This amazing letter was penned by a soldier serving in the 9th Pennsylvania Cavalry 1st Brigade, 3rd Division under General Judson Kilpatrick.    It is signed by S.C.W. and sent to his brother Captain W.W. W.     The letter is  exhaustive in describing all kinds of  battles,  encounters with rebels, Negroes and townspeople as the scour the countryside.   Almost the whole letter is action-packed.  My favorite description is his telling of a formal review by General Sherman of the Calvary "in a magnificent scene . . .  whilst the review was going on the city of Marietta was all in flames all the public & many of the privat building were on fire . . . "  

Well-known figures mentioned are General William Tecumseh Sherman, General Judson Kilpatrick, and Confederate leader General Wheeler and more.    

Locations mentioned are Griswoldville, Waynesboro, Fort McAllister, Atlanta, and Savannah, among others.  

Also mentioned is the writer's reception of the news of President Lincoln's recent reelection.    Here is a full-transcription of the letter:      

 Camp 9th Pa Cav 1st Brig 3d Div Cav
at Kings Bridge Ogeechee river
15 miles South west of Savannah Georgia
6 oclock P.M. December the 17th 1864

Dear Brother
Your letter written about the election was received, here to day, it came via New York, the army received as said about 40 tons of mail matter yesterday from the fleet, two small steam boats, came up the Ogeechee river to kings bridge yesterday with the mail

In order to get up our vessels up the ogeechee river it was necessary to take Fort McAllister which stands on an angle of the river below the Kings Bridge. Gen Kilpat wanted to take it with the Cav, but Gen Sherman ordered the infantry to take it, they stormed it a few days since captured 150 prisoners & 16 guns, among which a few 100 lber pounders I can't learn correctly what our loss was some say we lost 40, killed by torpedoes others say our loss was only a few, at all events it was taken and our communication opened with the fleet our first & most important operation.

On the 13th the Nov, Gen Sherman tore up & burnt the R. Road from Atlanta to Dallas, on that day near Marietta he reviewed the Cav about 7500, it was a magnificent scene. Whilst the review was going on the city of Marietta was all in flames all the Public & many of the privat building were on fire the wind was high & I think enemy caught by accident

On the morning of the 14th the whole army moved South night of the 14th we camped 3 miles S. W. of Atlanta saw many of the earth works & Barricades of the summers campaign near Atlanta they all attest the hard & stubon work our army did before that city, for miles around Atlanta it is nothing but work on work line on line they will remain for years after those who made them are dead & gone & mark the terrible strife for the city of Atlanta I was sorry we did not get to see the city as I was anxious to discover the resting plac of our departed Brother, From Atlanta we march on 15 Jonesboro, on the 16th beyond Flint river we come up to Wheelers Cav or a guard of the reb army, they were behind an earth work with 2 rifled Cannon, the same the rebs captured from Gen Stoneman last summer Kilpat orderd a charge the 54 + 3d Ky Cav & part of our regt, charged & captured the two guns and a few prisoners, our loss was only 1 kill & a few wounded

