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THBMarcus Reno's Marriage During Battle of Gettysburg Described in Exceptional Gettysburg Campaign Letter
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About Auction
LiveJun 22, 2018
Cowan’s American History: Premier Auction, scheduled for June 22, 2018 is comprised of early photographs, documents, manuscripts, broadsides, flags, and more dating from the Revolutionary War, the Civil War, Late Indian Wars, World War I and II and beyond. Cowan's Auctions dawnie@cowans.com
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- Lot Description
Letter written by Mary Hannah Ross, sister to the wife of Captain Marcus Reno, best known for his role as senior officer under Lieutenant Colonel George Armstrong Custer at the Battle of Little Bighorn during the Indian Wars. ALS, 6pp, 5.25 x 8 in., n.p. (probably Harrisburg, PA). July 6, 1863. Addressed to Miss Lizzie K. Haldeman of Sweden.
The letter describes the wedding of Captain Marcus Reno to Mary Hannah Ross, alongside details about the Gettysburg campaign in Harrisburg, PA. The letter reads, in part:
I must of course tell you about Hannah's wedding. It was to be on September the 2nd in the evening at 8 o'clock P.M. A very large one too as three hundred people expected, but that was all knocked in the head by these darned Rebs, so they, made it earlier and fixed the day for first of July, they were to have a very quiet wedding, only a very few people invited, every thing was [indecipherable] at Felix's for Wednesday the first, when on the Sunday before the Rebels were at Shiremanstown (only 4 miles) from Harrisburg, and a battle expected hourly. Nearly everybody had left for Philadelphia, Reading, and other places, and we were the last at home, mother was afraid to stay any longer and we put off on Sunday morning for N. Y. (our place of Refuge) and left wedding and Groom behind, gracious I've not told you his name! it is Marcus Albert Reno, Captain 1st Cavalry U.S., he has been here since winter Recruiting and mustering troops, met Hannah [indecipherable] both lost their hearts. (H)e made her his recruit and all was over...
The writer goes on to discuss travel details, including news from Gettysburg:
We came from New York Saturday evening, it was only the second time in three weeks we had been there, on account of the [Rebels?] Reno is chief for General Smiths' staff, and is very busy, you know Smith commands the forces on the Susquehanna. We have had a terrible battle at Gettysburg, so many on both sides killed & wounded they are brought here daily. Lee I believe is retreating, it was in the Papers this morning that we had captured 118 pieces of Artillery, and eighteen thousand Rebels...Ed Hickok is expected home every [indecipherable], he is going to resign, he has been down there two years and hasn't done any fighting yet and he says he can't stand it...
The letter then turns to the impact that the war is having on the home front:
I only know the town is alive with soldgers (as Bob spells it) and handsome ones too. Right opposet [sic]...there are nothing but tents and soldgers all day long, and Market street is awful for them. Everybody's crops & things are spoilt [sic] for this year by [indecipherable] men on the other side of the river. Uncle Jake suffered the most, just think three or four farms...wheat, oats...all trampled on, the government can take anything they want and you can't make a fuss...
Finally, the letter features large, cross-written text announcing Lee's surrender: "Reno has just been up to the Capitol and has heard that Lee has surrendered himself...Hurrah!"
Accompanied by original transmittal cover, addressed to "Miss Lizzie K. Haldeman," stamped with multiple postmarks on front and back, the first being Harrisburg, July 7, 1863 (additional postmarks include Hamburg, July 28, 1863, and two other indecipherable/incomplete stamps). Wax seal affixed to back.
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Marcus Albert Reno (1834-1889), though he served in numerous battles including Antietam and Cedar Creek during the Civil War, is best known for his role as senior officer under Lieutenant Colonel George Armstrong Custer at the Battle of Little Bighorn in June of 1876. Reno's leadership came under scrutiny due to the battle's unpredictable sequence of events and the ultimate defeat of Custer. Upon spotting warriors outside of Sitting Bull's encampment along the Little Bighorn River on June 25, Custer ordered Reno to attack, perhaps prematurely. En route to engage with the natives, Reno was suddenly met with a growing band of warriors threatening to overtake his men. Amidst the mounting chaos, Reno ordered a retreat toward the high bluffs along the river, losing about a third of his battalion in the process. After unsuccessfully attempting to break free from the battle, and being driven back to defensive positions by another band of warriors, Reno and his remaining troops fought off numerous attacks from an entrenchment on the bluffs until they were rescued by General Alfred Terry and Colonel John Gibbons on June 27. In the meantime, Custer and his forces were facing utter annihilation, culminating in what is known as Custer's Last Stand. After the battle, public opinion turned on Reno, with many claiming that this crushing defeat for the United States could not have happened without serious blunders and poor leadership on his part. In 1879, however, a military court of inquiry cleared Reno of any charges of cowardice related to the battle. Though he remained a controversial figure in history, Reno was reburied with honors in the Custer National Cemetery on the Little Bighorn battlefield in 1967.
Text of letter is very faint, but readable, and cross-hatched on most pages. Some discoloration, soiling, and creasing to all pages, with paper loss at center, affecting four pages of text, and brittleness at right edge of last page. Cover is heavily worn, with rips and tears at top, and complete separation along top edge.Condition
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