Bidspirit auction | A CIVIL WAR HOMEFRONT LETTER

A CIVIL WAR HOMEFRONT LETTER WITH PHOTOGRAPHS, MAY 1862, JACKSON COUNTY GEORGIA - A letter from Jackson County, Georgia in the midst of the Civil War, containing communication between women of the area primarily concerning news about which men have gone away to war, where they have gone, and which men have died while away. Among those mentioned is a man named Hiram has gone away to war, likely Hiram Parks Bell. Hiram Bell was a commanding officer of the 43rd Georgia Infantry Regiment during the war, along with Skidmore Harris who is also mentioned in this document. Hiram Bell was a prominent lawyer from the area who had been elected a member of the Georgia Senate just the year before. He resigned in order to join the 43rd as a Captain, and later was made Colonel. He then became a Confederate Congressman again from 1864-1865, then when the Confederacy was destroyed he became an anti-civil rights activist, and then later became a U.S. Congressman for Georgia from 1877-1879. His memoirs are filled with white supremacist rhetoric and praise for the KKK, an organization which he was likely to be a member of, describing himself as one of the ”able and patriotic” white Georgian men who ”established a Constitution that secured white over black domination.” Along with this interesting character, and others like him, there are mentions of goings on at home, with the women mentioning events in their lives and the status of various children, as well as certain deaths within the community. Included with the letter is an old tintype photograph of the author of this letter, Nancy Cheely, along with a cutout from an old newspaper of her brother W. Roy Finch, and some genealogical notes. Please make all inquiries before bidding. All lots are sold ”as-is”, refer to our T&C. Helios Auctions does not ship in-house. A list of recommended shippers will be provided. Dimensions: 12 x 7 1/2 in., (30.5 x 19.1 cm.) Condition: Good overall with some minor losses to paper at folds. All text readable. Photograph with a slight crease and tiny spot, very good condition for its age.