2 Civil War Prisoner Letters-102nd Ohio Vols, Anders (11/02/2011)...

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2 Civil War Prisoner Letters-102nd Ohio Vols, Andersonville, Sultana Explosion

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2 Civil War Prisoner Letters-102nd Ohio Vols, Andersonville, Sultana Explosion

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Sold Date: 11/02/2011
Channel: Online Auction
Source: eBay
Category: Stamps

Description of the 2 covers: These are from a father looking for his son Delos Shaw( a union soldier(private) in the 102 nd Regiment Ohio Volunteer Infantry, Company E). He has tried contacting soldiers parents of soldiers to get information about the status of his son. As he later found out, he was released from Andersonville and was killed on the boat returning home( A boiler exploded and more than 1700 of the estimated 2400 prisoners on the Sultana lost their lives).

1) The first cover has a #65 tied by a Cleveland, Ohio postmark dated May 7, 1864. The letter is from L. Dow Cottrell to the father of Delos Shaw. He says that his son is in the 103 rd Ohio Volunteers and was just was released from prison in Richmond, where he was a prisoner for 3 months. He had a companion named Delos Shaw. He was on Bell Island, was very badly treated and got ill. He was then released to the General Hospital. After that, he saw no more of his comrade Delos Shaw. He thinks Delos Shaw was most likely sent to Georgia.

2) The second cover has a #65 Danville, Kentucky postmark dated July 21, 1863 and a circular grid. The letter is very hard to read. He is writing to his parents. The letter describes his location as 14 miles north of Knoxville. He says that he is in pain and that they are raged and thirsty and have had a very hard time since his last letter. He talks about sending $40.00 to the state, and he is sending a receipt so that his father can go to the county treasurer. This may be payment of a death settlement.

Delos Shaw History

Delos Shaw was a union soldier(private) in the 102 nd Regiment Ohio Volunteer Infantry, Company E. He began his service on July 22, 1862. His regiment moved by railroad to Covington, Kentucky, Sept. 4, 1862, and was engaged in the defense of that city against General Kirby Smith. After about 2 weeks of duty, it was sent to Louisville, Kentucky, and participated in the defense of that city against General Bragg, and joined in the pursuit of his army, October 5, 1862.

His regiment started for Nashville, September 21, 1863, where it remained about 6 months. On April 18, 1864, he was captured at Dandridge, Tennessee and sent to Andersonville prison in southern Georgia, where he endured all of the horrors there and survived. On April 18, 1865, he and other prisoners were paroled and released from Andersonville and were exchanged for confederate prisoners. He was then sent to Vicksburg for transportation northward. He keenly enjoyed the anticipation of seeing home.

The prisoners were loaded on the ill fated steamer Sultana at Vicksburg. On April 27, 1865 on its voyage up the Mississippi River, when 8 miles above Memphis, Tennessee, a boiler exploded and as near as can be ascertained, more than 1700 of the estimated 2400 passengers of the Sultana lost their lives. The wreck of the steamer Sultana remains the greatest maritime disaster in U.S. history, with a death toll that exceeds the Titanic 's. He died at the age of 20 and was buried in his hometown of Auburn, Ohio.

History of the 102 nd Regiment Ohio Volunteer Infantry

The Regiment was organized at Mansfield, Ohio, in August and September of 1862, to serve 3 years. It moved by railroad to Covington, Kentucky, Sept. 4, 1862, and was engaged in the defense of that city against General Kirby Smith. After about 2 weeks of duty, it was sent to Louisville, Kentucky, and participated in the defense of that city against General Bragg, and joined in the pursuit of his army, October 5, 1862.

The regiment started for Nashville, September 21, 1863, where it remained about 6 months. On April 26, 1864, the regiment was transferred to Tullahoma, Tennessee, where it guarded the railroad from Normandy to Decherd until June 6, 1864. The regiment then moved across the Cumberland Mountains to Bellefonte, Alabama, arriving on June 10 th . The regiment continued its march to Dodsonville, where it was employee on the defense of the line of the Tennessee River from Stevenson to the foot of Seven Mile Island, a...