Private Edwin J. Leach, 1st Rhode Island Light Artillery, Battery C, Civil War Archive

Lot 106

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American History Auction by Cowan's Auctions

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American History Auction

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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 Cowan's Auctions dawnie@cowans.com

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Lot Description

Lot of 31.

Private Edwin J. Leach deeply cared for his family. In his letters he often inquired about the health of his mother, sister, and her children. After receiving a pay check he wrote to his sister, I want you to take that money and sine Leander and Sara to school and clothe them well becose I know that thay haft to work hard (Camp Oin(?) Hawls Hill, October 30, 1861). He wanted so badly for his niece and nephew to go to school and to learn everything they could. Of course, his sister was also very concerned about his safety. Curious about his experience, she asked her brother what happened to his friends and if he was afraid. He wrote back to her, You wanted to know whether any of the boys got hurt that I know, yes…Owen Knight was hit by a piece of shell…some of the boys is lousy and I pick some off me. …You wanted to know if I was frighten much I was at first but when I got at it I didn care fore all of the bullets the rebel hat got (Camp near Harrison Landing, July 20, 1862). He also answered his mother’s questions about if he had been wounded and if the army would send his body if he perished. If I get herd that they will sent me home but if I get kild they wont sent me because they can’t tent to the wounded fast enough, wrote Leach (Camp near Harrison Landing, July 20, 1862).

Leach’s sister and mother had a right to be concerned. His regiment, the 1^st Rhode Island Light Artillery, Battery C, experienced some of the hardest fighting in the war and was frequently under fire. The regiment saw action at Bull Run, the Siege of Yorktown, Malvern Hill, Antietam, Fredericksburg, Gettysburg, the Battle of the Wilderness, Spotsylvania, and Petersburg. Leach witnessed gunboats continuously pouring in, carrying guns and ammunition to keep up with his regiment's demands. Constant action also led him to believe he needed more than a rifle to protect himself. I am goin to by me a revolver, he wrote, when we git part off we expect to be in a fight in a few days and I thought that I would need one we cant tell our soldier from the secesh one might come up to me and draw up and shot me (Camp Owen, Miner’s Hill, January 8. 1862). He described how he and his regiment were on the move all the time and, for a time, moved every day (Camp near Harrison Landing, July 13). At Fairfax, he prepared for a fight. He wrote to his sister, The rebels have returned from farfax we to expect a fight every day we found wooden guns [all the way] to Fairfax…I have seen some of the rebels this morning…we have been out to Manassas and we come back incamp. We thought that [there] was goin to have a big fight when we come out here but we never seen a rebel. We can see where the rebels was in camp (Fairfax, Camp Jackett, March 12, 1862).

Leach transferred out of his regiment on December 23, 1864. Although no additional documentation accompanies the lot, research suggests that he transferred into the Signal Corps. HDS references a Private Edwin Leach who entered into the Signal Corps, but no further information is available.
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