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THBConfederate Captain John A. Mackey, 2nd Tennessee Infantry, Co. B, Civil War Correspondence
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6270 Este Ave.
Cincinnati , OH 45232
United States
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About Auction
LiveJun 9, 2017 - Jun 10, 2017
Cowan's Auctions dawnie@cowans.com
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- Lot Description
Lot of 10 war-date letters from Confederate Captain John A. Mackey from June 1861 to December 1862, including some from the Battle of Fredericksburg. Also included is an excerpt from Confederate Veteran's Magazine about his life, service, and death.
John A. Mackey’s family was comprised of farmers and some owned slaves. Like most young Southern men, he enlisted in the Confederate Army to fight for the cause of his home state and the institution his family participated in. He joined the army on April 27, 1861, was commissioned a captain in the newly-formed 2nd Tennessee Infantry, Co. B, and was gun captain for Ship Point Battery No. 1. Military life in the Confederacy; however, came with many hardships such as: poor leadership and starvation. He wrote to his sister:
The whole regiment are very much dissatisfied with [Col Bute] for he is drunk all the time Gen Nolens told him yesterday that he quit running his man us much and our commanding officer is not much better for all of them get drunk when they get the chance and are so mean to us (no date or place). In addition to drunken superiors, they also drilled them for hours without adequate provisions, which exhausted the men. Mackey explained: I know I am doing wrong, but I have concealed the meanness of our officers long as I can. They have starved us and run us so much that none of us have life enough to move. His men pleaded for something to eat, but he could get but little satisfaction from [his] superior officers, which discouraged him. I hardly have life enough in me to command my section or even to give a command….we have been on the point of starvation, he wrote. (Camp Jackson, Fredericksburg, VA, June 16, 1861). Starvation extended itself even in battle at Fredericksburg. He explained, Our company alone was places on a little island…any way we looked we could see large Men of War with a great many guns aboard and then they would fire upon us…We staid on the island as long as we could without eating…we had to steel everything we got to eat out of some mans house that we took…But I hope I never see such harsh times again (Fredericksburg, VA, June 9, 1861 ). He also fell victim to the harsh treatment and over punishment by superior officers when he was confined to his tent and told to stay there until further orders were given (Camp near Cottage Grove, TN, December 17, 1862).
During his service, Mackey saw a considerable amount of action and wrote often about it. A few small excerpts of his letters with battle content read:
We faced the enemy boldly and ran them back to their side of the River. They have made several light attacks upon us since, but have ran away every time. Last Saturday when they made such a desperate attack on us, we only fired sixty two guns while they fired five hundred and ninety nine they never even hurt one of our men. But we killed 90 some of their men and tore their ships and boats all to pieces and sunk some of them (Fredericksburg, VA, June 9, 1861).
We fired one cannon loaded with Grape shot which took effect at the head of the column killing and wounding from end to end, those that was left turned to run our men fired upon them with muskets as long as we could see them. The next day we took one of their men as prisoner and he said that 500 of their men were missing but could not tell if they were killed or what had become of them (Camp Jackson, Fredericksburg, VA, June 16, 1861).
We have been firing from [the new batteries] for two days and have wounded two vessels very badly. This morning when day broke, we commenced fire upon a ship that was trying to zap our blockade several of our shells took effect in the side of the boat then the boat whistled for assistance and a man of war skiffed up to her and pulled her to the Maryland shore (Camp Holmes, VA, October 16, 1861).
Mackey survived starvation and shelling and was able to return home, later marrying Mary Elizabeth Allen. He was an active member of the Confederate Veteran’s Association and died during the Confederate Veteran’s Ball in 1916, surrounded by smiling faces, while the band was playing “Dixie” (excerpt from Confederate Veteran’s Magazine).
Provenance: Descended in the Family of John A. MackeyMost of the letters are in good condition with some fading of the penciled inscriptions, typical folds, toning, and some minor brittleness at the folds. Transcriptions of the letters accompany the letters as well as a brief personal history.Condition
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