ALS, 4pp, 7.25 x 9.5 in.
Rude's near Mt. Jackson, April 12th, 1862. Signed
A.S. Pendleton. To his sister, Nancy, with an added note to his mother.
Alexander Swift "Sandie" Pendleton (1840-1864) was Stonewall Jackson's youngest aide, and the only one Jackson addressed by his first name. It is said that Jackson treated him like a son. Pendleton tells his sister how much he appreciated receiving her letter, since mail delivery was very irregular:
I begin to feel as if the enemy were closing in around us, and actually getting near my own dear home.
Therefore, he is planning to send the letter by way of Wallace, a friend's overseer, since he is also sending his big sorrell horse to Samuel Campbell to recover and fatten up:
I have had to ride him so hard, and been unable to get him attended to, so that he is as poor as a snake. But he is a fine horse and I want him to be gotten in good condition so whenever you see Mr. Campbell ask him about him for me, and tell [him] I say he must take good care of him, for that big, ugly sorrell horse - as he is now - has carried me in many a dangerous place, and I want him to do so again. One reason the horse looks so badly is that my boy Buck has been sick for some time and unable to do anything.... He mentions his horse any number of times, and in the postscript to his mother, he also asks
her to remind Mr. Campbell to take good care of the horse. He apparently had another horse shot at 1st Manassas, and does not seem to want to lose this one.
The main bit of news in this letter is that he has heard that his father, William Nelson Pendleton (1809 - 1883, USMA 1830) has been made a Brigadier General and asks if that has been verified. He tells Nancy that he has written to his father for confirmation. He also chides his sister by telling her she can now be uppity, since she is the daughter of a General!
Most of the war news concerns Shiloh/Pittsburg Landing.
We have been rejoicing for two or three days over the news of a grand victory gained by Beauregard over Buell - but the joy was mingled with sorrow at the fate of Gen. A.S. Johnston - and is now almost changed to mourning at the news of the second day's fight in which our men seem to have been driven from the field. However, we must still trust in God, that he will bring us to victory at last and save us from our enemies. Albert Sidney Johnston led the Confederate force of 40,000 out of the woods to attack Union soldiers at Pittsburg Landing on the Tennessee River, nearly overwhelming Grant's unprepared forces. Grant was saved by reinforcements brought in by Don Carlos Buell.
Unfortunately for the Confederacy, it lost one of its able leaders, Johnston, mortally wounded on the first day. Command fell to P.G.T. Beauregard, who made the controversial decision to delay a second offensive until the next day, allowing the Federals time to recover. With Buell's reinforcements, Grant counterattacked the next day, driving the Confederate forces from the field. The Union army pursued Beauregard to Corinth, where Johnston left about 10,000 men, and a month-long siege of that city ensued.
Shiloh was one of the bloodiest of the war, and
the bloodiest up to this point, with more than 23,000 casualties (combined). Although young Pendleton could not yet have gotten all the information, even Grant would not "celebrate" that "victory." Apparently, however, Pendleton was getting his news from northern sources. The journalists there vilified Grant, claiming he was drunk and Buell had to take over command during the battle. Grant had a hard time shaking this image, which persists even today. Calls for Grant's removal also prompted one of Lincoln's better-known quips: "I can't spare this man; he fights" - as the Confederacy discovered to its dismay over the next couple of years.
Pendleton also notes that,
The Yankees are about 7 miles from us just at Edenburg in Shenandoah County. They have about 15,000 but I don't think they will advance shortly or if they do they will have a hard fight of it.
Most of the remainder is personal, mentioning people who had been married, etc. In the postscript to his mother he notes that he is ...
sadly in want of drawers. Can you get me some of the same sort I got last fall?Unfortunately, Sandie Pendleton, the only son (with five sisters) of General William Pendleton, did not survive the war. He was promoted through the ranks to Lieut. Col. (3-15-1863 est.). He was wounded at Fisher's Hill, Sept. 22, 1864 while trying to rally the troops, and died the following day, just five days short of his 24th birthday.
Condition
Scattered foxing, especially along folds, as expected. Otherwise in very good condition.