Letter from the Secretary of War. Confederate States of America, Richmond. March 31, 1862.
Richmond, VA: Confederate States of America, March 31, 1862. First. None. See photo. Very Good. Rebel Archives stamp. Disbound, was sewn.31 pages. / None. Item #573
CONFEDERATE IMPRINT.
Parrish & Willingham 2330. Crandall 1358.
This is the detailed Confederate participant's reports of the Battle of Bethel sometimes called Big Bethel fought on June 10, 1861. It begins with Colonel MacGruder's report and is supplemented by reports of other key Confederate participants.
"The Battle of Big Bethel was one of the earliest land battles of the American Civil War. It took place on the Virginia Peninsula, near Newport News, on June 10, 1861. Confederate Col. (later Maj. Gen.) John B. Magruder was sent down the peninsula to deter any advance on Richmond by Union troops based at Fort Monroe. This Federal garrison was commanded by Maj Gen. Benjamin Butler. Magruder established two camps, within range of the Union lines, at Big Bethel and Little Bethel, as a lure to draw his opponent into a premature action. Butler took the bait, and devised a plan for a dawn attack on June 10. The plan proved too complex for his poorly-trained subordinates to carry out. and resulted in a Confederate victory. The Union forces suffered 76 casualties, with 18 killed, including Lt. John T. Greble, the first regular army officer killed in the war. The Confederates suffered only eight casualties, with one killed. While small in comparison to many later battles, Big Bethel attracted exaggerated importance because of the general feeling that the war would be short." (Extracted from Wikipedia)
CONFEDERATE BATTLE REPORTS ARE EXTREMELY RARE!!!
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