[Autograph Letter Signed, from Charles H. Bayles, 43rd Ohio Infantry, Detailing the Violence During the Battle of New Madrid]

[Near New Madrid], Missouri: March 16, 1862. [4]pp., on patriotic stationery headed "The War for the Union" with a vignette of McClellan on horseback above his quote, "Stand by me, and I'll stand by you." Old folds, a few small tape repairs to folds, minor dust soiling. Overall about very good. An astounding battle content letter from Ohio Private Charles H. Bayles, describing a fierce altercation in Missouri early during the Civil War. Bayles enlisted on December 9, 1861 in Company H, 43rd Ohio Infantry for a term of three years. Private Bayles wrote this letter shortly after the Battle of New Madrid in March 1862. Here, he gives a stark summary of the artillery duel on March 13 between Pope's army and the Confederate gunners at New Madrid, a duel that lasted most of the day. Meanwhile, Pope's infantry forces were slowly advancing their trenches in the normal pattern for a formal siege, slowly getting closer to the Confederate defensive lines. That night the Confederate defenders of New Madrid abandoned the town and withdrew to Island No. 10. A transcription of Bayles letter is as follows:

"I thought that I would write a few lines today. It is Sunday today. We had a fight at New Madrid the 13th of March. We placed our battery on a ridge about a half of a mile from their fort. Our troops entrenched all night of the 12th and early in the morning of the 13th, our battery commenced firing upon the enemy at day break. Our troops marched down at 2 o'clock at night. At morning it commenced. They commenced firing upon us. The firing was kept up all day long.

The firing was kept up from daylight till dark and then the firing ceased. Our infantry laid back a half a mile from our battery. The cannon balls struck all round us. We was in a small piece of woods. They steered at us. The cannon balls cut trees a foot through right in two. They throwed shells at us and balls and canister shot. The ground was covered with cannon balls. Our Lieutenant-Colonel's horse was shot through the body with a piece of shell. The Lieutenant stood holding him by the halter. There was not one of our company hurt at all but the cannon balls whizzed through the air like thunder. They dropped on our right and on our left. A cannon ball struck one of the boys in the company to our right in the breast. It cut him in two. The firing ceased at night. Our company was sent out on picket at night. The next morning we calculated to go into them again but that same night they left the town. Everything was left. About 20 cannons was left in the fort. They had a strong fort.

They killed eight of our army and wounded 8. They cut part of their town down to get range on us. We throwed shells into the fort. It is thought that we killed 2 or 3 hundred of the Secesh. They throwed them from the gunboats into the river as fast. We killed them. About one hundred was found in their entrenchments. They had some guns 12 feet long, besides four or five gunboats. I should thought that they would never left such a fort as that. I guess the war is about to a close."

A great content battle letter. Unfortunately his prediction of the imminent end of the war was very, very premature.