An evocative correspondence spanning 1861–1867 — from early patriotic fervor in Westchester County to the encampments of the 4th New York Heavy Artillery and the Army of the Potomac.
Comprising roughly twenty autograph letters (most signed) with numerous original envelopes—many bearing vibrant Union patriotic designs—this remarkable archive traces a single extended family’s experience of the Civil War from enlistment to aftermath.
The correspondents—Leonard H. Secor, George H. Dever, R. R. Hall, Phale Secor, and Clayton Smith—write to cousins Frederic R. Hall of Peekskill and Martha “Mattie” C. Secord of Carmel, New York, providing a continuous record of life both at the front and on the home front across six years of national upheaval.
The Hall and Secor Families — Westchester Roots at the Outbreak of War
The earliest letters, written in May and August 1861 from Katonah, N.Y., by Leonard H. Secor to his cousin Frederic Hall, capture the first surge of Northern enlistments after Fort Sumter.
Secor teases Hall for volunteering—“Ben enlisted about three weeks ago but the company… has not left New York as yet… I had quite a notion of going myself when Ben started but I have got bravely over it now”—and worries that his cousin is “not strong enough to endure the fatigue of a long march.”
Both letters survive with magnificent full-color patriotic envelopes:
“Washington via Baltimore,” depicting a Zouave beneath the Capitol dome.
“Our Compromise,” showing a cannon firing beneath the flag.
These stand among the earliest printed Union covers, issued within weeks of Lincoln’s call for volunteers, vividly uniting postal art and personal sentiment.
George H. Dever — The Soldier’s Voice from Fort Marcy to Brandy Station
Beginning February 1863, Private George H. Dever of Company A, 4th New York Heavy Artillery writes a superb series of letters to cousin Mattie Secord describing the daily rhythm of garrison and campaign life around Washington.
At Fort Marcy, Va. (Feb 21 1863) he recounts illness and recovery on a straw mattress—“the soft side of a pine board is rather harder than a feather bed”—and identifies himself proudly as “one of Doubleday’s Wildcats,” referencing Col. Thomas D. Doubleday, brother of the famous Abner Doubleday.
From Camp Barry, Washington D.C. (Mar 10 1863) he details four-hour artillery drills, chapel meetings, and sightseeing at the Capitol, Smithsonian, and Patent Office, a rare soldier’s view of wartime Washington.
Later letters from Fort Ethan Allen and Fort Ripley blend humor and piety—“I think I must be reforming; I’ve been to prayer meeting!”—while his March 29 1864 dispatch from the Army of the Potomac near Brandy Station announces the regiment’s move to the front:
“I was taken completely by surprise… We arrived at Brandy Station and are now within sight of General Meade’s headquarters.”
Dever’s articulate, reflective style, coupled with precise place references, makes these among the finest surviving letters of a New York heavy-artilleryman poised on the eve of Grant’s Overland Campaign.
R. R. Hall at Manassas Junction — The Picket’s Perspective (Sept 24 1863)
Writing from Manassas Junction, Va., R. R. Hall addresses Mattie Secord while “on picket on the railroad two miles from camp.”
He rejoices in leaving hospital confinement—“I hope I never shall have to go there again”—and notes rumors of movement while standing guard in cold weather:
“The Rebs don’t bother us but it is getting quite cold here.”
A succinct, genuine soldier’s field letter from a historically pivotal location still haunted by the two Battles of Bull Run.
Clayton Smith — The Veteran’s Advocate (Red Mills, Dec 22 1864)
As the war drew to a close, Clayton Smith of Red Mills, N.Y., writes Frederic Hall to congratulate him on surviving the Shenandoah Valley under General Philip Sheridan and offers help in securing promotion:
“The sure way is to get a recommendation from the Commandant of your Reg’t and forward it to me at Albany.”
His letter mentions Col. Kibling’s amputation, underscoring the toll of the campaign and the local networks aiding returning soldiers.
Phale Secor and the Post-War Home Front (1866–67)
Two long letters from Phale Secor of Katonah to Mattie Secord reveal the small-town aftermath of war—legal disputes, gossip, and recovery.
“I was subpoenaed before the Grand Jury… John Knapp made the complaint and I was brought before the Grand Jury to find a bill of indictment,” she writes, offering a candid glimpse into Reconstruction-era civic life and the enduring bonds among the correspondents after peace returned.
A Family Thread Through War and Peace
Across six years, every letter converges on one circle of kinship:
Frederic R. Hall, the young volunteer of 1861,
Martha “Mattie” C. Secord, the steadfast home correspondent, and
their cousins Leonard H. Secor, George H. Dever, and R. R. Hall.
Through their eyes the archive spans the full arc of the war—enlistment excitement, Washington’s fortified defenses, picket duty in Virginia, Grant’s march to Richmond, and the quiet return to civilian life in rural New York.
The presence of multiple patriotic envelopes—“Washington via Baltimore,” “Our Compromise,” “Empire State / Excelsior,” and Old Point Comfort eagle-and-flag motifs—adds striking visual appeal and strong postal value, uniting art, sentiment, and service.
Historical Importance
This is an unusually cohesive Northern family archive offering primary-source testimony from soldiers of the 4th New York Heavy Artillery and related regiments guarding the capital and later attached to Grant’s Army of the Potomac.
References to Fort Marcy, Camp Barry, Fort Ethan Allen, Manassas Junction, and Brandy Station anchor the letters within key defensive and operational sites of the Eastern Theater.
Dever’s mention of Col. Thomas D. Doubleday and Gen. Meade provides verifiable military context, while the home-front letters supply equally valuable sociocultural detail—religious revivals, illness, social gatherings, and local politics in Westchester and Putnam Counties.
Condition
Letters generally very good, several with toning or folds consistent with age; many retain their original envelopes, several displaying vivid multicolor patriotic engravings—rare survivals in such unified family provenance.
Unified Provenance
All items descend through the Hall–Secord family of Peekskill, Katonah, and Carmel, New York, preserved together for over 160 years and newly offered as a single historically coherent archive.