1862 CIVIL WAR SOLDIER LETTER - SHARPSBURG MD BATTLE OF ANTIETAM BROTHER KILLED
Item History & Price
| Reference Number: Avaluer:119978 | Featured Refinements: Civil War Letter |
SEPT. 21, 1862 LETTER FROM SHARPSBURG, MD FROM SOLDIER IN THE 11th CT. INFANTRY - GREAT CONTENT ABOUT BATTLE OF ANTIETAM 4 DAYS EARLIER -SAW HIS BROTHER SHOT THROUGH THE HEART "AND FELL, SAYING I AM KILLED" - BURIED HIM WITH HIS OWN HANDS. 2-1/2 pg. letter, approx. 5" x 8", datelined "Sharpsburg, Md., Sun., Sept. 21, 1862, from Levi L. Dayton, Co. D., 11th Regiment Connecticut Volunteer Infantry, to his brother Charles. Written on patriotic stationery, with red & blue illustra...tion of "BAYONET CHARGE AT THE TAKING OF FORT DONELSON". The illustration is printed out of register, giving it a doubled effect. The writer of this letter, Levi L. Dayton, of Winchester, Ct., was mustered into Co. D., 11th Ct. Infantry as a Corporal, on Nov. 12, 1861 and mustered out on Nov. 12, 1864. He writes of the death of his brother, Lewis Dayton, who enlisted in the same Company on the same day, and was killed at the Battle of Antietam on Sept. 17, 1862, 4 days before this letter was written. During the Battle of Antietam, the 11th Regt. Ct. Infantry was in advance on the left for the capture of the Stone Bridge (aka Burnside's Bridge). Two Companies, led by the Regiment's Colonel, attempted to cross the creek to the left of the Bridge and were cut to pieces by the Confederates on the high bank on the other side of the creek. The 11th Ct. lost 181 men at Antietam, including every Field Officer. Superb content in which Levi Dayton informs his brother of the sad news of their brother Charles, also in Co. D, 11th Ct., being killed during the Battle of Antietam, writing that he was shot through the heart and "fell saying I am killed". Levi writes how he buried Lewis with his own hands (when they were able to get back to his body, they found the rebels had taken everything from his pockets). He writes that the Regiment "is terribly cut to pieces", and that they have "driven Stonewall Jackson across the Potomac". The letter reads: "Dear Brother Charles, I received your letter directed to Lewis, which came too late for him ever to read, he is dead. It is terrible news, but it is true. He was shot while we were making a charge on the rebels at Sharpsburg in the northwestern part of Maryland on the 17th of Sept. He was shot through the heart and fell saying I am killed. We were obliged to leave the ground where he fell, and when we found him the next day, the rebels had taken everything from his pockets. I dug his grave and buried him with my own hands in the field where he fell, after wrapping him in 4 or 5 blankets. We have been in 4 or 5 skirmishes and battles lately and our Regt. is terribly cut to pieces; also the 8th Conn. and 16th. Our Regt. lost about 50 killed and 200 wounded on the 17th of Sept. I escaped without a wound. We have driven Stonewall Jackson across the Potomac and I suppose we are to follow him. There is no telling when or how this war will end. I am unwell and about crazy, so I will not write any more now. Yours, Levi L. Dayton"Normal folds. Fine.COMBINED SHIPPING FOR MULTIPLE ITEMS. [DD# 2-34]
