[Virginiana: Two Letters taken as Civil War Trophies after the Evacuations of Yorktown and Gloucester Point, Virginia in May 1862].


Two letters taken as Civil War trophies by A.H. Mershon after the evacuations of Yorktown and Gloucester Point, just opposite on the York River, on May 5, 1862. Mershon—likely a Union soldier—would have picked up the pair as souvenirs of the chaos of war, a relic of his Confederate adversaries.

Written 1842 and 1844, both items concerned routine matters and were addressed to Samuel Sheild Esq., Clerk of the York County Court and Commissioner in Chancery. One was written by Miles M. Smelt, a Virginia lawyer whose name is found in the Richmond Enquirer.

Mershon documented his booty by adding his own docketing, signature, and date to each: “Taken at Yorktown after the Evacuation…” and “Taken at Gloucester Point after the Evacuation…”

An Albert H. Mershon served in Company A of the Thirty-second regiment of Pennsylvania Militia (Gray Reserves). A study of this regiment’s history may properly connect Mershon’s exact whereabouts when he took his prizes.


Description: [Virginiana: Two Letters taken as Civil War Trophies after the Evacuations of Yorktown and Gloucester Point, Virginia in May 1862].

[Warwick County (Virginia), July 13, 1842 and London Bridge, Princess Anne Co. (Virginia), September 2, 1844]. [1]p and [1]p. Two ALsS. 4tos. Bifoliums with integral address leaves. Both are docketed and dated May 5, 1862. Folds; some toning or faint staining; Very Good.

[3729723]

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