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CIVIL WAR GENERAL WIA COLONEL 25/30th MAINE INFANTRY FESSENDEN GAR LETTER SIGNED

$ 36.95

Availability: 100 in stock
  • Theme: Militaria
  • Condition: VF+ - A BEAUTIFUL FESSENDEN HOLOGRAPH!
  • Refund will be given as: Money Back
  • Featured Refinements: Civil War Letter
  • All returns accepted: Returns Accepted
  • Conflict: Civil War (1861-65)
  • Return shipping will be paid by: Buyer
  • Item must be returned within: 30 Days
  • Original/Reproduction: Original
  • Restocking Fee: No
  • Country/Region of Manufacture: United States
  • Modified Item: No

    Description

    FRANCIS FESSENDEN
    A ‘Hard-Fighting’ General
    WILL
    (1839 - 1906)
    CIVIL WAR UNION FULL BRIGADIER and MAJOR GENERAL,
    COMMISSIONED INTO THE UNITED STATES VOLUNTEERS GENERAL STAFF 1864-1866
    SEVERELY WIA COLONEL and COMMANDER OF THE 30
    th
    MAINE INFANTRY 1863-1864 – LOSING HIS RIGHT LEG LEADING AN ASSAULT AT THE BATTLE OF MONET’S FERRY ON APRIL 23, 1864,
    WIA BATTLE OF SHILOH COLONEL and COMMANDER OF THE 25
    th
    MAINE INFANTRY 1862-1863,
    PRESIDENT OF THE MILITARY COURT OF INQUIRY and MEMBER OF THE CIVIL WAR MILITARY COMMISSION THAT PRESIDED OVER THE WAR CRIMES TRIAL OF HENRY WIRZ, EVIL CONFEDERATE REBEL COMMANDER OF THE ANDERSONVILLE PRISON IN GEORGIA,
    COMMANDER OF THE 1
    st
    DIVISION OF THE DEPARTMENT OF WEST VIRGINIA 1865-1866, and 1
    st
    VETERAN CORPS,
    LEADER IN THE
    BUREAU OF REFUGEES, FREEDMEN AND ABANDONED LANDS
    IN 1866,
    REPUBLICAN PARTY MAYOR OF PORTLAND, MAINE IN 1876
    &
    COMMANDER OF THE MAINE COMMANDERY OF THE
    MILITARY ORDER OF THE LOYAL LEGION OF THE UNITED STATES
    (MOLLUS) IN THE 1880s.
    Gen. Fessenden saw action in several battles in the Red River Campaign, including
    Sabine Crossroads
    ,
    Pleasant Hill
    , and
    Monet's Ferry
    , where he led a major assault in which he suffered a severe leg wound that necessitated amputation. After convalescing, he was assigned to administrative duty for the rest of the war, commanding various garrisons and supply trains.
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    HERE'S A RARE AUTOGRAPH LETTER SIGNED BY FESSENDEN, 1p., DATED AT PORTLAD, MAINE, MARCH 25,
    1874
    TO
    HENRY MARTIN CIST
    (1839 – 1902)
    CIVIL WAR BVT BRIGADIER GENERAL FOR HEROICS AT THE BATTLE OF STONE RIVER
    and
    CHICKAMAUGA,
    ADJUTANT OF THE 74
    th
    OHIO INFANTRY and POST-ADJUTANT OF CAMP CHASE DURING THE CONFINEMENT OF PRISONERS CAPTURED AT FORT DONELSON
    &
    CIVIL WAR AUTHOR OF NUMEROUS WORKS, INCLUDING THE CLASSIC
    1882 BOOK TITLED, “
    THE
    ARMY OF THE CUMBERLAND
    .”
    IN THIS LETTER, FESSENDEN ORDERS PROCEEDINGS OF THE SOCIETY OF THE ARMY OF THE CUMBERLAND and ASKS CIST A QUESTION ABOUT A CINCINNATI JEWELER WHO HAS
    THE SOCIETY’S BADGE FOR SALE.
    IN FULL
    :
    “Dear General,
    I enclose herewith two orders from Gen. Fullerton upon you for Vols. 6 & 7 of Proceedings of the Soc. of the Army of the Cumberland. If you have any on hand you may send them to me by express.
