Description:

Excellent content Union soldier's letter by Sgt. Sumner B. Cole, Co. F, 10th Conn. Infantry, 4pp. 4to., Morris Island, SC, July 28, 1863 – just days after the desperate, failed Union attempt to take Fort Wagner. In small part: ‘…Fort Sumter is ours…[it] will fall in less than 10 days…the siege is going to open July the 29th…then they will open on Sumter and Fort Wagner and Cummings Point all at one time…Fort Johnson has been firing night and day for the last three days at our men that are to work mounting guns & where they know we have got them mounted…we was under a heavy fire of shot and shell…Our Lieut. Col. lost his left leg, and 2 men was wounded by a shell from Johnson. Five men in Co. F was buried in the dirt by the bursting of a shell…we had to dig one man out with a shovel…The only way we saved ourselves was to dig holes and to get into them and to keep our eyes skinned…in case the Rebels undertook to charge on our works…most of the work is done in the night such as mounting guns. We have to haul them along by hand…our Troops near charged upon Fort Wagner but they failed, Our Brigade supported them, but no man can live to get into Wagner till after our siege train works on them and roasts them out. We was left to the front that time 24 hours, 12 of which we was under a heavy fire, but as it was the night, we could see the booms coming and get out of the way…the 7th Conn. and 6th Conn. are here…There is 7 Monitors near and the Ironsides and about 20 wooden Gun Boats…Fort Sumter has two guns and one mortar that she can use on us…Fort Wagner has got two guns but they can't use them for our sharp shooters are so near they pick off the gunners as fast as they can get round their guns…Our Marines are to work nights with diving bells picking up torpedoes. They have taken out one chain that was stretched across the channel. The chain is made of large saw mill logs. All of this is unknown to the Rebels…'. With transcript. Small chip at the top of the first page affects only one word of text. Cole would be severely wounded at Newmarket Road, Oct. 7, 1864.

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August 15, 2024 10:00 AM EDT
Elkton, MD, US

Alexander Historical Auctions LLC

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