TO RECEIVE A NO COST, NO OBLIGATION FREE APPRAISAL of your Vermont Civil War letters, please call the Nate D. Sanders Auction House at (310) 440-2982, email [email protected] or go to the company web site at http://www.NateDSanders.com.  We are an auction house specializing in Civil War letters, including the great state of Vermont Civil War letters. Free appraisal for Vermont Civil War Letters.

Top dollar achieved for your Vermont Civil War Letters. Please let us know if you have Vermont Civil War Letters for sale.

Vermont Civil War Letters

Nate D. Sanders Auction House in Los Angeles just sold 76 Vermont Civil War letters for $19,000.  Please have a look below:

WIA John Pitridge of the 5th Vermont Infantry on Gettysburg & 2nd Battle of Fredericksburg — “…the rebels lay ther and sech a sight I never bfore saw in my life They lay thicker than the stones in your garden…a spot of ground not 20 rods square lay 119 dead men for I counted them…”

Tintype photo and large lot of 76 letters from the 5th Vermont Infantry, with 64 letters by John W. Pitridge of Co. H, and the remainder from other soldiers in the 5th VT, informing Pitridge’s family of his wound at the Battle of Savage’s Station. Pitridge is a colorful storyteller of the Civil War in the letters back home to his family, with several hand drawn pictures to accentuate his words. Pitridge writes notably of Gettysburg and the Second Battle of Fredericksburg, where the 5th Vermont fought; the regiment is notable as one of just 45 infantry regiments that lost more than 200 men during the war.

Shortly after Gettysburg, Pitridge writes his family with a description of the carnage. From a “Camp in Maryland” on 17 July 1863, he writes, “…On the 4 day of Juli I went over the Batel field or part of it for it smelt so bad that I couldent stand it our men had picked up our dead and bured them but the rebels lay ther and sech a sight I never bfore saw in my life they lay thicker than the stones in your garden on plas where they charged on one of our bartreys a spot of ground not 20 rods square lay 119 dead men for I counted them. That is gods truth and good god don’t think that was all for the ground covered for moilels all around Such a Sight No human eye never behold…”

On 11 May 1863, Pitridge writes in detail about the Second Battle of Fredericksburg, where the 5th VT lost approximately 15 in killed and wounded, “…Ben saved thrue one more Batel and a hard on to as ever I see sence I left home and hope I never shall see another on as long as I stay in the armey…Well now about the Fight. We have had a fight and a dam hard on to and We had to draw back on our one side of the river to save our heads but we give them a dam good licking and maid them wait till we got ready to go and we shot them down if they didn’t stop when we told them to. We wood shote them dead as hell and they wood do them saim to ous to. So you see how we would do down hear kill as we go deth and destruction to all man…Well we took the Hights at the left of fredericksburg our Bregad and hell them to and took 3 peases of artillery to but it was hot fiering…[General John] Newtan’s Division took the hights back of the City and the 6th Vermont was with him to…The rebels got reinforsements and had 5 men to our on and so you see they surrounded us all most and we had to fight lik hell to keep from being taking prisners and our Bregad took about 13 hundred prisners and lot of officers to. And our Bregad lost between 3 and 4 hundred men and we wood of lost more if the dam Rebels had shot [?] for I never see the balls fly so fast in my life. They flew fast as hail stones and we sent them back to as fast as they cam and to more efect to for we could see them fall like grass bfore the sith and that is what don ous good…”

Pitrdge writes another letter about his mindset during battle, “…But one thing I would say that when he goes into a fight he don’t care for nothing. When he smells the powder and hear the crack of muskets and the whising of balls and the groans of the dying and when he sees his comrades fall by his side it only makes him mad and he will fight for the harder to seak revenge for his dead companion hoo has falin by his side for the caus of his contry. But to see the trator fall it is his delight chears of good tidings will go up and the wourd will be see the trator fall…”

At the Battle of Savage’s Station, where the 5th VT lost nearly half its soldiers, Pitridge was wounded and briefly taken prisoner. Writing from Libby Prison in an undated letter, “…I am now a prisner and wounded to. But am doing well and for well have enough to eat and to dreenk. It wount do for you to right to me for they wont com to me. So good by for this time…” Fortunately for Pitridge, he was quickly exchanged, as a letter by fellow 5th VT soldier James R. McGibbon writes on 19 July 1862, “…It is with much Joy that I write to you to let you know that I have heard from John. He is alive and doing well…Our own doctor has just come and John is on the lot about 1 mile from here…His wound is not as bad as we thought it was…” McGibbons would write several more letters to Pitridge’s family nearly two years later in March 1864 when his friend fell ill.

