135

Luther L. Benson.

Describing the Battle of Hatcher's Run with the 8th New York Heavy Artillery.

Hatcher's Run, VA, 23 February 1864 [1865]
Autograph Letter Signed to brother Jesse Benson of Shelby, NY. 4 pages, 12½ x 7¾ inches, on one folding sheet; minor wear at intersection of folds. With stamped envelope bearing Washington postmark.

Before the war, Luther Lee Benson (1843-1915) worked on the family farm in Shelby in western New York. He served as a corporal in the 8th New York Heavy Artillery. This letter recounts the 5-7 February 1865 Battle of Hatcher's Run which preceded the fall of Petersburg.

"We advanced the fifth of February and drove in their pickets. . . . About two o'clock the Rebs began to shell us. They kept it up untill nearly dusk, and then they ataced on our right flank and made three charges and was driven back each time. . . . The next night they ataced us on the left flank and in the rear, which made it rather gloomy. They was within 20 rods of us at one time, but the old Six Corps came up just in time to save us from Richmond."

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