Beschreibung:

Lot of 12 letters from Raleigh Colston Thomas to his mother Mrs. John Hanson (Annie) Thomas, with many letters accompanied by stamped envelopes. 1863-1864. Raleigh Colston Thomas (1844-1886) was a member of a very important Baltimore, MD family (His father, Dr. John Hanson Thomas was a member of the Maryland legislature. Dr. Thomas was arrested on September 12, 1861 and imprisoned in Fort McHenry for his secessionist views.) During his service, Thomas was an Aid to General Lunsford Lomax. His letters chronicle camp life, visits with many prominent family members and friends, as well as events of the war. The young Thomas apparently enlisted in the CSA Maryland 1st Cavalry, Company C on an unspecified date. That unit was consolidated into the Maryland 2nd Cavalry in June 1864. The Maryland 2nd Cavalry conducted mainly guerrilla-operations against Union wagon trains, railroads, telegraph lines, depots, bridges and encampments. It skirmished regularly with Union General Phillip Sheridan. An interesting side note is that since Maryland remained in the Union and Lt. Thomas was often fighting in Virginia, the letters had to be delivered under “flag of truce.” The envelopes are so marked and bear postmarks of the crossover locations. Some highlights from the archive include: December 29, 1863, Lt. Thomas wrote to his mother from Lynchburg, VA, shortly after Christmas. The war and the times had not been good to friends and family:…I received Mr. Johnsons’s message…cousin Raleigh died a few days ago from his wound. His betrothed Miss Harvey was with him…Poor Arthur Robinson is also no more, he died in Richmond from the wound he received in Fredericksburg…Yates Downman…died a week or so ago also Mrs. Rooney Lee died two or three days ago. May 25, 186[4?], Thomas reported: I am in Richmond staying at Mrs. Miles’… our Bat. had a fight with Mr. Sheridan’s raiders near Beaver Dam last week lost 4 killed and 17 wounded… I have not been in any fighting since the Kilpatrick Raid [Dahlberg Affair] so don’t be uneasy…Tell the Pater families that all things are working well for the Rebs. Grant has been signally defeated & Seigel ditto, Butler ditto, Averill ditto, Sherman ditto… I hope to see you all in old Baltimore this time next year if old Grant doesn’t do better. August 26, 186[4?], Thomas had seen his brother Hanson and told their mother…he expects to…return to “Mississippi” where Gen’l Loring has offered him a position on his staff as Chief Aid”. But bigger news was in store in the next paragraph, I had the overwhelming honors this morning to be introduced to Gen’l R. E. Lee “the general of the age.” He took breakfast with Mr. MacFarland. He asked very kindly after you and Pa. He is a splendid looking man. October 17, 186[4?], Thomas wrote: I was in the fight at Brandy [probably Tom’s Brook] it was the biggest fight of the war, that is cavalry fight…when we were ordered to draw sabres, I got so excited I could scarcely contain myself …I came near being captured…We turned and ran for it …at a distance of 30 feet they fired at us with their carbines & pistols but missed. He goes on to say, whenever you hear of Lomax’s Brigade you may know that our Battalion is with it… October 26, 1864, we get a glimpse into some of the daily displeasures of army life with Thomas telling his mother that he returned, about 10 days ago with the most horrible case of…camp itch [probably scabies] I ever had the pleasure to see or feel but under the influence of arsenic and lye soap … I am [recovered]. November 30, 1864, action was slow as the siege of Petersburg went on. Thomas reported that he was comfortably clad. It appears that the naval blockades had been working as he asked, Did Mrs. Campbell get an ambrotype of Colston through a British subject?...and in a moment of sarcasm requested…Send me a pipe if Mr. Stanton will allow it. Condition: Dates are day and month only for many of the letters. Paper size varies. All letters are written on a single sheet but