Lot of 26 letters from various Union soldiers serving in varied regiments, writing from the Eastern Theater of the Civil War, 1861-1866. Includes letters referencing Petersburg, Antietam, Yorktown, Richmond, Washington, and Lincoln’s Funeral.August 4, 1861, Camp Hunter, [VA], with patriotic letterhead2nd Lieutenant Fred A. Stowe, Co. B, 3rd Michigan Infantry, complains to his fiancee about politics within his company and laments that, “it is so dull here.”February 4, 1862, Alexandria, Camp Howard, Army of the PotomacFrank M. Thompson, Co. B, 3rd Maine Infantry, recounts skirmishing and an interesting account of a blockade runner, “There was a schooner went up by the blockade and they fired thirty guns at her and all the damages they doner her was they took her foremast out. But they boated to her and towed her bye. She was loaded with stuff for Washington. And then they have repaired her and she has run the blockade a number times since. They are so mad since the steamer went down they fire at everything that comes along.”March 18, 1862James S. Sickles, Co. E, 9th New Jersey Infantry (“Jersey Muskrats”), provides gruesome battlefield reflections from his service in Burnside’s Expedition, “To see the doctors cut off the men’s legs and arms is enough to make a man sick of the bad smell.”March 18, 1862, Camp near Snickers FerryW.C. Hoyte, Co. E, 12th Massachusetts Infantry, writes while marching through Virginia, making fun of the hereditary society First Families of Virginia,“I have been on a Union foot race for three weeks...Our boys have changed the First Family’s of V[irginians] to Fleet Footed V[irginians] and I think it is so for I have not seen one of them yet. But we shall follow them up until we get them in the Gulf of Mexico.” On a separate sheet, he transcribes a charming camp song which expresses the deep longing the men held for home.[ca March 20], 1862, Camp East of the Capitol, printed battlefield stationaryCpl. Charles E. Stone, Troop E, 1st Rhode Island Cavalry, early in his service recounts marching through Baltimore and the mixed reaction they received, “some cheered us and others looked ugly. There is a good many rebels here if they had dared to show it.”March 23, 1862, Fairfax Court House, printed patriotic stationaryThe first four pages from an unknown cavalry soldier who writes of troop movements, foraging, and going to see the fortifications at Manassas.April 9, 1862, Newbern, NC, printed patriotic stationary and unstamped coverUnidentified soldier from Rhode Island named George, he explains his deep hatred for the South, “Mother thinks I have lost all sympathy for the South. I plead guilty to the charge. If everyone in Bristol that sympathizes with the South had seen and heard the tales of suffering and abuses the poor farmer and women of Newbern and vicinity have had to put up with, you would all go in for butchering every officer of the Rebel army as fast as they are taken prisoners.” Context of the letter suggests the letter was written shortly after the Battle of New Bern during Burnside’s Expedition.May 11, 1862, On the way to Richmond1st Lieut. George B. French, Co. C, 4th Vermont Infantry, gives his impressions from the Siege of Yorktown, “Warwick Creek & the charge of the Green Mountain Boys are themes which will not soon be forgotten & I am proud that I was among the number engaged.” He gives a thorough appraisal of the various generals involved, spending a lot of ink on William Farrar Smith vehemently defending him, “Gen. Smith is a man of talent from the highest branch of our military service & a man in whom, but for one thing, the officers & men under him place implicit confidence. And here comes the rub - we all know he is given somewhat to the flask. This is true. I will not attempt to conceal nor try to palliate the fact. But that on the 16th April he was drunk and thus pushed us into the snare, I do not believe. And indeed, I think I can prove to you beyond a doubt that such was not the fact.” He goes on in great length to describe the specifics of the assault on Dam Number One.July 19, 1982 and August 5, 1862, Fort Gaines, Washington DC, one with unstamped envelopeAsahel H. Harris, Co. G, 10th Rhode Island Infantry writes about his travels and his experience attending a picnic hosted by African Americans on the Fourth of July and in his second letter relates, “they are a dancing. They are all free in the District now & the farmers hire them that will work. They talk of putting them into the army to help dig trenches &c.”September 18, 1862, Blue Ridge, MarylandCapt. Daniel Marston, Co. C, 