Description:

A superb content, war date A.L.S. written by Col. Thomas Hart Benton Jr. (1816-1879), nephew of the powerful senator of the same name, regarding the inferior rifles issued to his soldiers. The letter is 3pp. 4to., St. Louis, January 9, 1863, sent to Col. P.E. Hall. It reads in part: '...Our regiment is ordered to Helena, and I leave today to join it. I am here endeavoring to affect an exchange of our armies. They have imposed on us shamefully about guns. [They] have given us the old smooth bore Prussia musket made before we were born and condemned by the Prussian Government in 1842 as unfit for service!...A nation second in intelligence and power to none on earth, boasting constantly of its progress, inventions, and scientific knowledge, engaged in the most important struggle known in the history of the world, arming its brave volunteers with a gun condemned by a petty European power twenty years ago!!! It is not strange that our army runs[?] with reserves and that our officers are picked off by the enemy while we are waiting to get into range...we have hundreds of thousands of the best arms in the world stored away in our arsenals carefully bound up in 'red tape' guarded by a corps of old army officers whose lips say Union but whose hearts are more than half secesh…I have been here for two weeks pressing...without getting even a definite answer pro or con! I have no hope of success but expect...[I] shall probably be ordered to Vicksburg...it is not unlikely that the next news you hear of us we shall be slaughtered for want of arms to defend ourselves...we are ready to sacrifice the last man of the 29th in a good cause but the reflection that we are to be slaughtered with out hands literally tied, is not very agreeable. Still if such be our fate, like men we shall meet it...' Lightly toned, with scattered stains, a small chip to the top margin of the third page and a tear along a crease. The Prussian musket referred to is the M1809 Potsdam Musket. In the early years of the war several thousand were purchased by the Union Army and issued to militia units or for training use. They were not popular in active combat due to their size, sharp recoil, and notorious inaccuracy. Despite Col. Benton's worry, the 29th Iowa would go on to serve with distinction in the Vicksburg Campaign of 1863 and did not suffer extreme casualty rates due to their weapons.

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April 7, 2022 10:00 AM EDT
Elkton, MD, US

Alexander Historical Auctions LLC

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Bid Increments
From: To: Increments:
$0 $99 $10
$100 $499 $20
$500 $999 $50
$1,000 $1,999 $100
$2,000 $4,999 $250
$5,000 $9,999 $500
$10,000 $19,999 $1,000
$20,000 $49,999 $2,500
$50,000 $99,999 $5,000
$100,000 + $10,000