Captain Courtland Saunders, 118th Pa., Killed at Shepherdstown-- Part 2

Union Army officer.  Served as captain of Company G of the 118th Pennsylvania Infantry (The Corn Exchange Regiment).  He led his company at the September 20, 1862, Battle of Shepherdstown, a small but bloody engagement that marked the end of the Antietam Campaign

In the battle, his unit was sent to the Potomac River to engage retreating Confederates whose rear guard took up defensive positions to guard fords across the river near Shepherdstown, Virginia (it was not yet in the state of West Virginia).

Facing a determined enemy who outnumbered them and had advantages in terrain, the Union troops across the river were ordered to fall back.  The 118th's commander, Colonel Charles Provost, objected to the way his retreat orders were received and refused to fall back and ordered an attack.

He was then struck down by a bullet and the 118th was forced back to the river and across it in confusion with many casualties. Of 737 men in the regiment at the beginning, their first combat after having been formed just a month prior, 60 men and three officers were killed.

One of those killed was Captain Courtland Saunders.

--Old Secesh

Captain Courtland Saunders, 118th Pennsylvania, Also Killed at Shepherdstown

From Find-A-Grave.

CAPTAIN COURTLAND SAUNDERS

BIRTH:  1840

DEATH:  20 September 1862 (aged 21-22)  Battle of Shepherdstown

BURIAL: Woodlands Cemetery, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

--Old Secesh

A Letter About the Loss of 118th Regiment Officers at the Battle of Shepherdstown

From SparedShared13.Wordpress. "1862-1863:  Edward Everette Coxe to family.

Camp Addicks

Near Tennallytown

October 3, 1862

Dear Bob,

The loss of Capt. [Joseph W.] Ricketts is a severe one both to his family and his friends --  particularly to his company of which he was a faithful member.  Lt. McKeen is a gentleman & I hope his wounds will soon heal & enable [him] to be fit for duty.  I was scarcely acquainted with [Lt.] J. Mora  Moss or J. Rudhall White.

"Capt. Ricketts I consider never acted in a straight forward, honest manner to me or else I would have been in his company when the regiment was formed, or I would have gone with him.  Had I gone, maybe today I would have been among the killed or wounded and perhaps  it was well I did not go at that time or with the regiment.

"I consider the order sending them into the fight so little prepared as they were as one of the most fatal blunders of the war & hope  the same thing will never happen to us."

--Old Secesh

Recruitment Poster for Co. K, 118th Pennsylvania Infantry-- Part 2: Monetary Incentives

Then followed a long lost of monetary incentives.

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$2, Government Premium when Recruit is Mustered in.

$10, Corn Exchange Bounty, when sent to Camp.

$25, City Bounty, when the Company is full.

$25, City Bounty, when the Regiment is formed.

$13, One Month's Pay  in advance.  And

$25,  One-fourth of Government Bounty.

Total, $100  before leaving the City.

$75,  Remainder of Government Bounty, when Mustered Out of service.

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Pretty good work and pay if you can get it.

"Jine" the 118th, Co. K.  Make Some Bucks!!  --Old Secesh

Recruitment Poster of Co. K, 118th Pennsylvania Infantry Regiment-- Part 1

From the September 15, 2021 Laurel Hill Cemetery Blog "A Philadelphia Regiment's September baptism of fire" by Russell Dodge.

They have a copy of a poster calling for men to sign up for Company K of the regiment:

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"$162 BOUNTY

STEADY, ABLE-BODIED MEN WANTED

FOR CO. K., 

CORN EXCHANGE REGIMENT,

At 241  Race Street.

First Lieut.  W.M. McKeen

Second Lieut.  J. Mora Moss

Captain JOS. W. RICKETTS"

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These officers were all killed or wounded at the Battle of Shepherdstown.

Then it went into the financial benefits of joining which I will cover in my next post.

--Old Secesh

Civil War Auction Honors Abraham Lincoln-- Part 4: The President's Pocket Knife

At the 1864 Sanitary Fair in Philadelphia a gentleman presented Abraham Lincoln with a beautiful pocket knife with engravings on the blade.  This knife will be up for auction and will come with a letter from Lincoln thanking the man who presented him with it.

"So when you hold this knife in your hand, you're holding something that our 16th president held at one time," Curtis Linder if the auction house said.  "When someone buys something like this, it may not be seen for another 50 years.  You may never know."

