GENERAL RICHARD WATERHOUSE JR. - AUTOGRAPH LETTER SIGNED 02/15/1863 - HFSID 161394

RICHARD WATERHOUSE, JR. ALS: "R. Waterhouse, Jr.", 2p, 7¼x9¼, front and verso (hinged so that both sides can be viewed; engraved transcription plate behind hinge). Camp Mills near Pine Bluff, Ark., 1863 February 15. To his wife, Rose. In full, as written: "I recd your favor by Mr Goff and was sorry to hear that you were in bad health though I hope it is nothing serious and that you will be well soon. Glad to hear that the boyes are doing so well would be glad to be with you all for a short time, but unless the war should terminate I do not except to have that pleasure soon. I do not know how soon we will move from here or in what direction we will move But hope it will be our good fortune, to be engaged in a more active sphere. The river is now low and it is impossible for Gun Boats to ascend the river at present Though we may have a rise this spring and in that event we may expect something to do. The navigation of this river is very uncertain and precarious, and if the enemy would come up might prove very disastrous to them I am of opinion that we will go into Missourie in the spring if some movement is not made by the enemy in this direction soon. I recd your letter of the 8th Jany by mail. which I answered immediately. We have rather a dull time in camp when we are not on the march especially in cold wet weather when the ground is so bad that it is impracticable to amuse oure selves by out door exercises, and especially on the river where the country is so low and wet. On the march we do better as we are constantly seeing something new, which is more or less interesting. The health of the troops is not very good though it is improving and I think they will be much healthyer in the Spring. The health of Capt Dixons Co is tolerable good though some of them are sick Aleck. McDonald & A. Crankwrite start home on 60 days sick furlough in the morning and they have been in bad health for a long time. Give my love to Henry Wallace, and all the folks generally be sure to write soon and often, for it is a great satisfaction to be able to hear from home frequently. I will be sure to write Miss J. McDermot is at Pine Bluff on a visit to her Uncle." While Colonel of the Confederate 19th Texas Infantry, Richard Waterhouse, Jr. (1832-1876), who would become the last Confederate General approved by Jefferson Davis & Congress of the Confederate States of America, wrote this letter to his wife, the former Rosalie Wallace, regarding inactivity and health conditions at camp in Arkansas during February 1863. Waterhouse was a descendent of several Richard Waterhouses (his grandfather, Richard Green Waterhouse, had served in the War of 1812). Richard and Rosalie had been married in December 1858, less than three years before the outbreak of the American Civil War (1861-1865). The boys that the Colonel is inquiring about are the couple's two young sons, Richard and William Wallace Waterhouse. There was little Civil War action in the area from which Waterhouse wrote, which was southwest of the Mississippi River. Riverboats from both sides had trouble negotiating the waterways. The day before this letter was written, the Union's Queen of the West captured the New Era No. 5 on the Red River, a Mississippi tributary running through Arkansas, but then ran aground while engaging in Confederate counterattacks. Similar navigating problems were often repeated as converted riverboats were not good battleships. The enemy, under Union General Ulysses S. Grant, continued to move in the direction of Waterhouse's infantry. Not heading for Missouri as he had predicted, Waterhouse would fight valiantly at Vicksburg, Mississippi (May 19-July 4), but the North claimed the victory and the West. The Union forged on to capture Little Rock, Arkansas on September 10. Waterhouse would go on to serve at the battles of Mansfield and Pleasant Hill during the Red River Campaign (1864). General E. Kirby Smith promoted Waterhouse to the rank of Brigadier General from April 30, 1864 for his services there. Due to the lack of proximity to Richmond, it would take nearly a year for word to reach the Confederate capital and be processed. President Jefferson Davis signed Waterhouse's promotion on March 17, 1865, and, in one of its last acts on its last day (March 18), the Confederate Senate confirmed his rank. Following the War, many Texans, including Waterhouse, became involved in land speculation, especially in conjunction with the fragile French empire established in Mexico and in the new southwestern states. Waterhouse would be in Waco, Texas on business ten years after the War when he fell down a flight of stairs at a hotel. Injuries and pneumonia complications caused his death a few days later on March 20, 1876. Lightly creased with folds, vertical fold between the "R." and "W". Light show through of ink. Stained at vertical folds, touching some lines of writing (all legible). Pinholes at upper cross-folds. Overall, fine condition. Framed in the Gallery of History style: 36x23.