“...your son in the 6th u.s. cavalry is a prisoner...”

LETTER TO ADMIRAL HIRAM PAULDING REGARDING THE CAPTURE OF HIS SON AT GETTYSBURG

Autograph letter signed by Dr. Daniel Egbert (1799–1875), U.S. Navy Surgeon. Baltimore, Maryland, 11 July 1863. 1 page, 8vo, on embossed stationery. Addressed to Rear Admiral Hiram Paulding (1797–1878), commandant of the New York Navy Yard, concerning the capture and subsequent imprisonment of his son, Lieutenant Tattnall Paulding (1840–1907).

Here, Egbert writes to the elder Paulding, father to father, informing him of the shared experiences of their sons, both taken prisoner at the Battle of Gettysburg. Harry C. Egbert (1839–1899), a 1st Lieutenant in the 12th U.S. Infantry and aide to General John Newton, managed to escape into the mountains during Robert E. Lee's retreat. He sent word to his father two days later, relaying that Admiral's Paulding's son remained in Confederate custody. As Egbert writes, "He requests me to write to you 'and say your son in the 6th U.S. Cavalry is a prisoner a quite well.'. . . I presume he was among the 3 or 4,000 who refused to be paroled on the field of battle."

Tattnall Paulding spent nine months in Libby Prison. He corresponded frequently with his family, including his father, during his internment, and his letters contain detailed descriptions and valuable insights about the conditions of Libby Prison. Upon his liberation, he rejoined his regiment and continued to serve with distinction until July 1866, ultimately attaining the rank of lieutenant-colonel by brevet. 

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