AUTOGRAPHS & MANUSCRIPTS | The Civil War | New York
453 2nd Lieut. John T. Andrews, 179th New York Volunteers, Civil War Archive 4 letters. The 179th New York Infantry had a front row seat to the bloody end of the Civil War, spending nearly its entire enlistment in the siege and capture of the Confederate stronghold at Petersburg, VA. Raised in Elmira over the course of several months during the spring and summer 1864, the 179th was sent south company by company, with the final recruits not joining the regiment until February 1865. Serving with IX Corps, they were cut up badly during the early assaults on Petersburg in June 1864, and suffered more in the Mine Explosion (which took place directly in front of their positions), at Weldon Railroad, and a series of other engagements in the fall and winter. During the final weeks of the war, they played an effective role in the capture of Fort Stedman on March 22 and were in the thick of the force that stormed the city on April 2, sustaining heavy loss in the process. They were, to say the least, indelibly linked to Petersburg. A committed and intelligent young officer from North Reading, NY, Lt. John Andrews wrote to his parents at home to detail the final events of the war. Although few in number, the letters are a sterling example of a late-war correspondence, written when the ending was there for all to see, and they contain fine letters written on the eve of two of the concluding engagements. The first of Andrews’ letters, dated March 8, 1865, is a good-humored classic, breaking the news to his parents that he had been withholding something important from them, that he had been placed under arrest: I have a confession to make, he wrote, For thirty-seven days I have been in “close arrest.” I was charged with “disobedience of orders” and court martialed.... Andrews goes on to describe the trial and outcome, in which the Colonel personally appealed to the Secretary of War for Andrews’ acquittal and promotion, which he received. Andrews’ crime suggests a good deal about the conduct of the war in the trenches before Petersburg: Last June (the 9th) an order was issued at Army Headquarters forbidding all communications with the enemy. For a long time this order has been disregarded, and every day the pickets were wont to exchange papers with each other. Occasionally however our pickets received particular orders not to exchange, and at other time they were instructed to get papers over to the rebels in order to give them some choice bit of news or some sensible advice. Well! Gen. Potter, who commands our Division made up his mind to put a stop to this friendly intercourse with the rebel pickets — and I happened to be his victim — but I wasn’t, “things are not what they seem...” In the long and detailed account that follows, Andrews describes going out under pretense of buying a paper from one rebel, entices a second to come forward, and
then takes both prisoner. Rumors that he had been involved in an exchange drew the general’s ire, who arrested both Lt. Andrews and Maj. Knapp, and despite Knapp’s attempts to blame his subordinate, Andrews was acquitted and restored to duty without reprimand. The other letters in the collection reference the preparations for the final assaults on Fort Stedman and Petersburg itself, filled with the tension of a soldier waiting for the struggle to come, and he described the last ditch maneuvers on both sides. Nine days after the campaign began, he sensed the desperation as the end of Petersburg drew near: There has been some shelling but not as much as we have had at other times, until last night when the rebels made another attack on our line. Since Saturday we have been under arms every morning at three o’clock in readiness for attacks should the rebs see fit to make them. Last night I was awakened from a sound sleep by a hurried shake by the Capt, and the exciting intelligence that the rebs were upon us. I hurried on a part of my clothes, snatched my sword and hurried down to rout out the company. It was laughable to see some of the men perform.... Never did I see before such a beautiful exhibition of fireworks as I did then. It was probably at Fort Stedman — where the rebels made their attack last Saturday morning. The air was full of blazing shells, coursing back and forth from one side to the other.... The rebels had advanced to within a few yards of our picket line last night when we started for the breastwork. The pickets say they heard our Colonel give the command “Forward guide centre double quick, March.” When the rebels thinking their pickets were being reinforced turned and skedaddled, our pickets giving them volley after volley as a parting salute... Having accomplished their goal, Andrews wrote in his last letter that he and his company were ready to return home. In Alexandria on May 6, 1865, he wrote: Before the capture of Petersburg and Richmond and the surrender of Lee, the men were contended. They dreaded battles, but they were here to do; now, the work the work is done, and all want to go home. Hardly anyone is content to play soldier. A great end-of-the-war collection with unusual content. $400 - $600
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JUNE 21, 2013 CINCINNATI, OHIO
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