Just after the Battle of Savage’s Station, Pitridge’s friend Seth Partlow, also in Co. H of the 5th Vermont, writes to Pitridge’s parents of what he thought was Pitridge’s death (Partlow didn’t know that Pitridge had been taken prisoner), “…I write in the plase of your Son John W Pitridge and with his request – Last Sunday nite June 30th [actually Sunday the 29th] we had a fight with the enemy and drove them back with a great loss on both sides…Johney was shot through the left brest – he stood besid me when he fell but with the help of some body got off the field 10 rods. After the order retreat came and we left the field I went back to where Joney lay and found a live. He asked ho it was. I told him ho it was and he wanted my hand. I gave it to him. And he said Oh Seth I have got to die and he says you knoe me and my folks and write to them. Tell them I died in a glorious Caus. Tell them I did not run but faced the enemy until I fell. Our Army retreating and the enemy close by us, His hands were Cold. I think he must have died shortly…Our dead and wounded was left…” Pitridge’s parents must have been ecstatic to receive their son’s letter from Libby Prison shortly after receiving this letter, informing him of his “death”.

Though Pitridge generally had a loving, good-natured disposition, he vents on 6 December 1862 about the men in the North avoiding service, “…You northern hipercrits taking your comfort, no danger to fase and no Rebbels to fase nor chase eather…All that I wish is to see sum of them down hear to sleep in the mud up to ther ass or see them In hell with her back broke or some other plase. Sumtimes I wish that the holl of the north wood seank to the loar pits of hell never to rise again. They all say that I have don my part but there aint on of them hoo wood jest com and take my part and let me com home. No they are dam cowards and at home is the plase for them…” A few weeks later on 30 December, he writes his suspicions about the real cause of the war, “…But one thing is sirten the dam war is nothing but the works of some dam Big Bugs in the North and South too. All it is is for is to kill off a few men so there could be a few more big storys to be published and give some men a large name. But Jefferson Davis will have the best name of them all for he will liick us all to hell as shure as hell…”

Other letters include Pitridge’s glum thoughts after the Battles of the Wilderness and Spotsylvania Court House (where, combined, the 5th Vermont lost approximately 200 men in killed and wounded) on 19 May 1864, “…But this war can’t last always, for there won’t be men left to carry it on…” as well as his sadness of seeing men in his regiment killed for desertion, and his loneliness of being away from his family.

In addition to his letters, lot include John Pitridge’s marriage certificate to Mary Jane Comstock (whom he writes fondly of in his letters) as well as his bowtie from the wedding, and a tintype photo of him and Mary Jane. After the war Pitrdige served in the Vermont House of Representatives. An exceptional Civil War lot from one of the most active regiments, and a warm storyteller from a soldier within that regiment.

These 76 Vermont Civil War letters sold for $19,000.

TO RECEIVE A NO COST, NO OBLIGATION FREE APPRAISAL of your Vermont Civil War letters, please call the Nate D. Sanders Auction House at (310) 440-2982, email [email protected] or go to the company web site at http://www.NateDSanders.com.  We are an auction house specializing in Civil War letters, including the great state of Vermont Civil War letters. Free appraisal for Vermont Civil War Letters.

Please let us know if you have Vermont Civil War Letters for sale. Top dollar obtained for your Vermont Civil War Letters.

Nate D. Sanders Auctions offers the following services for Vermont Civil War Letters:

• Appraise Vermont Civil War Letters.
• Auction Vermont Civil War Letters.
• Consign Vermont Civil War Letters.
• Sell Vermont Civil War Letters.
• Buy Vermont Civil War Letters.
• Research Vermont Civil War Letters.
• Authenticate Vermont Civil War Letters.
• Estimate Vermont Civil War Letters.
• Vermont Civil War Letters appraisal.
• Vermont Civil War Letters auctioned.
• Vermont Civil War Letters consignment.
• Vermont Civil War Letters sold.
• Vermont Civil War Letters bought.
• Vermont Civil War Letters researched.
• Vermont Civil War Letters authentication.
• Vermont Civil War Letters valuation.
• Vermont Civil War Letters estimation.
• Vermont Civil War Letters appraise.
• Vermont Civil War Letters auction.
• Vermont Civil War Letters consign.
• Vermont Civil War Letters worth.
• Vermont Civil War Letters price.
• Vermont Civil War Letters value.
• Vermont Civil War Letters prices realized.
• Vermont Civil War Letters for sale.
• Vermont Civil War Letters cost.
• Vermont Civil War Letters buy.
• Vermont Civil War Letters appraised.
• Vermont Civil War Letters consigned.
• Vermont Civil War Letters no cost estimate.