Page 58 - Swann Galleries - Printed & Manuscript Americana - Sale 2310 - April 16, 2013

115 ● (CIVIL WAR—NEW YORK.) Wren, George W. The Chant of the Veterans,
a True Record of the Gallantry of Billy Barlow. Letterpress broadside, 111/2 x 73/4
inches; folds, foxing, minor edge wear. Np, nd [300/400]
A ballad in honor of Francis Channing Barlow (1834-1896), who had served as colonel of
the 61st New York Infantry before gaining fame as the Boy General at Gettysburg and other
battles. “Dedicated to the remnant of the 61st N.Y. Vols,” and written by the regiment’s
quartermaster George W. Wren (circa 1837-1898). Not in WorldCat and apparently
unrecorded, though a couple of lines are quoted in the Final Report on the Battlefield of
Gettysburg (1900). Provenance: from the papers of Captain Isaac Plumb of the 61st.
116 ● (CIVIL WAR—OHIO.) Photograph album from the 72nd Ohio Infantry,
including 20 images of soldiers in uniform. 22 carte-de-visite photographs: 20
albumen prints, and 2 small tintypes on carte-de-visite mounts. Inserted into a contempo-
rary calf album, 5 x 3 inches, moderate wear, hinges split; most photographs either signed,
inscribed or with early captions on mount. Vp, circa 1861-65 [1,500/2,500]
The album includes portraits of generals Ulysses S. Grant and James B. McPherson. 12 other
soldiers can be identified, all of them members of the 72nd Ohio Infantry, most of them captains
and lieutenants. Only two of the portraits are of men in civilian garb, with one of those being
identified as a member of the 72nd. The regiment was raised in Sandusky County near
Toledo, and served at Shiloh, Vicksburg, and numerous other battles from October 1861 until
the end of the war. The portrait of Company F’s Captain Merritt Sexton portrait is inscribed
“this is your grandfather Sexton” in the image. Complete list available upon request.
117 ● (CIVIL WAR—WISCONSIN.) Marshall, Francis S. Letter describing the
battlefield at Shiloh. Autograph Letter Signed to brother Herbert. 4 pages, 8 x 5 inches,
on one sheet; very small hole at intersection of folds.
Pittsburg, TN, 20 May 1862 [300/400]
Francis S. Marshall (born circa 1826) was a resident of Linwood, WI. His regiment had
fought at Shiloh six weeks before: “Herbert, this is a hard-looking place here. I wish you were
to see it, and see the graves there is here, and see the bulletts and cannon balls that lay on the
ground. . . . Next day after the battle I saw sights that I never want to again. . . . This battle
ground will be visetted for years to come to see the place were the battle of Shilaw was fought.”
He adds that “the inhabitants here are of a poor class and verry ignorant. The niggers are
smarter than the whites here.” Marshall later became an officer in the 88th United States
Colored Infantry.
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