1864 CONFEDERATE CIVIL WAR LETTER from LYNCHBURG VIRGINIA

1864 CONFEDERATE CIVIL WAR LETTER from LYNCHBURG VIRGINIA During the American Civil War Lynchburg served as a Confederate transportation hub and supply depot. In this letter dated December 6, 1864, it appears William M. Bowman is asking permission to transport his family out of Lynchburg. The letter is written in ink on a 7 x 10 sheet of lined paper. Very Good Condition! NO RESERVE! In addition to a transportation hub and supply depot Lynchburg had 30 hospitals, often placed in churches, hotels, and private homes. In June 1864, Union forces of General David Hunter approached within 1-mile (1.6 km) as they drove south from the Shenandoah Valley . Confederate troops under General John McCausland harassed them. Meanwhile, the city’s defenders hastily erected breastworks on Amherst Heights. Defenders were led by General John C. Breckinridge , who was an invalid from wounds received at the Battle of Cold Harbor . Union General Philip Sheridan appeared headed for Lynchburg on June 10, as he crossed the Chickahominy River and cut the Virginia Central Railroad . However, Confederate cavalry under General Wade Hampton , including the 2nd Virginia Cavalry from Lynchburg under General Thomas T. Munford , defeated his forces at the two-day Battle of Trevilian Station in Louisa County, and they withdrew. This permitted fast-marching troops under Confederate General Jubal Early to reach within four miles of Lynchburg on June 16 and tear up the tracks of the Orange and Alexandria Railroad to inhibit travel by Union reinforcements, while Confederate reinforcements straggled in from Charlottesville. On June 18, 1864, in the Battle of Lynchburg , Early’s combined forces, though outnumbered, repelled Union General Hunter’s troops. Lynchburg’s defenders had taken pains to create an impression that the Confederate forces within the city were much larger than they were in fact. For example, a train was continuously run up and down the tracks while drummers played and Lynchburg citizens cheered as if reinforcements were disembarking. Local prostitutes took part in the deception, misleading their Union clients about the large number of Confederate reinforcements. Narcissa Owen ( Cherokee ), wife of the president of the Lynchburg and Tennessee Railroad , later wrote about her similar deception of Union spies. From April 6 to 10, 1865, Lynchburg served as the capital of Virginia after the Confederate government fled from Richmond. Governor William Smith and the Commonwealth’s executive and legislative branches escaped to Lynchburg as Richmond surrendered on April 3. Gen. Robert E. Lee surrendered to Gen. Ulysses S. Grant at Appomattox Courthouse , roughly 20-mile (32 km) east of Lynchburg, ending the Civil War. Lynchburg surrendered on April 12, to Union General Ranald S. Mackenzie . [ 18 ] Ten days later, Confederate Brigadier General James Dearing died. He was a native of nearby Campbell County and descendant of John Lynch; he had been wounded on April 6 at High Bridge during that Appomattox campaign. Mackenzie had visited his wounded friend and former West Point classmate, easing the transition of power.