Beschreibung:

Lot includes two officers KIA. The first three cartes are officer-casualties, including pencil signed Volney A. Gray over J.S. Hendee. Augusta back mark and two reddish-brown one-cent revenue stamps. Volney Gray joined Co. I, as Corporal 9/61; promoted Sergeant, 2nd Lieut. & 1st Lieut.; WIA 1863, date and place not stated; m/o 7/13/65. Signed in period pencil on verso is Billings Brastow/Captain of I Company, having imprint of Hardy, Bangor, Me. Brastow enlisted as 2nd Lieut. 9/61; promoted 1st Lieut. 10/61; promoted Captain 6/64; KIA Chaffin’s Farm, VA, 9/29/64. Another casualty is pencil signed Capt. R.J. Grey, by T.S. Estabrook, Houlton, ME. Grey was 1st Lieut., Co. G when he joined 9/61; promoted Captain 1862; KIA Chaffin’s Farm, 9/29/64. 2nd Lieut. Ben. Franklin Hill is ink signed on verso over Wilder Bros., Portland imprint. Hill entered service as Corporal 9/61, promoted Sergeant; promoted 2nd Lieut. 10/64; promoted Captain 1/65; m/o 7/13/65. Next is ink signed Captain Chas. A. Brooks by B.F. Smith, Portland. Brooks was commissioned 2nd Lieut. 9/61 in Co. K; promoted 1st Lieut. And Captain; m/o 9/27/64. Pencil signed Lt. John A. Kelley/Co. E joined as Sergeant 9/61; promoted 2nd Lieut.; dismissed from service 3/14/63. A small oval albumen of a civilian on clipped paper is signed Charles F. Weeks. Weeks served in Co. K, ending the war as Captain. 9th Maine Infantry The 9th Maine Infantry was organized at Augusta and mustered in September 22, 1861. It proceeded to Washington and briefly served in the Washington Defenses before joining the expedition to Port Royal, SC, attached to the Department of the South. The 9th Maine participated in a number of minor combined operations resulting in the capture of Forts Walker and Beauregard and later occupied Fernandina, FL. The regiment then shifted to operations at Charleston arriving at Hilton Head in January 1863, assigned to the 10th Corps. The Maine regiment joined in the attack on Morris Island on July 10, 1863, followed by the brutal but unsuccessful assaults on Fort Wagner on July 11 and 18, which cost the 9th Maine 119 casualties. Grueling siege operations then commenced before Forts Wagner and Gregg were finally overwhelmed on September 7, 1863. The rest of the year was relatively quiet as the regiment performed garrison duty and veteranized in February 1864. In April 1864, the 9th Maine joined its parent 10th Corps attached to the Army of the James that formed the southern component of Grant’s Overland Campaign. During intensive operations under Butler during the May-June period, the regiment was heavily engaged at Drewry’s Bluff, Bermuda Hundred, and Cold Harbor, suffering 160 men killed, wounded, and missing. The month of July claimed another 40 casualties mostly in the sustained fighting at Petersburg, Deep Bottom, and Fort Gilmer, including the terrible Mine Explosion on July 30th. The men of the 9th then went into the trenches during the indolent siege and emerged in September to lose heavily at Chaffin’s Farm on the 29th, adding 43 names to the roster of dead and wounded. A month later at Fair Oaks, the 9th Maine fought a major battle in which another 18 became casualties. The tempo slackened somewhat when the regiment was ordered to Fort Fisher and reunited with its brigade in February 1865. The 9th Maine then participated in the capture of Wilmington on February 22nd. Joining with Sherman’s Army, the regiment occupied Goldsboro on March 21st and Raleigh on April 14th. Following the surrender of Johnson’s Army, the 9th Maine remained on occupation duty until mustering out July 13, 1865. The final tally was 182 officers and enlisted men forever inscribed on the Roll of Honor. Provenance: The Tom MacDonald Maine Civil War CDV Collection Condition: All of the CDVs are at least G. with soiling and moderate to heavy edge wear. Volney Gray carte bent in middle. Kelley carte trimmed at top.