AUTOGRAPH LETTER SIGNED, 7 AUGUST 1882, TO GEORGE BLISS, REGARDING THE BATTLE OF GETTYSBURG.
Mendham, Morris County N.J. August 7, 1882. Single leaf, folded to [4] pp. First two pages with Doubleday's letter and signature in ink manuscript. Page [3] is blank. Docketed on page [4], "Major General Abner Doubleday U.S. Army." Very Good, with old folds.
A career military officer, Doubleday was a West Point graduate who fought in the Mexican War and, during the Civil War, at Second Manassas, Antietam, Fredericksburg, and Gettysburg. He wrote at length on the Battle of Gettysburg. The Encyclopedia Britannica says he was "once thought to be the inventor of baseball." Doubleday's correspondent, George Bliss of Providence, led the First Regiment Rhode Island Cavalry at the Battle of Middleburg, "one of the first battles of the Gettysburg Campaign" [online American Battlefield Trust].
Reverend Frederic Denison, Chaplain of the First Regiment Rhode Island Cavalry, had written SABRES AND SPURS: THE FIRST REGIMENT RHODE ISLAND CAVALRY IN THE CIVIL WAR. The book in some respects differed from Doubleday's account. Doubleday writes: "In reference to the criticism by Chaplain Denison you had the kindness to send me, I would like to correct the Roster of the 2d R.I. Infantry. Did Colonel Horatio Rogers command it at Gettysburg? I will substitute your name as leading the advance on the retreat from Middleburg instead of that of Captain Bixbie. The account I gave if I remember rightly was taken in a great measure from reports in The Rebellion Record. I will send you the second edition when it comes out. I would like to purchase the work referred to in the criticism called Sabres and Spurs. If it is for sale in your town, would it be asking too much to have you forward it to me at Morristown N.J.... I hardly know where to look for an account of the charge of the 2d R.I. Infantry at Salem Heights but will try and find the official report of the Colonel if it is published... I consulted General Newton and General Shaler in reference to the operations of the 6th Corps." Item #36819
Price: $2,500.00