Items Dealing with Women Soldiers up for Auction

Occasionally, I see period images of women soldiers and letters written by male soldiers about them come up for auction.  These items often involve previously undocumented women soldiers or contain valuable information that adds to the narratives of the women researchers like me have already written about.  Regardless, these pieces are tangible and exciting connections to the stories that comprise a small and intriguing part of Civil War history.

DeAnne Blanton (many thanks to her!) recently shared with me an image and three letters up for auction this month.  The image is of Leona Houston of the 6th New Hampshire, which you can see here:  https://bid.fleischersauctions.com/online-auctions/fleischers-auctions/civil-war-female-soldier-leona-houston-6th-n-h-8148800.

Copy of the image a friend shared with me years ago.

Of course, I had seen the image of Leona Houston before by virtue of a friend sharing it with me.   

The other items is a lot of three letters written by male soldiers, which you can see here:  https://bid.fleischersauctions.com/online-auctions/fleischers-auctions/civil-war-female-soldiers-3-letters-describing-women-in-the-army-8167797

One of the letters involved a woman soldier giving birth that I have come across multiple times; though, the source is new.  As for the other two letters, they detail previously undocumented women.  

I am not sold on the identification of “Harry Barger” mentioned in the letter of the male soldier, Thomas Richards, in the 143^rd PA.  The individual who posted the information on the auction website suggests that "Harry Barger" is possibly Thomas Berger who enlisted August 4^th,1 862 and deserted on February 10^th, 1863.  Richards wrote the letter in March 1865, and there’s too much of a gap for me to buy into this theory.  Richards is writing to his aunt who asks him to tell Harry something and then Richards responds with basically, “I can’t because Harry is a girl and was kicked out.”   I find it hard to understand why the aunt would suddenly remember Harry when Richards obviously hadn’t mentioned this soldier for two years.  Besides, Berger deserting in 1863 was not an outlier.  A number of men from the entire regiment deserted around this time from Camp Slocum due to unrest from lack of pay and an intensifying antiwar sentiment.  I looked at the original muster rolls from this regiment and didn’t see mention of a soldier being dismissed for being a female.  I’m going to go back and do some more investigating.  

The third letter mentions a woman who was shot while running towards the Federal lines.  I question whether she was a soldier or not versus a civilian. There's not enough information to make that determination. 

At any rate, I hope these items end up in the hands of someone who will care for and appreciate them.