American Historical Ephemera & Photography

SUTTLE, Daniel. Autograph letter signed ("Daniel Suttle"), to his brother, Helena, Arkansas, 24 July 1862. 4 pp, 4 3/4 x 7 1/2 in., light soil, toned especially at folds. Suttle describes his circumstances in Arkansas, and the political infighting among the generals that was rumored to be occurring: “General Steel does not like Curtis and I hear has managed to get his command out from under the old General[.] So I expect we will be sent into some other department.”  He mentions missing his friends: “You might come out and see the Elephant and you will go home with the value of the experiences in your brains and pay us a visit and spend a few days in the Sunny South . . . . you could come here with safety and even to an inland town.” 

Samuel Ryan Curtis had been elected to the U. S. House of Representatives and was an ardent abolitionist and supporter of Lincoln’s first presidential campaign. He had been considered for a post in Lincoln’s cabinet.  When war broke out, he resigned his House seat and accepted an Army Commission. As Major General, he commanded the Army of the Southwest. He fought initially in Arkansas, with an important victory at Pea Ridge and the capture of Helena to his credit. In July or August 1862, as Major General, he was given command of the District of Missouri, but Lincoln had to remove him from this position because his strong abolitionist views brought him into conflict with the Governor of Missouri. In January 1862, Frederick Steele was promoted to Major General with early service in Missouri. In the course of the Arkansas campaign, Steele was Division Commander of Curtis’s Army of the Southwest. Following Pea Ridge, Steele took command of the 1st Division of the Army of the Southwest, briefly commanding it from 6 August to 7 October 1862.   

[WITH:] Fragments of two other letters home from Suttle, the first signed in full and the second signed with initials. Note that the author gives his return address as Cairo, 16th Ohio Battery, General Steele’s Division, however, we are unable to locate a soldier with the last name "Suttle" (or possibly "Little"?) in that regiment.

[Also with:] SYMONDS, Alonzo D.  Autograph letter signed ("A.D. Symonds"), to his sister Albina Symonds. “Camp of the 161st at / Mouth of White River,” 25 July 1864.  3 pp, 4 3/4 x 7 7/8 in., light soil, toned. Symonds, of Co. C, 161st New York Infantry, was a seasoned soldier of almost two years when he described an encounter with Confederate guerrillas: "...We embarked on the Steamer Universe at Vicksburg on the 23rd at 4:00 P.M. and landed here on the bank of the Mississippi in Arkansas and pitched our tents at one oclock this P.M., expecting to take the Boat and go on at a moments notice May be in an hour and may be in two days...A band of Guerrillas was discovered yesterday and we all sprung to arms and formed a line the length of the boat on both decks and they seeing our formidable display of troops concluded it best to let us alone and not molest us so they kept pretty well out of sight and did not fire into the boat.  I think we are going up the White River but can’t tell for certain...General Bailey the renowned dam builder is in command and the 6th Michigan Regt is with us...”