    “Can you tell me whether there are any jewelers in Cincinnati who keep the badge of the Society [of the Army of the Cumberland] ready made and what is the price they ask for it?
    If you do not already know I do not wish you to trouble yourself to ascertain.
    Yours very truly, Francis Fessenden”
    The document measures 5” x 8” and is in very fine condition.
    A FINE ADDITION TO YOUR CIVIL WAR
    “GENERALS IN BLUE”
    AUTOGRAPH, MANUSCRIPT and EPHEMERA COLLECTION!
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    BIOGRAPHY OF GENERAL FESSENDEN
    Francis Fessenden
    (March 18, 1839 – January 2, 1906) was a lawyer, politician, and soldier from the state of
    Maine
    who served as a
    general
    in the
    Union Army
    during the
    American Civil War
    . He was a member of the powerful Fessenden family, which was prominent in national politics during the mid-19th century.
    Early life and career
    Francis Fessenden was born in
    Portland, Maine
    , in the spring of 1839. He was the son of
    U.S. Senator
    William P. Fessenden
    and a brother of
    James Deering Fessenden
    , who would also serve as a general in the Union army. Another brother, Samuel, would be killed at the
    Second Battle of Bull Run
    during the war. Two uncles,
    Samuel C. Fessenden
    and
    T. A. D. Fessenden
    were
    U.S. Congressmen
    .
    He was educated in the local schools and then graduated from
    Bowdoin College
    in 1858. He studied law at the
    Harvard Law School
    , passed his bar exam, and joined his father's law firm.
    Civil War
    Following the outbreak of the Civil War, Fessenden received a commission as a
    captain
    in the
    Regular Army
    in the newly raised
    19th U.S. Infantry
    on May 14, 1861. He spent much of the year as a recruiting officer, helping raise additional troops.
    In January 1862, he assumed duties as a line officer in the
    Army of the Cumberland
    in
    Tennessee
    and was severely wounded at the April 1862
    Battle of Shiloh
    . He became the
    colonel
    of the
    25th Maine Infantry
    and commanded a
    brigade
    as part of the 22nd Army Corps in the
    defenses of Washington, D.C.
    . He was married that year to Ellen Winslow, a daughter of Edward Fox of Portland.
    In July 1863, his term of enlistment in the volunteer Union army expired and he reverted to his rank of captain of the 19th U.S. Infantry in the Regular Army. In September, Fessenden was appointed as the colonel of the
    30th Maine Veteran Infantry
    .
    On May 10, 1864, he was promoted to the rank of
    brigadier general
    and served later that year in command of a brigade in the army of
    Nathaniel P. Banks
    in the
    Red River Campaign
    . He saw action in several battles in that campaign, including
    Sabine Crossroads
    ,
    Pleasant Hill
    , and
    Monet's Ferry
    , where he led a major assault in which he suffered a severe leg wound that necessitated amputation. After convalescing, he was assigned to administrative duty for the rest of the war, commanding various garrisons and supply trains.
    Postbellum career
    Following the end of the war, Fessenden stayed in the army. He served on the military commission that oversaw the
    war crimes
    trial of
    Henry Wirz
    , who was executed for his controversial actions while commanding the
    Andersonville Prison
    in
    Georgia
    . He also served as the president of a military court of inquiry. He was promoted to major general of volunteers on November 19, 1865, and assigned command of the 1st Division of the Department of West Virginia. He was subsequently assigned to the 1st Veteran Corps.
    He served in the
    Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen and Abandoned Lands
    in 1866. He declined an appointment as the
    lieutenant colonel
    of the
    45th U.S. Infantry
    in August 1866. Later that year, he was transferred to the
    28th U.S. Infantry
    during the sweeping reorganization of the army. He retired from the Regular Army on November 1, 1866 with the rank of brigadier general.
    Fessenden then returned home to Portland and resumed his legal career. He was elected as the city's mayor in 1876.
    He was a Republican. He wrote a biography of his father,
    The Life and Services of William Pitt Fessenden
    , which was published in 1907.
    He was a Companion of the First Class of the Maine Commandery of the
    Military Order of the Loyal Legion of the United States
    - a military society for officers who has served the Union during the Civil War. On October 28, 1881 he was elected commander of the Maine Commandery. He was also a member of the
    General Society of Colonial Wars
    .
