Civil War Confederate Letters
Confederate Soldiers "Absent Without Leave"
October 25, 1864, Civil War, Confederate, Autograph Letter, From Camp Stephens, Griffin Georgia, Choice Very Fine.
One page, lined, written on both sides, 7.5" x 4.75". Written from Camp Stephens at Griffin, Georgia, by Confederate Capt. Samuel. D. Fuller, who has signed the letter "S. D. Fuller", to a relative or friend named James, this letter reads in part:
".... We are here in the same old camp, drilling & doing other camp duty, though Co. "I" have not done anything yet but draw rations as we have not got a corporals guard. We get plenty rations, and that is good. Jim, you must send them (?) Boys on, as orders are very hard on those absent without leave. Tell them a word from a friend should be sufficient. Therefore I say come in, Jann (?), see them all and impress on their minds that it will be to their benefit to be here soon .... I have got things set (?) with my Co. thus far with Head Qts., but cant keep so much (hidden?), without they come up and report. There is over five hundred men under guard in this Division for being absent ...."
From this important letter we can see that desertion or being absent without leave was a problem in the Confederate Army. This one Georgia division had 500 men under arrest for being absent without leave.
In 1862, Capt. Samuel D. Fuller raised the second regiment in Wilcox County, numbering from first to last 146 men. In this company was a company from the 49th Georgia Regiment, and both companies followed Lee and Jackson in Virginia, Maryland, and Pennsylvania. Fuller, who was may have been from nearby Irwin County, and married in 1849, was still living in 1880. During the Civil War years Griffin, GA was not the site of any Civil War battles, but nonetheless it was a vital location during the war. Camp Stephens, located two miles north of McIntosh Road, was a mobilization point for infantry. Cavalry were mobilized at Camp Milner, which is now the grounds of the city park. Two military companies from Griffin and seven from Spalding County were organized to fight. Not only was Griffin the first stop for troops and the home of many soldiers, it was also a hospital town and a printing center. Trainloads of sick and wounded poured into hospitals, public buildings, the courthouse, stores, colleges and even private homes. Some Confederate money was printed in Griffin as well as most of the Confederate government's stamps. At one point, Spalding County even printed its own currency. Although not destroyed physically by Union soldiers (only one warehouse was burned), Griffin was devastated financially. Three hundred miles of railroad, the city's lifeline, had been demolished during the war.
Confederate Soldiers "Absent Without Leave"
October 25, 1864, Civil War, Confederate, Autograph Letter, From Camp Stephens, Griffin Georgia, Choice Very Fine.
One page, lined, written on both sides, 7.5" x 4.75". Written from Camp Stephens at Griffin, Georgia, by Confederate Capt. Samuel. D. Fuller, who has signed the letter "S. D. Fuller", to a relative or friend named James, this letter reads in part:
".... We are here in the same old camp, drilling & doing other camp duty, though Co. "I" have not done anything yet but draw rations as we have not got a corporals guard. We get plenty rations, and that is good. Jim, you must send them (?) Boys on, as orders are very hard on those absent without leave. Tell them a word from a friend should be sufficient. Therefore I say come in, Jann (?), see them all and impress on their minds that it will be to their benefit to be here soon .... I have got things set (?) with my Co. thus far with Head Qts., but cant keep so much (hidden?), without they come up and report. There is over five hundred men under guard in this Division for being absent ...."
From this important letter we can see that desertion or being absent without leave was a problem in the Confederate Army. This one Georgia division had 500 men under arrest for being absent without leave.
In 1862, Capt. Samuel D. Fuller raised the second regiment in Wilcox County, numbering from first to last 146 men. In this company was a company from the 49th Georgia Regiment, and both companies followed Lee and Jackson in Virginia, Maryland, and Pennsylvania. Fuller, who was may have been from nearby Irwin County, and married in 1849, was still living in 1880. During the Civil War years Griffin, GA was not the site of any Civil War battles, but nonetheless it was a vital location during the war. Camp Stephens, located two miles north of McIntosh Road, was a mobilization point for infantry. Cavalry were mobilized at Camp Milner, which is now the grounds of the city park. Two military companies from Griffin and seven from Spalding County were organized to fight. Not only was Griffin the first stop for troops and the home of many soldiers, it was also a hospital town and a printing center. Trainloads of sick and wounded poured into hospitals, public buildings, the courthouse, stores, colleges and even private homes. Some Confederate money was printed in Griffin as well as most of the Confederate government's stamps. At one point, Spalding County even printed its own currency. Although not destroyed physically by Union soldiers (only one warehouse was burned), Griffin was devastated financially. Three hundred miles of railroad, the city's lifeline, had been demolished during the war.
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Auction details
Autographs-Coins-Currency-Americana
9:00 AM PT - Feb 16th, 2008
offered by
Early American
P.O. Box 3507
Rancho Santa Fe, CA 92067
Rancho Santa Fe, CA 92067
