Description:

ORIGINAL COPY OF A BARNA UPTON MEXICAN WAR LETTER
Superb content, war-date A.L.S., "N.N. Upton", 2pp., 4to., Shelberne Falls, Nov. 11, 1846, a letter from Barna Upton's father Nehemiah Newhall Upton to a family member, in which he transcribes a letter from Barna recounting action at Monterrey. Barna Upton, an educated Massachusetts man, fought as a private with the Third Infantry in Mexico, and his superb letters home form the basis of almost every major history of the war, including Goetzmann's Our First Foreign War, Winders' Mr. Polk's Army: The American Military Experience in the Mexican War, and Bauer's The Mexican War, 1846-1848. Nehemiah's letter reads, in part: "I will tell you the joyful news that we had a letter from Barna yesterday. He is alive & well, God spared his life in the battles... I will write down Barna's letter, it is short. You will see although it was worth a 1000 dollars to me...". Upton then goes on to transcribe Barna's letter: "Monterey, Mexico, Sept. 29, 1846. Dear Friends I write these few lines to let you know that I am alive and well. A merciful God has preserved my life during the long & bloody conflict which resulted in the defeat of the Mexican and capture of Monterey... Our regt. has suffered severely. I do not know our whole loss but believe it to be 5 or 600 in killed & wounded... In the [illeg.] of the furious storming of the Mexican forts on the 21st a ball struck my cartridge box cutting away the lower tier of cartridges. I escaped unhurt while the dead and wounded lay on every side..." Moderate folds and toning, minor separations and paper missing at the seal, very good.

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January 21, 2010 10:00 AM EST
Stamford, CT, US

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