Description:

CONFEDERATE DEAD ARE HASTILY BURIED
Heartbreaking letter from a Union soldier, 4pp. 8vo., 'Near Pitsburg Landing Tenn.', Mar. 23, 1862. Sgt. William J. Srofe of the 48th Ohio Vols. writes to his wife two weeks before the Battle of Shiloh (or Pittsburgh Landing) where there had already been fighting in the area over the past month. In part: '...We are encamped in the woods about four miles from the Tennessee River. From here the river is a continuous encampment. Ours is...on the advanced line. It is about 20 miles to where the Rebels are fortifying in great numbers. Supposed to be two hundred thousand strong...Our forces here number about 125,000 and will be increased by about 40 thousand...I visited the ground where the Secesh buried their dead that were killed in the battle at this point. Some of them was buried about one foot deep & some not so deep. They had been buried about 3 weeks. I saw the faces of 2 & one breast looked very bad. One had been shot in the breast & above the eye. The stench was very bad. I have found 64 lbs. shells & balls here that had been shot by our gun boats two miles & a half from the river & frequently dug a piece of a shell out of the ground. I saw one tree...that a twenty four pounder had gone through...' Very good. Two weeks later, the 48th would be heavily engaged at Shiloh, facing Cleburne's Brigade and taking substantial losses. Srofe himself would be captured at Sabine Cross Roads.

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August 25, 2021 10:00 AM EDT
Elkton, MD, US

Alexander Historical Auctions LLC

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