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| Field name | Value |
|---|---|
| Collection Reference Number | GLC02382.104 |
| From Archive Folder | Collection of Henry Jackson Hunt |
| Title | Andrew Cowan to Henry Jackson Hunt regarding books and art on the Battle of Gettysburg |
| Date | 10 October 1885 |
| Author | Cowan, Andrew (fl. 1861-1887) |
| Recipient | Hunt, Henry Jackson |
| Document Type | Correspondence |
| Content Description | Mentions Hunt's appointment as Governor of the Soldier's Home in Washington, D.C. Refers to General Abner Doubleday's book, Chancellorsville and Gettysburg. Indignantly declares "As usual in every account or description of that Battle the 1st New York Battery is never mentioned. The writers... go round us and behind us and even occupy our positions with other guns, and I wonder now if it is not high time to enter some claim for a little recognition since, if at any time during the War, the 1st N.Y. Battery fought well- it fought splendidly at Gettysburg." Mentions Peter Frederick Rothermel's famous painting depicting the Battle of Gettysburg. Recently viewed an exhibition in Chicago titled "Great painting of the Battle of Gettysburg." Criticizes a multitude of errors. Mentions General Alexander Stewart Webb. Discusses the battle in detail. Notes "I had been shot through the Coat in the crisis of the Charge... I slept that night in the rain." Wonders if he should write to Doubleday, to receive recognition for his battery's brave efforts. Written on Mantle and Cowan, Leather and Belting stationery. Cowan served in the First New York Independent Battery of Light Artillery, Sixth Corps, Army of the Potomac during the Civil War. |
| Subjects | Battle of Gettysburg Union General Civil War Military History Union Forces Battle Artillery Literature and Language Arts Art, Music, Theater, and Film |
| People | Hunt, Henry Jackson (1819-1889) Cowan, Andrew (fl. 1861-1887) Rothermel, Peter Frederick (1812-1895) Webb, Alexander S. (Alexander Stewart) (1835-1911) Doubleday, Abner (1819-1893) |
| Place written | Louisville, Kentucky |
| Theme | The American Civil War; Arts & Literature |
| Sub-collection | Papers and Images of the American Civil War |
| Additional Information | Folder information: Henry Jackson Hunt was Chief of the Artillery in the Army of the Potomac. Considered by his contemporaries the greatest artillery tactician and strategist of the war, he was a master of the science of gunnery and rewrote the manual on the organization and the use of artillery in early modern armies: Instruction for field artillery. Prepared by a board of artillery officers, consisting of Captain Wm. H. French...Captain Wm. F. Barry...Captain H.J. Hunt...To which is added The evolutions of batteries, tr. from the French by Brigadier General R. Anderson (New York, D. Van Nostrand, 1864). Hunt was born in Detroit, Michigan, the son of Samuel Wellington Hunt, a career infantry officer. As a child he accompanied his father in 1827 to the Kansas Territory on an expedition to found Fort Leavenworth. He graduated from the U.S. Military Academy in 1839 as second lieutenant in the 2nd U.S. Artillery. He served in the Mexican War where he was elevated to captain and major. Hunt received attention when in the First Battle of Bull Run in 1861, his four-gun battery covered the retreat of a Union force with an artillery duel. He soon afterword became the chief of artillery in defense of Washington, D.C. As a colonel on the staff of McClellan, he organized and trained the artillery reserve and fought in the Peninsular Campaign. His keen work influenced battles at Malvern Hill, South Mountain, Antietam, Fredericksburg, and Chancellorsville. His most famous service occurred at Gettysburg. He served in Virginia through the end of the war. Following the Civil War, Hunt held various military posts. He served as president of the permanent Artillery Board. He also served at Fort Sullivan, Eastport, Maine (1868), Fort Adams, Newport, Rhode Island (1869-1872 definitely, and possibly until 1874), military commander at Charleston, South Carolina and Atlanta, Georgia (1875-1880), commander, Department of the South (1880-1883), and as Governor of the Soldier's Home in Washington D.C. (1883-1889). Hunt had served as Chief of Artillery for the Army of the Potomac. After the Civil War, he occupied various military posts, including that of Governor of the Soldier's Home in Washington, D.C. from 1883 until his death. Cowan served in the First New York Independent Battery of Light Artillery, Sixth Corps, Army of the Potomac during the Civil War. |
| Copyright | The Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History |
| Module | Civil War, Reconstruction and the Modern Era: 1860-1945 |