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on the night of the 19th the we Crossed the Ocmulgyia river on a Pontoon on the 20th we passed through Clinton, 12, miles from Macon, & that evening drove in the rebels with our Artilly into their works in the city of Macon, & after a great racket with them in the night we with drew along the Geo, Centrol R. Road, on the 21st, we arrived at Griswold station burnt a govt work shop Cars, & lots of & burnt R. Road Depot, lots of Pine wood, commisary stores, houses ects. Moved along the R. Road to Bare Creek, Midway Station, Griswold Station & Gordon, on the R. Road, when on the Morning of the 22d, the Rebels came up with us from Macon, they came up with pretty 10, or 15000, Our, regt held the rear & was furiously attacked at Geo R.R. losing 5 killed & 20 wounded, by 10. oclock Pm, a little more than one Brigade, arrived with, 7 shorting of the 15th Corps came up, the Cav then watched the flanks, the Artille, of both sides engaged our Infantry erected Barricades of Pine fence rails, the Battle lasted all day & by the time the sun went down it is said that 300 of the rebels lay dead on the fields. I omitted to say that the rebs in the morning Chaged 4 or 5 times upon us who Charged over the Creek & Could not return again, a few of our Infantry were killed by the reb, Artilly, as our Cannons could not get a favorable position, our loss, (Refeety yes, small) we fought the Geo, militia that it was, a danger, operation to attack the coloring of Shermans Army, on the 23d, we were at Gordon Station, & on the 24th we marched for Milledgeville arrvying there at 10c Pm, The Infantry had proseeded us to the State Capital & burnt the arsenal & scattered the state papers & Book all over the Capital yard, on the 25th they blew up the State Magazine, well stored with gun powder, I am sorry to say that the State Capital was not burnt a building not as far as the Courthouse at Chambersburg, the only thing I noticed in the Capital was about 4 life like likenesses, of general Oliver, og Plethorp, Lafayette, Franklin, Jackson & some of the old Governors of Georgia, From hence we Marched Eastward on Waynesboro, on the night of the 27th Wheeler Came up with us, & picket firing went on all night & at the dawn of day he attacked our Camp but as our men were behind Barricades of rails they were repulsed

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with considerable loss, our artilly, also opened on them, the heroes followed us up all day attacking the 2d Brigade of our Div who, as glen Refused them, our advance would erect rail Barricades for the rear, on the 28th we reached Waynesboro & went into Camp a mile beyond with the reb Cav close on our heels, our advance had present us & burnt a R. Road Bridge & Cut the R. Road at wayb— & Captured & burnt a train of Cars. As soon as we reached Camp, our position was Barricaded with rails all around, it was secret, dark ere Picket firing Commenced, & about 12oc at night the rebels made a furious asselt on our camp but were repulsed our Artillery opening on them again (the rebs had no artilly along) We marched at day light the next morning the (29) erecting Barricades of pine rails as we went the Gen remained with the rear & kept the men Armed, with 7 shorting and one piece of artill to hold them in check the Column moved rapidly forward, while the rebels made a flank movement of a road & for a time Cut off a portion of the Command with the Gen Henry, this news we, counter march but, the rear, repulsed the enemy & Come up to on the Brigade the Command, & soon Came to a Swamp over which was pretty long Bridge Here the rebels pressed forward with great empetuosity & tried to capture part of our rear, the 9th Penna Cav was just about to cross the bridge when it was orderd to Counter march & deploy across the road & behind a church, the Kentucky regiments which bit up the rear were heavily presd I Could see the roads within 1/2 mile full of trotts & the firing was very rapid, at this critical Moment our artillery opened & checked their further advance & our regiment were about to Charge we had a few of the Kentuckians killed & wounded & lost prisoners, the men all over the Bridge our Cannon planted on the other side & the bridge set on fire, we retired a mile & here the advance Brigade had built a good Barricade of rails & we had the horses planted 6 pieces of Cannon and awaited their approach By & By on they come to the attack like a

