November 7-8, 2018 Edged Weapons, Armor, & Militaria
This lot is closed for bidding. Bidding ended on 11/7/2018
On 12 April 1862, 22 Union volunteers under James J. Andrews seized The General, a tender and three boxcars at Big Shanty (now Kennesaw, Georgia) and raced toward Chattanooga on the Western & Atlantic Railroad in an effort to burn bridges, destroy track, and otherwise render unusable a vital supply artery to the Confederacy. They had covered 87 miles when The General was overtaken by Confederate pursuers, culminating what is now known as the Great Locomotive Chase or the Andrews Raid. Of the Raiders, six volunteer soldiers and one civilian from Ohio, plus Kentuckian Andrews, were executed by hanging at Atlanta. In 1866, the remains of the seven Ohioans were exhumed and reinterred at the Soldiers' (future National) Cemetery at Chattanooga (Andrews' remains were later reinterred with them in 1887 under a monument surmounted by a sculpture of The General). The first awards of the Congressional Medal of Honor were made in 1863 to members of the Andrews Raiders.
This extremely rare and important grouping relating to the Andrews Raid consists of two postwar, cabinet prints autographed by William J. Knight of the 21st Ohio, who served as engineer of The General ( one being a portrait of Knight wearing his Medal of Honor and the other being an inscribed image of locomotive); four autographed calling cards of surviving Raiders (W.W. Brown, D.A, Dorsey, W. Bensinger, and J. R. Porter--All MOH recipients), and an incredibly detailed and poignant ALS written to Governor Jacob D. Cox of Ohio, dated Chattanooga, Tennessee, 12 May 1866, 4 pp., quarto, describing the exhumation of the seven executed Ohioans:
"....I proceeded to Atlanta, found the graves, disinter[r]ed the remains and have deposited them in the Cave, in the Soldiers Cemetary [sic]at Chattanooga. If the survivors of that heroic band will give me a description of each one Executed, I think that I will be able to place the right name on each head board, as I took careful notes of the hight [sic] & Dress of Six of them. Each Coffin is numbered from 1 to 7. The body in No one was a large man had on Army Shoes, Bl[ac]k Satin vest & neck tie. No. two, had on Gaiter boots. All the others had on Cavalry boots. On the bosom of No. four was a bre[a]st pin, with a ladies likeness, and in the vest pockett a gold ring....A Gentleman who said that he was a witness to the hanging, informed me that they were all hung at once, & on one pole, that, two of the ropes broke and let the men down, & that they then had to wait until their comrades were dead, when ropes were taken from their necks & put on to those who fell and that while the sufferers were thus waiting they asked, and recd. a drink of water. I was informed that a Capt Barnes was entrusted with the Execution of the Death Warrant, and that he was Killed in battle a few days before Genl. Lee's surrender...." An incredibly rare and unusual grouping relating to MOH recipients of the raid that inspire at least two feature Hollywood films and numerous books and articles.
From the Walter O'Connor collection.
Item Dimensions: 17" x 13 - 1/4".