Description:

DIARY OF GEORGE W. FINLEY - WENT OVER THE WALL WITH ARMISTEAD AT GETTYSBURG, AND LATER ONE OF THE "IMMORTAL 600"
GEORGE W. FINLEY (1839 - 1909) First Lieutenant, 56th Va. Infantry, present during Pickett's Charge at Gettysburg and beside Gen. Lewis Armistead as they and a handful of other Confederates managed to breach the stone wall before Cushing's Battery. Finley was beside Armistead as the general lost consciousness on the battlefield. Taken prisoner, Finely spent the next two years in Union prisons, including at Hilton Head where he gained the distinction of becoming one of the Confederate "Immortal 600". During his captivity, Finley vowed that upon his liberation he would become a minister. Rare signed manuscript, his complete 1884 pocket diary, approx. 380pp. 16mo. , Romney, Va., with leather covers, each page dedicated to a singles day's events, completely filled out by Rev. Finley and signed by him on the front page. The vast majority of the diary covers his service as a minister, but with a few telling entries referring to the past. In part: "...Blessed be the Lord who gave me strength and freedom once more in the pulpit...Addressed the Ladies Memorial Association to aid them in purchasing headstones for the Confederate dead buried in the Cemetery...Annual reunion of Confederate Society...very large crowd present. Col. Rob't White delivered the address. I made some remarks on the death of Sandy White. Was re-elected chaplain...". The rear of the diary also bears Finley's accounting for his church for 1884. Also together with Finley's 1889 pass for travel on the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad, boldly signed by him on verso. Both pieces in very good condition.

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October 9, 2010 11:00 AM EDT
Stamford, CT, US

Alexander Historical Auctions LLC

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