signed unbound
1864
by (CIVIL WAR: A WISCONSIN SAILOR ABOARD THE USS ELFIN)
1864. unbound. fine. Union Navy A.L.S. 8vo. 2 pages, August 27th 1864, Aboard the USS Elfin. Just three months before she would be destroyed by bombardment while in service on the Tennessee & Cumberland Rivers. Letter from a sailor who is trying to get his Land Grant application to Wisconsin, but he can't raise the $11.00 application fee on his ship. In part: "I received the papers alright and I signed an affidavit before my Commanding Officer - and I signed them and sent them off but could not get $11.00 aboard of the boat. The Captain signed them also. Write to my wife and have her send the eleven dollars down to Menasha before the 20th of September. I was transferred from the 18th Wisconsin Infantry Co. into the United States Navy as I suppose they could get Soldiers easier than they could get Sailors. I think I can serve my country better here than I could in the land service as I have formerly been to sea and I am an able seaman at present." Fine condition. (Inventory #: 283337)