14TH BROOKLYN PETITION TO ABRAHAM LINCOLN
$2,500.00
41532-1
Superb content war-date D.S. with several important signed endorsements, 7pp. Legal folio, Culpepr, Va., Mar. 7, 1864, addressed: "To His Excellency Abraham Lincoln President of the United States". In small part: "...Your petitioners respectfully represent That they enlisted in the 14th Regiment of the New York State military in the summer and fall of 1862...residents of the City of Brooklyn...[and were] promised that recuits enlisting in the 'old and shattered regiments' than in the field should be entitled to all the provileges of the original members of such regiments...a local ppride was one of the inducements...wholly recruited in Brooklyn and gained an enviable reputation on the Battle Field...your petitioners expected to be discharged with the regiment...your petitioners pray that they may be discharged with the Regiment believing that they will have faithfully fulfilled their contract..." At conclusion, the petition is signed in full by 116 members of the famed regiment. Immediately following is another petition, dated four days later, issued by commissioned officers of the regiment who had acted as recruiting officers for those who were petitioning for discharge. Their cover letter reads, in part: "...We do hereby certify that the recruits...were enlosied by us with the understanding that they would be discharged with the Regiment...The recruits have been constantly in the field rendering good service...their claim is both honest and just and they have faithfully performed their part of the contract..." This petition is in turn signed Lt. Col. Robert B. Jordan and Lt. John Vliet, who both add rank, and is further signed by 21 other officers of the regiment. On verso the first endorsement, on Mar. 17th, is signed by the regiment's commender, Colonel (and later Bvt. Brig. Gen.) EDWARD B. FOWLER (1828-1896) who notes: "...As the organization is to be broken up by the discharge of the Officers and men who originally came out with the Regiment, I think it just and fair that these men should also be discharged..." Fowler had seen much action himself, being severely wounded at 2nd Bull Run. Brig. Gen. JAMES C. RICE (1829 - 1864), who fought at Fredericksburg, Chancellorsville, and Gettysburg where he is credited with securing Little Round Top against a flanking movement, and later killed at Spotsylvania, added an 20-line endorsement, signature and rank the next day. In part: "...The granting of this application must depend upon the answers to the following questions...did the 'Proclamation' referred to eminate from the proper authority, and also is the case to be considered as included in the word 'privileges'?...Did the officers of the regiment have any lawful authority to make such representations to these recuits as to lead them to understand they were to be discharged with the regiment?..." Major Gen. JOHN NEWTON (1823 - 1895), who took over Reynold's command at Gettysburg, and fought at Antietam and Chancellorsville as well, forwards the request, and the final endorsement, signed by Major Gen. GEORGE. G. MEADE, is issued from Head Quarters of the Army of the Potomac on Mar. 21, ordering the petitions be forwarded to the Adjutant General "...for the action of the War Depratment. It is believed in similar cases...that the recruits have been held to service for three years..." A separate wrapper, endorsed by Adjutant Gen. THOMAS M. VINCENT on Mar. 24, settles the question: "...The muster-in rolls decide the case...they will be held for three years service. Officers had no authority to make promises to the company..." Folds, else very good to near fine condition. The 14th Brooklyn NYSM (officially the 84th N.Y. Vols.) was a Zouave outfit, and fought with great distinction. At the battle of Bull Run, it fought gallantly in Porter's brigade, with a total loss of 142 killed, wounded or missing. It then served in northern Virginia, while the campaign on the Peninsula was carried on under McClellan, and was active in the fighting which culminated in the battle of the Second Bull Run, where the regiment lost 129 men. The regiment was also engaged at South Mountain, Antietam, Fredericksburg, Chancellorsville, and Gettysburg, where it received the highest official praise for its gallantry in action. It served during this battle with the 2nd brigade, 1st division, 1st corps, and suffered a total loss of 217. It then moved southward with the Army of the Potomac, shared in the Mine Run movement and the opening of the Wilderness campaign. Many of the signers of the petition were wounded at Antietam and Gettysburg, a few others would die before this hard-fighting regiment would return home. A fine, important document!