Linder explained that some buyers may pass their collections on to their children and hey van get passed along from generation to generation without any public viewing.

Others may set up a private display for their local area.

"When someone wins something from our office, they take possession of it and then some people donate things to museums and other institutions while other people build their own museums," Linder explained.  "Mist people put it in their collection and they put it in a safety deposit box or they frame it and put it on the wall and they enjoy it that way."

--Old Secesh

Civil War Auction Honors Lincoln's Birthday-- Part 3: A Lincoln Letter of the Army of the Potomac and a Sanitary Fair

The auction house also has a letter written by Abraham Lincoln to the Army of the Potomac, the Union army operating in Virginia and protecting Washington, D.C..  It was written after the Battle of Fredericksburg which resulted in a huge defeat for the North.

The Army of the Potomac suffered twice the casualties as the Confederates.  Lincoln wrote to the army that they were still a great army and the country is proud of you.  This was an attempt to build up their morale.

Heritage Auctions says this was one of the most important letters Lincoln wrote.

Another collectible being offered is from the United States Sanitary Commission, an agency that aided families of soldiers who died or were wounded.  The group supported those families by providing finances, food and boarding.

Between 1863 and 1865, an event called the Sanitary Fair  would take place in larger cities like New York, Chicago and Boston to raise those funds.

In 1864, Lincoln attended the Sanitary Fair in Philadelphia.

What Did He Get There?  --Old Secesh

Civil War Auction Honors Lincoln's Birthday-- Part 2: An Original Copy of the 13th Amendment

"People can bid interactively on our website,"  said Curtis Linder, a director of Americana at Heritage in Dallas and an expert on collecting areas in Americana, political memorabilia and the Civil War.

On February 12, Lincoln's birthday, bidders can also attend the auction in person in Dallas, or dial by phone.  The auction itself will be online only on February 13.  Both events start at 11 am.

Linder highlighted some of the Civil War-era artifacts that will be up for auction.

Among them is the original 13th Amendment to the United States Constitution signed by more than 109 members of Congress.  The one-page document is on parchment in the manuscript with a ruled border marked "Duplicate" at then heading, according to a description on the website.

Some of the text and signatures are hard to read as the vellum used for the documents absorbed the ink.  Four faint senators' signatures, including Charles Sumner and John P. Hale, are written in the left margin.

--Old Secesh

Civil War Auction Honors Lincoln's Birthday-- Part 1

From the February 1, 2022, Chicago Tribune "Civil War display honors Black History Month, Lincoln's birthday" by Tatyana Turner.

Chicagoans have a chance to see the original 13th Amendment (abolishing slavery) and other Civil War-era artifacts at Heritage Auctions Chicago, 222 W. Hubbard Street.

In honor of this being Black History Month and Abraham Lincoln's birthday, Heritage Auctions, a multinational auction house, will have some of the rarest artifacts of that era on display before they head to Heritage's Dallas headquarters for bidding at auction.

The Chicago preview will include vaulted lots of 350 vaulted lots from the Lincoln era.

Those who want to take a chance at owning a copy of the original 13th Amendment or other collectibles such as letters written by Abraham Lincoln and an engraved pocket knife he once owned will have the opportunity to do so.

--Old Secesh

Lincoln Stuff at Auction

From the January 30, 2022, Chicago Tribune advertisement of Heritage Auctions.

Americana & Political Auction:  February 12-13, 2022

**  Handwritten letter from Abraham Lincoln to the Army of the Potomac after the Union disaster at the Battle of Fredericksburg.

Opening bid: $250,000.

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**  Abraham Lincoln:  His personal example of his iconic portrait bust by Leonard Volk, presented to him by the sculptor himself.

Opening bid:  $100,000.

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**  Abraham Lincoln Assassination John Wilkes Booth:  $100,000 Reward Poster issued by the U.S. War Department, April 20, 1865.

Opening bid:  $40,000.

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**  Abraham Lincoln:  Exquisite Pocket Knife Presented to the President at the 1864 Philadelphia Sanitary Fair.

Opening bid:  $120,000.

Get Yer Lincoln Stuff Here.  --Old Secesh

Officers of Co. K, 118th Pennsylvania Infantry at Battle of Shepherdstown

From Steve's Civil War PHP page.

