Captain Abner Colby, Berdan's Sharpshooters, POW, Archive Incl. USSS Medal, Ambrotype, Correspondence, & More

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American History Auction

By Cowan's Auctions

Nov 18, 2016 - Nov 19, 2016

Set Reminder 2016-11-18 10:00:00 2016-11-19 10:00:00 America/New_York Bidsquare Bidsquare : American History Auction https://www.bidsquare.com/auctions/cowans/american-history-auction-1870
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• Lot Description
  Lot of 18+ items that appear to have belonged to Civil War Sharpshooter, Abner D. Colby. The items were recently found together in a wooden keepsake box at a Savannah, GA estate, and the consignor relates that the resident had moved south at some point from the Boston area.
  
  In October 1861, Colby enlisted as a private in the New Hampshire Company (G) of the 2nd USSS and was later promoted to sergeant, having been present at all of the major battles fought by the famous Sharpshooters including Antietam, Fredericksburg, Chancellorsville, and Gettysburg.
  
  Sergeant Colby was captured on May 7, 1864 during the battle of the Wilderness and spent the next ten months in various Confederate prisons camps, among them the notorious Andersonville. In 1878 Colby applied for an invalid pension and wrote in his affidavit:
  
  “While my company was engaged in the battle of the Wilderness, Va. on the 6th day of May 1864. I was taken prisoner by the enemy while I was accompanying an aide of Gen. Birney, who was carrying an order. I had always been in good health up to this time. After being taken prisoner I was taken to Gordonsville, Va. where I remained about a week. I was then in prison at Lynchburg, Va. about a week. I was then sent to Andersonville, Ga. where I remained about four months. I was then taken to Florence, S.C. where I remained about five and a half months. I was then paroled I think about February 1865, after having been a prisoner ten months nearly. After I had been at said Andersonville about two months I was taken with chronic diarrhea....”
  
  Colby goes on to state in detail what occurred at Andersonville and Florence and how the captivity had ruined his heath 13 years later.
  
  In March 1865 Colby returned to his company which had been transferred to the 5th New Hampshire Infantry the previous month. Sergeant Colby was discharged at Concord, NH on June 21, 1865 and lived the rest of his life in Newton Center, MA. In 1886 (AGO Nov. 19, 1886) Colby’s service record was formally amended to reflect his promotion to 1st lieutenant (from June 11, 1864), and captain (from January 16, 1865). Officially then, Colby mustered out of the sharpshooters as captain on June 21, 1865. The old soldier answered the final roll call on June 6, 1900.
  
  The archive features the following:
  
  Berdan's US Sharpshooter Medal with original, green silk ribbon, no identification, 3.625 in. ln.
  
  GAR belt buckle, with hook and sizing attachments, replaced cloth belt.
  
  Handbill headed Memorial Day at Andersonville, 1884, with a printed poem on the front written for Frank Smith, an Ex-POW at Andersonville, and a printed letter from Smith on the reverse, 5.5 x 9.5 in. It appears that this may have been sent to soldiers who served at Andersonville.
  
  Pre-Civil War, sixth plate ambrotype of two men, uncased. Although unidentified, the gentleman at left appears to be Colby based on an identified Civil War-era CDV of the sharpshooter. Colby was an engineer before and after the war, and the man at left looks to be holding rolled-up plans.
  
  Letter and envelope from Colby's wife Amelia, addressed to Captain Abner D. Colby, Co. G 2nd USSS, Military Prison Florence, SC, where he was incarcerated. The letter did not reach Colby in prison. In 1873 it was returned to his wife with a letter explaining that it could not be delivered to him, which is also included with the archive.
  
  Colby's handwritten marriage certificate, dated April 20, 1864, completely split in half, as well as obituaries of Colby and his wife. One obituary confirms his service with Berdan's Sharpshooters and provides additional information about Colby, noting his work as an engineer before and after the war. He was also a fireman.
  
  The archive also includes additional correspondence and ephemera related to the Colby family, which has a rich American History. Abner Colby's relatives, including his grandfather, were Revolutionary War veterans, and it appears that his daughter Elfie joined the Daughters of the Revolution after extensive vetting. She provided detailed genealogy records, which are discussed in some of the documents offered here, that were supported by multiple published history books. The historical Macy-Colby house museum in Amesbury, MA was home to seven generations of Colbys. Accompanied by late 19th century reprint of New York Herald dated April 15, 1865, announcing Lincoln's assassination. 

  Condition

  Medal in fine condition overall, with light spots on medal. Ambrotype uncased, with some flaking to emulsion on reverse. Marriage certificate split in half. Newspaper fragile, with separation at some of the folds, tears along some folds. Letters and paper in fine condition considering age. 
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