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pack of wolves when all our guns, opened on them, the artilly for an hour I never heard such a clash of arms before; the artilly threw their shells right, left & front We only had two men wounded, but the rebs were badly cut up, I never heard their loss, but their own accounts, say, they suffered terribly in these attacks, On the morning of the 29th we met our Waagon train at Louisville on the Ogeechee river where we rested our horses & refreshed ourselves, December the 1st we marched again with the Infantry for Waynesboro, on the 1st & 2d we skirmished with the reb cav, on the 3d we Camped within 6 miles of Waynesboro on the Augusta & Miller R. Road the 20 corps commence to destroy the road & the reb Cav, make a night attack with their artilly, on the morning of the 4th the Cav Div, March to attack the reb cav under Wheeler, the fight began at 9oclock Am, the 2d Brigade drive them back from behind their Barricades & they fall back on the town Waynesboro, about 12 oclock the 1st Brigade goes into the fight & our regiment Charged on the left flank when the rebs retired pursued by our men through the town & out the Augusta road, the 2d Brigad took 80 prisners, our regiment had 2 Killed & 7 wounded. The Div had about 40, Wounded & 5 Killed The Rebels, got off their Wounded but left about a dozen of their dead on the field, Wheeler was badly beaten—He told his men that he were demoralizd & were retreating & trying to escape. When we were, retiring we now destroying R Roads & burning up all the Cotton in the Countr, capturing all the horses & mules It had, said at Waynesboro that their soldis, were dismantled & could not fight any more, The Battle of Waynesboro, satisfied them about our demoralization. We had no Infantry but the Waynesboro Gen Sherman in an order thanked & praised the Cavalry for the important service they did & the heroic manner in which they fought & defeated the reb Cav. Until the Infantry came against the rebels before Savannah, the Cav, did all the Fighting except at, bare creek or Griswold

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On the 9th & 10th Dec, we march in the rear of the army, as it advanced on Savannah & heard the Cannonading in front. on the 10th we were with in 4 or 5 miles of the city, on the Railroad, Gen Sherman was near being hit by a 124 Cannon ball, which killed a Negro near by him, Col Jordon was present at the time. The outer earth works of the rebs of which pine logs were Just walked over by our Infantry the trees on each side of the road were Cut by Shell & Cannon shot, on the 11th we (our Cav) marched along the Canal to the ogeechee river, & thence across it on the 12, & proceeded to Midway Church 30 miles from Savannah & along the gulf R. Road, on the 14th lay in Camp at Mid-way Church on the 15th Marched onto Max river which leads into St Catharines Sound, 11 miles from the church, after the tide went out we got as many oysters as we Could eat the men waded in book deep & picked up the oysters with their hands. At Sunbury, the little town on the Midway lay near by is the old fort Jackson of Revolutionary memory, an old earth fort with a ditch around, two old huge guns, & is a place of Revolutionary date lay in the fort Shifted by the British army in 1778, they took Ft Jackson & proceeded up & burnt Midway Church, He found a pamphlet in midway Church which gives us its history, It says that midway was settled in 1754 by settlers from DorCloster South Carolina, The Church burned by Col Provost in 1778 & the planters driven off. I find the following lines in the Pamphlet which tells how the British did in the Revolutionary War—
" When ere they marched the buildings burn
And me a pile of ruin made,
Before their hellish malice staid
Nor did their boundless fury spare
The house of God devote to God's prayer
Brick, Coals, & ashes strew the place
Which once that sacred house did grace
The Churchyard too no better sped
The rabble so against the dead
Transported now with Spiteful fumes
They tore up & uncovered tombs "

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The Negroes informed us, that the people of Midway Church just the sunday before our arrival prayed that the Yankees might never visit their Church, and that the Negroes prayed that the Yankees would come, He see that their prayers were heard while their masters were not, The Church was Carefully guarded, but the men damaged the Negro Church (a shame) & tore down about a dozen little houses about the Church that the planters erected for their accommodation while attending Church, about 10 by 12 feet square made of Boards, The Church itself was erected in 1792 a fine one for that date with a staple & steeple & a sketch of it, The old grave yard with a Brick wall & the Monuments of slate wood & marble some are 100 years old, Gen Screven of the Revolution is entered here, A Magnificent live oak tree is in the yard, all hung & festooned with moss, As never seen before such a magnificent old Church yard, Cedars & Magnolia trees & moss Covered tombs, so Sombre and Majestic I felt it almost a sacralegy that this time honored old habitation of the dead should be invaded by the soldiers of Penna & Kentucky In the War for Independence the People of that Society were the first to declare for the independency of the Colonies & called their parish Liberty, they got a Grant of 39,900 acres of land from the Suprme Council of Georgia, To settle their children Compactly about them ith, was their aim & was their boast that they made the clearest blossoms, & as rosee, mid-way swamp is between midway Church & Kings Bridge, Midway, suffores equal Distance between the rivers Ogeechee & Altamaha The society is of the Congregational Church, i will give you sample of some of the Invitations from the tombs— on a Wooden Monument " Here Lyeth the Body of John Quarterman who Died June the 19th Anno Dom, 1762 Aged 35 years Remember man as, you go by as you are now so once was i that I am now, that thou shall be, therefor prepare to follow me on a Marble Monument— " In Memory of Amarentha Gildersleeve Wife of the Rev Gildersleeve who departed this life Nov 15th 1807 Aged 37 years— She who in Jesus sleeps beneath Had Rachels face and Leah's faithful womb Abigails wisdom Lydia's faithful heart, and Marthas Care, with Marys better part "