RICKETTS, JOSEPH W.--  Captain --  Killed at Shepherdstown, W. Va. on September 20, 1862.

CROCKER, LEMUEL L.--  Captain--  Promoted from 1st Lt. of Company C on September 20, 1862.  Resigned on February 26, 1864.  (I wrote about his brave river crossings to save his comrades last month.)

M'KEAN, WILLIAM N.--  1st Lieutenant--    Wounded at Shepherdstown, W. Va. on September 20, 1862.  Discharged on March 25, 1863.  (Also spelled McKeen which is most likely the correct spelling.)

MOSS JR., J. MORA--  2nd Lieutenant--  Killed at Shepherdstown, W. Va.  September 20, 1862.

WILSON, JAMES B.--  2nd Lieutenant--  Promoted from 1st sergeant Co. A on October 22, 1862 to 1st Lieutenant  Co. B on January 12, 1863.

So, Co. K had its captain and 2nd lieutenant killed and 1st lieutenant seriously wounded at the Battle of Shepherdstown.

--Old Secesh

Capt. Joseph Wattson Ricketts

From Find a Grave.

BORN:  16 January 1836   Baltimore, Maryland

DEATH:  20 September 1862  Shepherdstown, West Virginia

BURIED:  Woodlands Cemetery, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Civil War Union Army officer.  He served during the Civil War as commander of Company K, 118th Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry, being mustered in on August 21, 1862.

A month later he was killed at the Battle of Sherpherdstown Ford, (West) Virginia.

--Old Secesh

Joseph Ricketts and 1st Lt. William M. McKeen

"Joseph Ricketts was a strong man.    His energies were untiring, his sense of duty supreme.  He had had a military training; he was skillful as a tactician.  What he knew, he knew thoroughly.  He had fully  grasped the principles of his teachings and was apt and ready in their application.

"His generous sympathy was evidenced  by his readiness to relieve the suffering of horses, and his heroic death attested  his eminent courage.  Fitted for an advancement which the casualties of war would soon have brought him, he was destined thus early in his career for the most honorable of all soldier's epitaphs:

"killed in action."

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"First Lieutenant William M. McKeen was about this time  in the action also most seriously wounded.  A shot passed through his body involving a vital organ.  His life was for a long time despaired of.

"He recovered subsequently, however, to again take a prominent place in the business community."

--Old Secesh

Three Other 118th Pa. Officers Killed at Shepherdstown: Captains Ricketts and Saunders and Lt. Moss

From the "History of the 118th Pennsylvania Volunteers:  Corn Exchange Regiment."

Right as Lt. Col. Gwynn took command of the regiment after the wounding of Prevost,  Captain Courtland Saunders was killed by a musket ball through the head.    Lieutenant  J. Mora Moss was killed by a bullet through the heart.  The regiment was under heavy fire at the time.

Captain Joseph Wattson Ricketts also fell while in the act of firing his pistol.  Staggering forward, he was saved from falling by  Private William L. Gabe, who started to escort him to the rear.  "Leave me, Gabe," ordered the captain, "and save yourself."

But Gabe refused and continued until both were shot together and went down.  Gabe was wounded and the captain killed by these shots.  As they fell, Captain Ricketts gasped, "My God!  I am shot by my own men."

"Not so," said Gabe, "but by the 'rebs,'  who are right on top of us."

And then, the Confederate line swept over them.  The enemy's stragglers stooped over the body of Ricketts and against the  protest of the wounded Gabe proceeded to rifle the pockets of the captain.  They took his watch, diary, money and everything, including his sword and stole his coat, vest and boots.

--Old Secesh

Civil War Events in February-- Part 1: The Confederate States of America Formed

From the American Battlefield Trust.

FEBRUARY 4, 1861

**  The seceded states meet in Montgomery, Alabama, to form a government.

FEBRUARY 5, 1861

**  The Battle of Hatcher's Run, Virginia, begins.

FEBRUARY 8, 1861

**  The Confederate States of America adopts a provisional constitution.

FEBRUARY 9, 1861

**   Jefferson Davis elected provisional Confederate President.

FEBRUARY 15, 1861

**  The Provisional Confederate Congress establishes a Peace Commission to avoid war with the United States.

--Old Secesh