ALS in pencil, signed “W. T. Sherman,” one page both sides, 4.5 x 7, no date [late December 1862]. Sherman writes to Colonel Backlund requesting that he send details of his positions and impending actions. In full: “Telegraph to Genl Grant that tomorrow we will be at Holly Springs—if that place be cleared out we could turn to the west on Jackson at Coldwater. Telegraph to Genl Grant that I am on the march to Holly Springs in obedience to Halleck’s order to act in concert with Gen. Rosencrans coming from Corinth via Ripley. Jackson is after our train. I hope the Infantry Regt. will make him pay dearly So. of Worthington. The attack is on the small attachment. I don’t think the force large enough to attack a Rgt. At all events I cannot turn back now. Let Worthington & you hold your Posts. And we must trust the train. I think as soon as Jackson hears we are after Holly Springs they will return South. Answer all parties according & telegraph Halleck actual facts.” Earlier in 1862, General U. S. Grant had begun moving munitions and supplies down the Mississippi Central Railroad toward Vicksburg, a key fortification on the Mississippi River. By the middle of November, he had established a supplies and munitions depot in Holly Springs before moving on to establish a headquarters in Oxford, some thirty miles further south. On December 20, 1862, Confederate General Earl “Buck” Van Dorn led a cavalry force of 3,500 into Holly Springs, surprising the Federal forces there, burning the depot, and capturing some 1,500 Union soldiers. The humiliating loss set back Grant’s Vicksburg campaign for months, while it elevated Van Dorn to heroic status among his fellow Mississippians. The “Jackson” Sherman refers to is Colonel William H. Jackson, who was part of Van Dorn’s cavalry forces and was later appointed a brigadier general for his actions at Holly Springs. In very good condition, with horizontal and diagonal mailing folds, creasing, scattered light staining, small spot of paper loss to right edge, and some light soiling. Auction LOA John Reznikoff/PSA/DNA and R&R COA.
