Description:

A HOSTAGE OF THE CONFEDERATES, THREATENED WITH DEATH
GUSTAVUS W. SMITH (1819-1895) Major General of the Army of Northern Virginia before Robert E. Lee took over, and interim Secretary of War for the Confederacy. Fine association, war-date A.L.S. 1p. 8vo., Aug. 12, 1861, to Genl. PIERRE G. T. BEAUREGARD, in which he introduces a Confederate soldier who is to visit a dying Union prisoner and who will deliver a letter to Beauregard. In part: ‘…This will introduce you to my friend Mr. E. L. Quirke [?] who is the second officer in the Bureau of Roads under the Street Department…He visits Va. for the purpose of seeing Hugh McQuade, a Captain in one of the New York Regiments reported wounded severely and taken prisoner at the Battle of Bull's Run. He is the bearer of a private letter to you and I have requested him to bring the answer…'. Boldly penned and near fine. The fascinating story behind this cryptic letter centers on the capture of the CSS merchant schooner ENCHANTRESS by the USS ALBRATROSS on July 22, 1861 -- just one day after the Union debacle at Bull Run. Fourteen Confederate privateers on board the ENCHANTRESS were charged with piracy and sent by the Federal government to prison. Three months later, on October 22, 1862, four of the ENCHANTRESS crew as well as another ten men from the captured Confederate privateer PETREL, were found guilty and sentenced to be hanged. The Confederate government responded to this offense by selecting an equal number of high-ranking Union officers and threatened to execute them in retaliation. Of these men was the officer in our letter, Hugh McQuade. Irish-born, McQuade (1832-1861) served in the 38th New York Infantry, Company F and, as indicated by Quirke, his leg was badly wounded in battle on July 21, 1861. Confined to a prison in Richmond, the leg was amputated thereafter and, although he appeared to be recovering well, McQuade – along with Capt. James Ricketts -- was deemed too wounded to be exchanged, and was replaced by Henry Bowman of the 15th Massachusetts. After a tense two months of waiting, and with the lives of 28 men on the line, the Federal government reconsidered the case and decided to treat the captured privateers as prisoners of war rather than pirates. Their sentences thus commuted, the standoff was considered over. In August 1861, McQuade had appeared to be recovering from the amputation well; however a secondary infection set in in October, and his prospects for survival were slim. Surgeons even considered the possibility of a second amputation but that does not appear to have come to fruition. From October to December 1861, McQuade's health no doubt declined further. His brother John McQuade vainly petitioned to the New York aldermen for his brother's release on Dec. 24, 1861, but McQuade died of his wounds on December 26, 1861. Beauregard's role in this situation – and the message Quirke notes -- is not known, making this letter most definitely worthy of further research. Very good condition.

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January 18, 2024 10:00 AM EST
Elkton, MD, US

Alexander Historical Auctions LLC

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