Description:

(BATTLE OF THE MONITOR AND MERRIMAC) USS MINNESOTA SAILOR'S LETTER
A great content war date letter written by a Union sailor named C. E. Noyes who served aboard the USS Minnesota and was present during the Battle of Hampton Roads, also known as the Battle of the Monitor and Merrimac, 1p. 8vo., Norfolk, October 1, 1862 to a fellow soldier discussing events of the battle and his current situation. In part: '...We are lying at Newport News now in sight of Fortress Monroe and about 20 miles for Norfolk at the mouth of the James River where the Cumberland was sunk and the Congress burned up. There is another Merrimac up to Richmond far superior to the old one and they have got six iron clad steamers to come down and we do not know how soon they will come down but when they do they will meet a warm reception. The Monitor, Galena and New Ironsides are here besides several gun boats and our selves. We have taken our anchor chain and ironclad the ship, so that a shot will not go into our boilers so we can stand fight some time now...I went to the Admiral the other day to see about going north to get liberty. He sayed he would write on to Washington and do all in his power to get us liberty...' Slight tears along creases, toning. Noyes statement about 'going north to get liberty' suggests the possibility that he was an African American liberated from Confederate occupied land. The Battle of Hampton Roads took place on March 8th and 9th 1862 when the Confederate ironclad 'CSS Virginia', fashioned out of the former USS Merrimac, engaged Union battleships at the mouth of the James River. The USS Minnesota would eventually run aground due to its incessant fire and close proximity to the banks, while other Union ships such as the Cumberland and Congress, mentioned in the letter, were both sunk by the Virginia. The USS Galena and New Ironsides were two other Union ironclads. By the next day the USS Monitor arrived and the famous battle between the two ironclads ensued, during which tugboats were able to save the USS Minnesota. Despite both sides claiming victory after the battle, modern historians generally regard the engagement as a draw.

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December 8, 2021 10:00 AM EST
Elkton, MD, US

Alexander Historical Auctions LLC

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