege just outside of Chattanooga, Tennessee.
2) Clark, Andrew B. (1839-1897). Partially engraved document signed ("A.B. Clark"), [N.p.], ca. 1870s. 1 page, 191 x 197 mm. Andrew B. Clark was a Union Army officer who served as First Lieutenant in "C" Company, Kentucky Infantry at the Battle of Chickamauga.
3) Dick, Frank Archibald (1823-1885). Autograph letter signed ("F.A. Dick") to Byerly Hart, Philadelphia, 19 October 1877. 2 pp., bifolium, 127 x 203 mm. Minor toning, some fading to ink. Dick was a key player in the "Camp Jackson affair," which occurred on 10 May 1861 when a volunteer Union Army regiment led by Nathaniel Lyon fired on a crowd of unruly civilians in St. Louis following their arrest of a militia who were planning a raid on the federal arsenal. Dick had been heavily involved in the planning of Lyon's attack on the militia.
4) Dudley, William Wade (1842-1909). Partially engraved check endorsed on verso ("W.W. Dudley"), Helena, Montana, 15 June 1892. 1 oblong sheet, 216 x 95 mm. William Wade Dudley was a Union Army officer who saw action at the Battles of Antietam and Gettysburg; he lost his right leg at the latter. He later served in the Garfield and Arthur administrations and played a role in handing the presidency to Rutherford B. Hayes during the hotly contested 1888 presidential election.
5) Elderkin, William (ca. 1840-1900). A group of 2 autograph letters signed ("Will Elderkin") to "Aunt Martha", Washington, 27 July/18 December 1879. Together, 4 pp. on Subsistence Department, U.S. Army stationery, 216 x 133 mm. William Elderkin was a Union Army colonel who on 9 June 1861 was married at the White House to Fannie Gurley, daughter of Abraham Lincoln's spiritual advisor, the Reverend Phineas Gurley. The wedding was conducted at Lincoln's request, as he knew that Elderkin's services would be needed during the war and wanted to ensure that Gurley's daughter was able to marry her sweetheart before he was sent to the frontlines. During the ceremony Lincoln himself stood at the bride's side receiving guests with her.
6) Fry, Isaac Nicholas (1839-1900). Partially engraved document signed ("Isaac N. Fry") and others, Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, 21 January 1861. 1 page with attached manuscript sheet, 330 x 210 mm. Folds, soiling. Isaac Fry was a sergeant in the United States Marine Corps during the Civil War who played a key role in the storming of the Confederate stronghold of Fort Fisher in January 1865; he was later awarded a Medal of Honor for his actions during this operation.
7) Steele, John Whedon (1835-1905). Partially engraved document signed ("John W. Steele") relating to the last will and testament of one Frederick Hudson, Elyria, Ohio, 8 April 1867. 2 pp., 196 x 158 mm. Minor splits along folds. John Whedon Steele served as a Lieutenant Colonel in the Union Army and was awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor for his actions during a Confederate attack on a wagon and ammunition train outside of Spring Hill, Tennessee on 29 November 1864.
This lot is located in Chicago.