16th Maine Infantry, writes to his daughter, Abbie, the day after Antietam (Sharpsburg), “My Co is much less than it was.” Abbie, received a second letter from her boyfriend Dillin written the same day, who also participated in the bloody battle, “It would shock you so that you would never get over it.”November 13, 1862, Camp near Warrenton, VACharles M. Freeman, US Army 2nd Infantry, writes passionately about the battle of Antietam and defends General McClellan, “I think of the 58 brave men shattered and killed (out of a little more than 200) survivors of “ours”. I think of “Little Mac” as he sat on his horse where shell & shot whistled & flew to their deadly work all around him as we passed him to charge and cheered as we did so.”November 25, 1862, Washington D.C. Sylvester D. Willard (1825-1865) was a notable physician who served as a volunteer surgeon in the Federal Army. He would go on to become the Surgeon General of New York in 1865 before his untimely death. In this letter he writes of unending bureaucracy, an encounter with African Americans in Alexandria, and he laments the situation in Fredericksburg.June 16, 1863, Centerville, VAJames C. Stuart, Co. A, 7th Indiana Infantry writes during the Union retreat after their defeat at the Second Battle of Winchester, “We marched all night, night before last. My feet are in an awful condition but I had to keep up or be taken prisoner,” and describes the execution of John P. Wood, 19th Indiana Infantry, for desertion.December 18, 1863, Newport NewsAssistant Surgeon Charles J. Tennant, 21st Connecticut Infantry, writes about the people of Norfolk taking the Oath of Allegiance.March 21, 1864, Culpeper, VALyman Mack Kellogg, US Army 2nd Brigade, 1st Division, 1st AC, gives a practical assessment of the army’s effectiveness in winter. He also is hopeful of meeting with the examining board in Washington and being deemed competent to command colored troops.June 19, 1864, Near Petersburg, VACapt. Fred B. Doten, Co. F, 14th Connecticut Infantry, bemoans the failures of the assaults on Petersburg, “the ground in front of us was covered with dead and wounded and all for nothing.”August 16, 27th, and 31, 1864, Before Petersburg, VAGeorge F. Lamson, Co. D, 4th Rhode Island Infantry, writes three separate letters. On August 16th he describes to his mother the uncomfortable life in the trenches, “the was heavy showers; it nearly drowned us out of the trenches.” In his second letter he mentions that General Grant reviewed their lines and “it was the first time we have seen him.”October 13, 1864, Head Quarters, 2nd Division, 2nd Corps, with stamped envelopeFred B. Doten, Co. F, 14th Connecticut Infantry, seems to be enjoying camp life and is effusive with his expressions of love to his future wife.April 5, 1865, Washington, on Ordinance Office letterheadAn unidentified soldier named Horatio express to his parents his joy upon learning about the fall of Richmond on April 2, “What splendid news we have got from Grant. Monday [April 3] morning about 11 we heard cheers from the War Dept. and all hands rushed over to see what was the matter and what we heard that “Richmond was ours” didn’t we cheer. I never saw such enthusiasm in all my leaf. It beat everything. Why we fairly yelled with joy, run, hugged and kissed each other. No more business for that day. We were free. Everybody got drunk, many with liquor, all with joy.”April 10, 1865, Head Quarters, Second Division, with stamped envelopeFebruary 26, 1866, Bridgeport, CT, with stamped envelopeCapt. Fred B. Doten, writes of his elation at the end of the war, but he notes that “the joy of the 2nd Division is subdued by the loss of Gen. Smyth who was shot at the last moment. Isn’t it sad that such a galland soldier and accomplished gentleman should fall after so long service at the last moment of the rebellion?” Accompanied by a printed poem, Victory at Last, and an 1866 letter to his wife.April 30, 1865, Trenton, OhioCapt. Daniel Marston followed the procession of Lincoln’s funeral and describes his progress to his wife, “I arrived at Albany just after the remains of the President had left and learning that they were to stop at Buffalo, I took the first train for there...and witnessed the splendid reception of the group and the showy hearse drawn by 6 white horses handsomely decorated with black and the usual show of carriages and military bands of Marine and a great crowd of people.”July 26, 1865, near Richmond, VA Sergt. Major Richard H. Williams, 11th US Infantry discusses the sorry state of Richmond in the aftermath of the war.