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Yesterday the 16th the we, arrived here at the Bridge from Midway, our Wagons Came to us and we got up our tents, & our servants who have been absent from us for several weeks, since the 14th thro we have been without tents & slept out in the open air The Climate here is so mild that one is Comfortable in the Shade at 10oclock Am, In the morning of the 13th we had a heavy frost but it soon goes when the Sun comes out, It is too warm to day for a Coat I had mine off nearall day, the only ice I have seen was on the morning of the 13th about as thick as a pewter plate on the swamp, After we left Jonesboro we traveled through a County moderatly rolling but Sandy loam, heavy wooded for hundreds of miles over the sand I wander that it is rich enough to produces any thing, The timber is generall, pine-yellow pine the Cones so big they would fill up a quart measure. the pine straw & Cones Covers the ground in the woods like as if have a Carpets, When you see oak or other deciduous trees its always a sign of better lands, more Clay & less sand, Cotton is the King Crop and the Cotton Gin house is to the Planter what the big Barn is to the Penna farmer, As we Marched along our men, to the right & left of the line of our march set fire to every Gin house O! what a Strait Smoake they would send up, you could see the smoke for 50, miles, Millions worth of Cotton was thus destroyed & who can estimate the value of the Corn the Sweet potatoes, the Mules and horses the peanut nuts the hogs & Cattle & I can tell you we found these several things in abundance Who can estimate the value they were to the Confedcracy, Our horses pour now are eating the frads rice & rice in the Sheaf large quantities of it with thousands of dollars, i rode my horse all the way from Louisville & he is fatter now than when I started, Corn fodder blades I don't know with what can, they laid up large supplies of blades for our use, I have been told that this army has Started with 57000, Infantry & 5000 Cav Beside a fair Proportion of Artillery South Carolina may all tell of No. Ca men,

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will tremble when such an army is about to cross her Confines, you cant imagine with what delight our soldier here in seeing the Cotton burn & how they would rip up things once they enter the rebel state that started all this civil strife Her day will soon Come I think when the fiery demon of war stalks through her Cotton fields Sunday 12oc Am. the 18th The mail is about to go off & I must Conclude, Detachment from the several regiments are out on Scout, We have up our tents & have the prospect to be in Camp for a season, We heard som cannonady in Direction of Savannah yesterday, The rebs damed up the rice fields & in that way probably they will delay the Capture of the city for a short time. It is said that Gen Sherman intends to Capture all in the city.
We Ul presen informed us that old Ape was elected I dont Know yet exccit what States mc Lellan got, they say only New Jersey & Kentuckey,

Write direct to Savannah

Give my Compliments to Annie & remember me to all our friends at home, adieu

Your aff Brother
S. C. W.

Cap W W W.

 This letter has some of the best content and detail I have ever seen in a Civil War letter.    Low starting bid to cover my cost of this historic letter.  

This item will be sleeved in plastic and shipped fully insured in a stiff cardboard envelope via USPS Priority Mail.