Civil War Archive of Alfred H. Titus, 124th Illinois Infantry Regiment. An extensive archive of approximately one hundred war-dated letters and an 1862 diary from Alfred H. Titus. These letters range from August 21, 1862 to December 25, 1864 and were primarily sent to his mother Eliza, but the archive includes several dozen additional letters spanning 1849 to 1913. The bulk is also from Titus, with a handful from his mother or other extended family members. The majority are written in ink with a small amount appearing in pencil. Most of the war-dated letters include their original transmittal envelopes. Alfred H. Titus was born July 12, 1843 in Delaware County, New York. He moved Springfield, Illinois in 1860 and mustered into Company C of the 124th Illinois Infantry on August 12, 1862. Titus participated in the Siege of Vicksburg and the Meridian Raid with General Sherman before he mustered out on August 15, 1865. His letters discuss camp life, military news, troop movements, and family. After organizing at Camp Butler, the regiment traveled to Jackson, Tennessee, to join General Grant's campaign. While stationed at Camp Jackson, he comments on the number of enslaved people who appear in camp after running away from their enslavers. On October 18, 1862, he wrote, "...all that have come desire to stay and tell of hard treatment that there masters gave them." His 1862 "diary" consists of three twelve-page bound booklets from September 28 to January 4, 1863. The regiment began to make its way to Milken's Bend, Louisiana, in early 1863. The men were occasionally granted a respite from marching when they journeyed along the Mississippi by steamer. On April 22nd, Titus writes that he had volunteered to run boats through the rebel blockade at Vicksburg. There is a gap until July 30th, when he writes a lengthy letter where he corrects the newspaper's reporting of recent battles, and expresses his disgust with the Copperheads and the New York rioters he accuses of wanting only to pillage. He also discusses his disdain for the rebels and their "snobocracy" before expressing admiration for the black soldiers he has fought alongside. "I have cursed the Copperheads...Oh! how I wished the 124th Regt, Ills. Inft. Had been there with LT. Col. Howe to command it. I don't think the rioters would have succeeded as well as they did... I hate the rebels with all my might as a mass, I don't consider them as erring brothers, but as strong as I hate them, I hate the Copperheads with a ten times fiercer hatred. To think of a man rejoicing over our defeats and over rebel victories and wish in his heart of hearts that the southern ‘snobocracy' may gain the power and over power the poorer populations...I have been for several months traveling in the slave country and I can say Uncle Tom's Cabin is not exaggerated, in some things the whole truth is not told. It is a very common thing for men here (or was) to sell their own illegitimate children and I have seen more than one slave whiter than I am...I never want any human being in the power of rebel tyrants again...In every fight yet they have fought as well or better than the white officers over them. At Port Hudson they charged the works until two thirds of the men were killed or wounded and that is more than any white regiment in Grant's army I believe will do." Titus reflected back on the siege of Vicksburg in an August 19th letter. "A man came into Camp this morning with a lithograph of the fight at Vicksburg, known to the boys as the ‘Slaughterpen,' and as it was a good representation, I paid for one, and ordered it sent to you...If it is as good as the sample he had here, it will be worth 50 cents to me or you." The regiment remained encamped around Vicksburg for several months before traveling to Black River, Mississippi. From there, they took part in General Sherman's Meridian expedition. Accompanied by the archive is a transcription of Titus' 1864 diary made by his granddaughter, which gives a broader accounting of it. While his original has been lost, the reproduction does provide some interesting context. He refers to the expedition in a March 8th letter, just days after its conclusion, writing "It seems to me there is something wrong in this expedition, for Brandon Morton, Hillsboro, Decatur, and Meridian were burned to the ground, not a building left to tell where they stood. The country was very poor, and the inhabitance [sic] ditto." However, as they continued their march into the wealthier plantation-filled areas, Sherman issued an order prohibiting plundering, and the disparity in the destruction significantly upset Titus. "Old Sherman, who I must believe from his actions on this march is at heart a rebel. If soldiers...would send a man to perdition he would be watching brimstone burning now and forever. I never heard any man cursed so in mu life, unless it was Old Stephenson on the Louisiana march." The regiment spent the majority of 1864 in Mississippi and Louisiana, and the remaining letters were sent from Vicksburg, New Orleans, and New York City. The regiment was sent to Alabama for most of 1865, but the final letter in the archive is dated December 25, 1864. Also included are around fifteen official military documents relating to his service. They include a copy of the original "Description Book of Co. C" which lists the occupation, date of enlistment, county, and state of birth, and a physical description of each man. Titus' entry lists him as 5' 9" with grey eyes, brown hair, and a light complexion. Also included is a muster roll for Company C, his discharge order, and a sixty-page manuscript document covering the military trial of James F. Andrews, who was found guilty of murder on May 30, 1865. After the war, Titus returned to Springfield for several years, where he worked for Culver's Marble Works as a bookkeeper before moving to St. Louis, Missouri. Titus was instrumental in the construction of the Illinois Memorial at the Vicksburg National Military Park, and the archive includes correspondence from 1901 to 1913 discussing its creation. He died October 25, 1918 at St. Louis. The archive is also accompanied by substantial historical and biographical information compiled by his granddaughter, including her correspondence with numerous institutions regarding her attempts to publish Titus' diaries. Condition: Occasional examples of light soiling and foxing, with a few light entries. HID03101062020 © 2022 Heritage Auctions | All Rights Reserved

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