Civil War 6th Michigan Cavalry Soldier Journals
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GUEST:
I brought in my Civil War journals from my great-great-grandfather. His name was Russell Kimball Stanton.
APPRAISER:
What unit was he in, do you know?
GUEST:
It was... oh, and I don't even remember now.
APPRAISER:
You don't even remember? That's okay.
GUEST:
He was in the Michigan one.
APPRAISER:
He was in the 6th Michigan Cavalry.
GUEST:
Yes.
APPRAISER:
The 6th Michigan Cavalry was formed in 1862. It came into service just before the Battle of Gettysburg in June, July of 1863, and it was under the command of Brigadier General George Armstrong Custer, who commanded the brigade, the Michigan Brigade, and they were called the Wolverines. I don't know whether you've read anything about Custer at the Battle of Gettysburg, but that's where he really got his name.
GUEST:
That's a major... yes.
APPRAISER:
So your ancestor served through the entire war. He served in 1862 and kept a journal, 1863, '64, and '65. So he kept daily records of everything through his whole service in the war. In 1863, in June and July, he's talking about the prelude to the Battle of Gettysburg and being in the Battle of Gettysburg. So there's some great things in there. And in 1865 he's actually at the surrender of General Lee's army at Appomattox, Virginia.
GUEST:
Oh, wow.
APPRAISER:
That was on April 9, 1865, and on April 10, he talks about a salute being fired over the surrender of General Lee and the Rebel Army of Virginia.
GUEST:
Oh, wow.
APPRAISER:
We talked about it a lot. It's not something we commonly find that you have his journals through the entire war and an image of him. We figure, conservatively, at auction, in the $4,000 to $6,000 range.
GUEST:
Wow.
APPRAISER:
Yeah, yeah.
GUEST:
Wow, very good-- I had no idea.
APPRAISER:
Yeah, well, we run across common single copies of this that don't have a lot of information, but there are some wonderful things inside here, as well as everyday daily weather and such, but there are some wonderful things inside. ‘
GUEST:
All right, very good-- thank you so much.
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