    Francis Fessenden died in Portland, where he is buried in
    Evergreen Cemetery
    , Portland, ME.
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    CIVIL WAR SERVICE DETAIL: FRANCIS FESSENDEN
    Residence
    Portland
    ME; a 23 year-old Army Officer.
    Enlisted on 9/19/1862 as a Colonel.
    On 9/19/1862 he was commissioned into Field & Staff
    ME 25th Infantry
    He was Mustered Out on 7/11/1863
    On 1/11/1864 he was commissioned into Field & Staff
    ME 30th Infantry
    He was discharged for promotion on 5/10/1864
    On 5/10/1864 he was commissioned into
    US Volunteers General Staff
    He was Mustered Out on 9/1/1866
    He was listed as:
    Wounded 4/23/1864 Cane River Crossing, LA (Severely wounded in right leg, amputated)
    Promotions:
    Colonel 1/11/1864 (As of 30th ME Infantry)
    Brig-General 5/10/1864
    Major 7/6/1864 by Brevet
    Lt Colonel 7/6/1864 by Brevet
    Brig-General 3/13/1865 by Brevet
    Major-Gen 3/13/1865 by Brevet
    Major-Gen 11/9/1865
    (Brother of Samuel Fessenden & General James D. Fessenden)
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    MAINE
    30TH INFANTRY
    Thirtieth Infantry.-Cols., Francis Fessenden, Thomas H.
    Hubbard, Royal E. Whitman; Lieut.-Cols., Thomas H. Hubbard,
    Royal E. Whitman, George W. Randall; Majs., Royal E. Whitman,
    George W. Randall, Horace C. Haskell.
    Like many of the
    regiments formed in the latter years of the war, the 30th had
    a large number of experienced soldiers among its officers and
    men, though it also had some who were attracted by the large
    bounties offered and some who were old and disabled.
    The
    regiment was mustered in at Augusta from Dec. 12, 1863, to
    Jan. 8, 1864, to serve for three years.
    On Jan. 8, 1865, it
    was joined by three companies made up from the enlisted men of
    the 13th Me., whose term of service had not expired at the
    date of the muster out of that regiment, and were assigned to
    this organization on Nov. 18, 1864.
    The entire regiment was
    mustered out on Aug. 20, 1865, at Savannah, Ga.
    On Feb. 7,
    1864, the 30th embarked at Portland on the steamer Merrimac
    for New Orleans, La., arriving there on the 16th.
    It
    participated in the Red River campaign as a part of the 3d
    brigade 1st division, 19th corps, and took an honorable part
    in the battles of Sabine cross-roads and Pleasant Hill on
    April 8 and 9, respectively.
    It lost in the two engagements
    11 killed, 66 wounded and 71 missing, and during the retreat
    of the Union forces to the Mississippi river, it took the most
    prominent part in the dislodgment of the enemy at Cane river
    crossing, which was perhaps the most gallant action of the
    disastrous campaign.
    Its loss here was 2 officers and 10 men
    killed, 2 officers and 67 men wounded, and 7 men missing.
    Soon after the close of this campaign, the regiment was sent
    north to Virginia.
    In August and the early part of September
    it moved with the Army of the Shenandoah, but did not share in
    the battles and victories of Gen. Sheridan in September and
    October, as the brigade was detached from its division until
    Oct. 26.
    On Nov. 9, 1864, it took up a position between
    Kernstown and Newton and on Dec. 30 went into winter quarters
    at Stephenson's depot, 4 miles north of Winchester, but a few
    days later moved to Winchester.
    After the recruits from the
    13th Me. joined the regiment at Winchester it was formed into
    seven companies and retained its field and staff officers
    without change.
    The new companies from the 13th were lettered
    B, H and K in the new organization.
    The 30th remained at
    Winchester until April 1O, 1865, when it went to Washington,
    where it participated in the grand review of the Army of the
    Potomac on May 23, and on June 2 was transferred to the 2nd
    brigade, 1st division, 19th corps, which it accompanied to
    Savannah, Ga., the place of their muster out.
    On Aug. 24 it
    arrived in Portland, where the men were finally paid and
    discharged.
    Source:
    The Union Army, vol. 1
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