An archive of civil war letters from a Union soldier, including references to the battle of Gettysburg, is offered in Nate D Sanders' online sale with a minimum bid of $27,500.
Francis John King left England to fight in the 42nd and 190th Pennsylvania Infantries.
 Francis John King fought for the 42nd and 190th Pennsylvania Infantries during the civil war |
The letters contain insights into the extreme brutality and bitterness of the war. At one point King writes: "On the road some of the boys in other companies stopped at houses to get provisions.
"They were afterwards taken sick & it was found that they were poisoned & the people who sold the provisions were rank secessionists."
On Gettysburg he writes: "on the morning of the fourth I was with the regt in the extreme front.
"A battery played on us with shell but was soon silenced by our sharpshooters. We had seven killed among which was our Colonel, forty one wounded. Frank Bell was wounded in the foot making amputation necessary."
He also describes meeting President Lincoln: "Lincoln took my eye more than all the rest. Although not handsome he has a kind attractive expression on his countenance, which anyone seeing cannot help but revere him...''
The sale closes on October 30.
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