159. CIVIL WAR LETTERS OF K.I.A. CPL. JOHN LOUGHRAN A superb grouping of letters and related correspondence surrounding the Civil War military service and untimely end of Cpl. John Loughran of New York City, mustered into Co F. of the 57th NY Vols. and mortally wounded at the battle of Fair Oaks. The grouping starts with a manuscript muster-in document, 1p. 8vo., Aug. 15, 1861, taking Loughran into the "Clinton Rifles", signed by Col. J. A. Page. Central to the grouping are Loughran's 21 war-date letters, 66pp. largely 8vo., Oct. 26, 1861 - May 20, 1862 when the correspondence suddenly stops. They are all addressed to his family as a whole, with the first few describing regiment's movement south, "lousy barracks", camping within Washington, and so on. He continues: "...There is 2 more regiments here before us...we belong to Gen. Casey's brigade...we can't go to the City without a pass...we heard that Springfield was occupied and burned by the Rebels...officers did not know where they were going...two regiments of the Irish Brigade came here on Sunday...we had to lay on arms for fearing an attack...we have to go about 6 miles on picket...mud to your knees, this is the land of mud...we got three contrabands, a man, wife and child and a scouting went out and got three pigs...a man's life is thought nothing about, no more than a dog...there was a scouting party sent out...about 100 men, they went to Burks Station, about 6 miles with signs of the enemy...great rejoicing about Fort Donelson being taken...2 deserters came into our lines...we marched into Manassas and camped near the hospital which the Rebels burned...the rebels burned down everything...we got orders to advance further to find out where the enemy lay...drove the pickets in, there was about 2,000 cavalry with us...the rebels burned the bridges...we have lost one of our company... he died from the effects [of the march]...the men go out shooting down sheep, calfs, pigs, cows...they keep firing on our pickets so we return fire...the troops are making intrenchments day and night... the rebels before they left put torpedoes in the ground with a piece of stick sticking in the ground and when you pulled the stick out of the ground off went the torpedo. I seen a great many of them...they left a great deal of ammunition behind...when we are on the march I have no chance to write...". Here Loughran's letters home end abruptly and soon thereafter his sister Rose began to seek his whereabouts. On June 17, 1862 Lt. William Read of the 57th NYV writes her: "...I can not tell you where he is now, the last that I heard of him was his arrival in Philadelphia...His wound was not considered dangerous, the ball entered his cheek and I understand came out at the mouth as it was not found when he was examined. Your brother was wounded while doing his duty like a good and true soldier...". Two days later a friend of Loughran's, one Jesse Chace writes from White House, Va. telling Rose that he had searched both hospitals at Fortress Monroe but had been unable to locate her brother. Two additional letters are sent from hospitals in Annapolis and Baltimore on July 21 and 23, stating that Loughran could not be located in any hospital in those respective cities. Another medical officer writes from Philadelphia on June 25th, mentioning that he had searched eight hospitals in the city, to no avail. He promises: "...Should he be in this city, I will find him and let you know at once...". Lt. Read of the 57th NYV writes again on July 27 after having conferred with the regimental surgeon. He laments: "...After the sick and wounded are taken away we know nothing more of them until they are able to join the Reg't or in case of death...". Unrelenting, Rose continued the search for her brother and, on Aug. 27th, Surgeon Henry Palmer writes her from the General Hospital in York, Pa. stating that there as no evidence of Loughran having ever being admitted to the hospital. Loughran's sad situation is made clear in the final two documents in the archive. The first is a partly-printed D.S., 1p. 8vo., New York, May 1, 1868, apparently a receipt from an undertaker requesting that Rose appear with $10.00 "in reference to your claim", undoubtedly for Loughran's body. Finally is a "Certificate of Purchase" for Loughran's burial plot at Calvary Cemetery in New York, 1p. 8vo., Feb. 22, 1868, showing the location of John Loughran's grave. Plot certificate is tattered and repaired, balance is in very good condition overall. As "complete" a soldier's archive as one could ever expect! $1,500 - 2,000