Page 51 - Swann Galleries - Printed & Manuscript Americana - Sale 2310 - April 16, 2013

102 ● (CIVIL WAR—CONFEDERATE IMPRINTS.) Group of 5 pamphlets
printed in the Confederacy. 8vo, stitched or unbound; various conditions.
Richmond, VA, 1861-65 [250/350]
[Samuel Cooper.] Adjutant and Inspector General’s Office . . . The Following Regulations. . . .
4 pages; worn. Regulations concerning discharges and furloughs, including a sample form. Not
in Parrish & Willingham. Richmond, August 1861 * [Jabez Curry.] Address of Congress to
the People of the Confederate States. [Richmond, 1864] * [Jefferson Davis.] President’s
Message. 29 pages. [Richmond, 7 December 1863] * [Jefferson Davis et al.] Message of the
President. . . Communication of the Secretary of War. concerning the domestic passport system.
Richmond, 8 February 1864 * Decisions of Hon. James D. Halyburton. Richmond, 1864.
Parrish & Willingham 28, 925, 2278, 1639.
103 ● (CIVIL WAR—CONNECTICUT.) Muster Roll of the Fourth Regiment,
Conn. Volunteers. Illustrated letterpress broadside, 183/4 x 16 inches; toned, folds, several
small ink spots and small holes, a few small chips in margins, no substantial loss of text.
Hartford, CT: Calhoun Printing Company, [May 1861] [200/300]
This regiment was organized in May 1861, and was renamed the 1st Connecticut Heavy
Artillery in early January 1862, later serving at Chancellorsville, Gettysburg, and many other
battles. No copies in WorldCat, and none others known outside of the Connecticut Historical
Society.
“THOUSANDS OF MEN IN AGONY CRY ALOUD NIGHT AND
DAY ALL AROUND THEM FOR HELP”
104 ● (CIVIL WAR—ILLINOIS.) Vail, Joseph R. A junior officer in the 47th
Illinois discusses battles at Corinth and Vicksburg. 17 Autograph Letters Signed to
father John V. Vail of Henry City, IL, plus an essay written in the margins of a military
form while stalled on a transport near Vicksburg circa May 1864; various sizes and
conditions, mostly written in a clean legible hand. Vp, 1862-64 [600/900]
Joseph R. Vail of Marshall County, IL enlisted in the 47th Illinois Infantry as a corporal, and
eventually became the regiment’s adjutant before his 1864 discharge. They fought at Corinth,
Vicksburg, and Lake Chicot, AR, all discussed in these letters. Writing six days after Corinth,
he was impressed with the Confederates: “Their energy and determination, even among the
privates, is worthy of emulation in a better cause.” He was less impressed with his own army’s
chaplains: “Laying around hotels smoking cigars, or in the shade sipping wine, when thousands
of men in agony cry aloud night and day all around them for help, a little care, a drink of
water! God pity them” (10 October 1862). His regiment fought valiantly in the failed assault
on Vicksburg: “Generals & all who witnessed the charge of the 11th & 47th call it magnifi-
cent, gloriously done, but that is poor remuneration to our poor fellows who have lost legs &
arms by the move” (23 May 1863). The regiment also played a central role in the small Battle
of Lake Chicot: “The fire was terrible for nearly two hours, but there was no flinching, no
attempt to retreat from that close range shower of grape, shell and canister” (11 June 1864). In
addition to the discussions of combat, Vail also offers strong opinions about military politics,
from the regimental level up through the highest ranks. He hopes General Banks is named
Secretary of War—“Put him anywhere but in the field” (2 May 1864).