Confederate Civil War Letters, Civil War Era Photographs, Paintings, Meade Family Archive, Virginia, 1861-1862: letter from Fort Sumter, March 21, 1861, to sister Julia Meade (1830-1906), Petersburg, Virginia, excerpt "…Nothing of importance has transpired…with the exception of that accidental (?) shot fired from one of the batteries on Cummings Point [a battery on the northern tip of Morris Island, south of Charleston, South Carolina]…we consequently accepted their apology & dismissed them with…'Go & sin no more'…", signed "Kidder", letter in brown ink and graphite on cream-colored laid paper, 7-3/4 x 10 in., [slight fading to ink, fold lines with slight wear and tiny separations at edges, grime]; -Letter to a sister, from Yorktown, Virginia, June 14, 1861, excerpt "…Since I have been here, our scouting parties operating between here and Hampton have succeeded in killing two or three of the enemy and taking six or seven firearms, and on last Monday (June 10th) we gained a splendid victory over the Yankees at Bethel Church…. They were evidently marching on this place with the intention of attacking it and did not expect to meet with any resistance between Hampton and Yorktown… the result of which was 1 killed and seven wounded (only) on our side. We buried on the field about 15 or 16 of their dead and took ten or twelve prisoners & wounded…", "…I wish I could send you some of the many relicts [sic] we are constantly digging up…. Every day a cannon ball fragment…together with the fragments of human bones. Our works are mostly built on the site of the old Revolutionary ones….Yorktown is one of the oldest-looking villages…there is not a house in it but that looks as if it existed at the time of the Revn…", signed "Kidder", two-leaf letter in brown ink on cream-colored laid paper, 8 x 10-1/4 in. and 8 x 5-1/8 in., [good condition with strong ink color, fold lines with slight wear and minor grime, scattered slight ink smears likely made at time of writing]; -Letter from Meade to Confederate General J. R. Anderson (Joseph Reid Anderson, 1813-1892), from Fort Fisher, North Carolina, October 19, 1861, discusses possibilities for altering the elevation of the "…Rifled Banded 32-Pdr [pounders]…" at the fort, no signature, copybook letter in brown ink and graphite on pale blue laid paper, 9-1/2 x 7-1/4 in., [good condition with strong ink color, fold lines with slight grime]; -Letter from Fort Fisher, Confederate Point, November 4, 1861, to a sister, excerpt "…We are still looking out for the Yankee fleet but hope it may be delayed for a week longer when we will be better able to give her a warm reception…", signed "Kidder", letter in brown ink on pale gray laid paper, 9-1/4 x 14-1/2 in., [good ink color, fold lines with minor wear and slight grime, scattered slight ink smears likely made at time of writing, two small stains]; -Letter, "Head Quarters Engr Dept (in Field) near Richd June 5th 1862", to his mother, Julia Edmonds Haskins Meade (about 1809-1891), excerpt "…The day I arrived in Richmond the fight [i.e., Seven Days Battles] was going on and after great exertions succeeded in manning a horse & hurried out to the field to join Genl Holmes [Theophilus H. Holmes, 1804-1880]…. The Rifle Comp'y was out in the woods as skirmishers, expecting the advance of the enemy when I came upon them…", signed "Kidder" (Meade died eight weeks after he penned this letter, on July 31, 1862), letter in brown ink on cream-colored laid paper, 10 x 7-3/4 in., [good condition with strong ink color, fold lines with slight grime, slight ink smears likely made at time of writing]; With related family papers: -Autographed Civil War letter, from Richard's brother Hugh Everard Meade (1838-1862) to a sister, May 21, 1862, from a camp outside of Petersburg, Virginia; -Letter from Richard Kidder Meade, Jr. to a sister, from West Point, December 17, 1854; -[Carte-de-visite] of Meade with eight other officers of Fort Sumter, March 1862, (before the Battle of Fort Sumter, April 12-13, 1861); -Book of albumen prints of Richard Kidder Meade, Jr., his parents and siblings; -Painting of Richard Kidder Meade, Sr. (1803-1862); -Painting of Blandford Church, Petersburg, Virginia (where many members of the Meade family are buried); -Newspaper articles, miscellaneous papers, 16 books and three textiles related to the Meade family and descendents; [all loose papers in archival sleeves], detailed list available, Descended in the family of Maj. Richard Kidder Meade, Jr., Engineer Corps of the Confederate States, the great-great uncle of the consignor