HILL, Henry H. (1837-1876; Confederate Civil War soldier,...

Daily life in the army and concerns for the home front during the CivilWar as recorded in an archive of 90 autograph letters from the field,virtually all to his wife in Colleton District, South Carolina, allsigned, 26 November 1861 to 13 February 1865; accompanied by 10 otheritems, a pre-war letter from Hill to his wife, several manuscriptdocuments relating to Hill's position in his church after the war, severalreceipts, etc.

Hill, owner of a farm in the Colleton District, South Carolina, between Charleston and Savannah, was mustered into service in Captain Wheeler Smith's Company, 1st South Carolina Mounted Militia, on 12 November 1861 and was discharged with the rest of the company on 31 January 1862. He enlisted for Confederate service on 12 March 1862, joining Company C, 17th Battalion South Carolina Cavalry; this company, still commanded by Smith, became Company C, 5th South Carolina Cavalry on 18 January 1863, and was variously stationed at Green Pond, James Island, and Charleston, South Carolina, until April 1864 when the regiment was sent to Virginia. During 1864, it participated in numerous engagements around Richmond and Petersburg, including the Battle of Trevilian Station in June 1864, the largest all-cavalry battle of the war. The regiment returned to South Carolina, with Wade Hampton, in January 1865, thereafter retreating across the Carolinas in the face of Sherman's army, before surrendering with Johnston at Durham Station, North Carolina, 27 April 1865. Hill's letters to his wife, almost all expressing concern for her well-being and that of their children, emphasize his worries over the state of his farm and various debts, offer instructions on specific activities related to their crops, describe his unit's various bivouac areas, fortifications, and plans for movements, provide news of camp life and of other soldiers from their neighborhood, specific descriptions of battle and other war activities, and rumor and innuendo from other areas of political and military actions, all framed within an earnest, religious prose. Samples from the letters include: "The Yankeys landed at Pocataligo Wednesday and gave our men a small fite but we whopped them off … 40 of them dead on the field which our solider stripped stark naked … they had about 5000 strong and Col. Walker only had 800 men … we lost 12 artillery horses" (24 October 1862). "Don't listen to anything you hear about giving up this part of the country. It is all lies." (Camp Jeffords, 29 October 1862). "I will write to Ben Stokes and get him to get some sort of negro to stay with you" (Camp Morgan, 17 April 1863). "I went out today to see a man shot which was a terrible scene, It was witnessed by 2 or 3 thousand soldiers and lots of spectators to look on. He was shot for joining companies and running off and going into other companies as a substitute. He was marched around the square with 2 bands playing . Then the priest prayed with him. Then he knelt down on his coffin and was shot dead. Six bullets put though him" (Camp Charleston, 19 May 1863). "We took 15 negra soldiers, some of them with sergeant stripes on. There is a good many of that kind among the Yankeys on this island now … Capt. Edwards got in contact with a negro soldier. The negro shot at Lt. Danelen and missed him. Edwards charged the negro on his horse. Edwards chopped at hime with his sword. The negro defended the licks off by he hit him one lick with the sweord and dropped him down. Edwards went to stick him with the sword bu the negro caught the blade and pushed it off … the negro got up and put his bayonet on his gun and made at the Capt. The Capt. Shot him with five balls before he killed him. That sassy rascal would not surrender until he was killed" (James Island, 17 July 1863). "It is reported by the Yankey prisoners that Grant is dead. If it is so we will rest awhile. General Early is shelling Washington, they say … I rode my horse 65 days steady and sometimes all night, and sometimes 48 hours without a mouthful of anything to eat at all … I sent a Sharps rifle by Mr. Thomason … it is a Yankey gun. I killed the man and I want to keep his gun in memory of him" (19 July 1864). "We have had 2 or 3 pretty hard fights in the last 5 days. We lost one man in our company, Capt. Marvin, and several out of the 5th. We captured some 5000 prisoners, 16 pieces of cannon, and about 514 horse wagon loads of small arms. We will lose a great many more men before we get the railroad clear" (Stony Creek, Virginia, 28 August 1864). "My dear, you will be in the lines of the enemy. Do the best that you can … you must hide the meat out in some close place when you hear of them coming. Don't be scared at all and beg like a good fellow. You better hide the Yankey rifle out some where or in the loft. You must burn my letters or bury them. The Yanks might treat you worse by having them … this may be the last letter you will get for some time" (Camp Columbia, 13 February 1865). Large groups of letters following the four year course of the war turn up from time to time, but nearly always from the pen of an officer. Dornbusch does not list any printed work on the 5th South Carolina Cavalry and these letters are unpublished, so far as we have been able to ascertain. An extensive first-hand view of life in wartime by a soldier in the ranks, worthy of publication. Folio, 4to and 8vo, 204 pages, approximately 25,000 words. Folded for mailing, some browning to paper (especially from the later years of the war), several letter with faded ink. Excellent view of the course of the war from the standpoint of a private soldier in the Confederate cavalry. Quite legible. For the archive of 100 items, including 90 letters from the field,

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• bookseller: Bartleby's Books (USA)