Iowa 33rd Infantry Private Writes Of Battle Of Helena, Punishing A Sympathizer

Description: NICHOLAS BELVEAL was 22 when he enlisted as a Private on August 13, 1862 and was mustered into F Co. of the Iowa 33rd Infantry. He was mustered out on July 17, 1865. 3 pp, 5 x 8, ALS to his wife Mary, from Helena, Ark., July 12th, 1863, writing about the Battle Of Helena, punishing a Confederate sympathizer, celebrating the fall of Vicksburg and Gen. Prentis. “...Times is all quiet here now...News from all points is very favorable and the general opinion is that this trouble will soon come to a focus. So I hope it will for I want to see you...I expect you have heard all the news that the rebs is getting just what they deserve. I believe I told you that we fought 10,000 while we had 4,000 but Gen. Prentiss says there was 15,000 while we only had 3,500 in the fight. In the time of the fight, there was a sympathizer in town. Let a little of it out and one of our men knocked him to with his fist and then he thought that was not enough and he turned his gun and knocked him in the head with it and he fell on the edge of the pavement and broke his leg and he is about to die but I’m afraid he won’t... “Our man then went and told Gen. Prentiss what he had done and Prentiss told him that if he hadn’t served him so, he would have had him put under arrest...Oh yes, I must tell you that we had the pleasure of celebrating the downfall of Vicksburg on the 8th in which several speeches were made. The speakers were Gen. Prentiss, Gen. Salomon, Col. Rice, Col Benton and others. The meeting was enthusiastic and they all seem to think that this trouble was about over. Write and tell me how the Copperheads take things in general...” Belveal mentions Gen. Benjamin Prentiss, who led the troops of the 33rd in the Battle of Helena. Even though Prentiss was known to have made some major mistakes in his leadership. Ulysses S. Grant said of him that “No man in the service was more sincere in his devotion to the cause...none was more ready to make sacrifices or risk life in it.” The 33rd Regiment, Iowa Infantry was involved in numerous battles including attacking Helena, July 4, 1863, in an attempt to relieve pressure on Vicksburg. This resulted in Helena becoming an important Union enclave in the Trans-Mississippi theater and serving as a base for the expedition that captured Little Rock. The regiment was also engaged in the Battle of Jenkins’ Ferry (April 30, 1864). The battle ended with a Union victory, but the Confederates saw it as a strategic success as they claimed to have prevented Frederick Steele from holding southwest Arkansas. Jenkins’ Ferry was a decisive engagement of the Camden Expedition. As a result of the battle, Union forces could complete a retreat from a precarious position at Camden. Vicksburg was highly significant as it weakened the Confederacy by splitting it in half and isolating the Southern states of Louisiana, Texas and Arkansas. Folds, toning. Everything we sell is guaranteed authentic forever to the original buyer. We also offer a 30-day return policy. If you discover a problem or are dissatisfied with an item, please contact us immediately. Our goal is to please every customer. We are pleased to be members of The Manuscript Society, Universal Autograph Collectors Club, The Ephemera Society, the Southern New England Antiquarian Booksellers and the Preferred Autograph Dealers and Auction Houses. [CW 310]

Price: 295 USD

Location: Boston, Massachusetts

End Time: 2024-10-06T18:31:22.000Z

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