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THBAsst. Engineer George P. Hunt, ALS Regarding the Battle of Mobile Bay, September 7, 1864
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Cincinnati , OH 45232
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About Auction
LiveJun 13, 2014 - Jun 14, 2014
Cowan's Auctions dawnie@cowans.com
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- Lot Description
ALS, 6pp, each 8 x 10 in., dated on the Metacomet, in Mobile Bay, Sept. 7, 1864. He opens by lamenting the difficulty in receiving mail, having lost several parcels recently, and he complains about the heat inside the ship, reaching 123 degrees on deck, 130+ in the engine room, and 175 inside a monitor, but he soon returns to the subject of the Battle of Mobile Bay. Hunt says he was unable to witness much other than the occasional peep as he was in charge of the engine room and usually below deck, but he gives a detailed description combining what he saw with his own eyes and what his comrades reported amongst themselves. He says that after the Tecumseh sank, There was no time for signals so the Admiral sang out to go ahead past and away leading the way. The old Hartford fired broadside after broadside. We were given the order not to fire until we were abreast of the fort. The Hartford had it to herself until the three leading vessels arrived and as soon as the guns could be trained on the fort he sang out "Fire Brooklyn, Fire Richmond, Fire Hartford" and for some time there was a perfect roar...The firing was enough to deafen someone forever. He explains Farragut's course through the harbor and the Metacomet's pursuit of the rebel ships Tennessee, Selma and Morgan, as well as an account of the iconic image from the fight: The Adm. kept at his station through the whole of the fight where he could see the whole fleet. He moved but once and that but a few steps higher up in the rigging when a shell burst below his feet and killed his secretary Higginbotham. He was very much enraged at one or two of his fleet who did not come off the mark and swore very forcibly after the fight. He discusses the dead and wounded and says, the hospital at Pensacola was not as it should have been and I am thankful I was not among the wounded...The pilot of the Hartford lay wounded in the hospital in Pensacola for 48 hours before treatment , the same for three men who had their arms amputated. Getting back to his current situation, Hunt says, We are lying near the city at night and during the day we are poking our noses in every nook and corner of the Bay picking up niggers, refugees, conscripts, union men, and anything else. He speaks of rumors they have been hearing about the rest of the country, including Sherman taking Atlanta and Grant taking Weldon Railroad, and, in closing, while begging for news form the North, says, There are rumours that McClellan might be our next President - surely not! I would prefer even Jeff Davis himself! Altogether an extraordinary account of the battle from a sailor who participated in the fight.Very good.
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