A group of two (2) letters written by Andrew F. Clarke (1841-1890) of the Newton Rifles, 13th Mississippi Infantry, while confined as a prisoner of war at Fort Delaware, to Confederate sympathizer Sallie M.H. Fulton. Letters include: 

1. Autograph letter signed by Clark to Fulton. Fort Delaware, 11 January 1865. 1 page, 4to. With original envelope with Delaware City cancel and red 3-cent stamp. 

"Have you heard from Lieut. Mosely since he went South? We are expecting a 'flag of truce' mail soon and will receive a letter from him, I think." 

2. Autograph letter signed by Clark to Sallie M.H. Fulton. U.S Military Prison, Fort Delaware, 17 February 1865. 1 page, 4to. With original envelope with Delaware City cancel and red 3-cent stamp. 

"I have been rather dilatory in answering it, hoping that I would be able to tell you that I was going to "Dixie" in a few days. I am sorry to say that such is not the case, though I'm still hopes that I will get off before the present arrangement for exchange is broken...Several thousand have already been paroled - mostly privates." 

Clarke was a teacher from Decatur, Newton County, Mississippi, who enlisted with the 13th Mississippi Infantry, known as the Newton Rifles. He was promoted often, reaching the rank of first lieutenant. He was wounded and taken prisoner at Knoxville, Tennessee, during the ill-advised assault on Fort Sanders on 29 November 1863. The 13th Mississippi led the assault on the northwest bastion of the fort — the focal point of the overall attack. The men of the 13th were the first into the ditch surrounding the fort and the first to place their flag upon the parapet, where it was captured along with two other regimental colors. The attack was star-crossed, furious, and short-lived. In the twenty minutes of fighting, the 13th's colonel was killed, and the Confederates lost a total of 813 men. The Federals lost less than 20 inside the protection of the battlements.

While confined, Clarke wrote to 24-year-old Sallie Fulton of Baltimore's 20th Ward, evidently a passionate Southern sympathizer who showed her compassion for Confederate prisoners of war and frequently corresponded with them, occasionally even sending them money. 

[Civil War, Union, Confederate] [Manuscripts, Documents, Letters, Ephemera, Signatures, Autographs]