Emily Dickinson. Civil War. Frazar Stearns. Book Signed. Exc. MASS Regt

Description

Here is an interesting spare copy I have of a Civil War & Emily Dickinson related book….for the serious collector of Emily. It is “
Adjutant Stearns
”. It is about a young Amherst student,
Frazar Stearns
, who was a very close friend of Austin Dickinson - as well as the whole family, and Emily. He volunteered to serve (unlike Austin Dickinson) early on in 1861….and not too long into service was killed at the
Battle of Newbern, 1862
.
Frazar  Stearns
was the son of the President of Amherst College, William Stearns. He was very close with the Dickinson family. His son was greatly admired all over Amherst, and it was one of the first initial shocks of the Civil War to the town…that the war is real. Frazar was very religious and believed in the cause. Emily Dickinson did not write often of the goings on during the war, but she did mention the horror of Frazar dying by a “
Minnie ball
” in letters. It deeply affected all.
Later in 1862, AC President William Stearns published this memorial to his son, which includes some letters that he wrote to his parents.
The book is published late 1862 by the
Mass Sabbath School Society in Boston
. It is in fine to excellent condition. 160 pages long. The binding is tight, no loose pages, no writing inside. Covers are clean and crisp…..good spine with gold stamped title. Before the Title page they have an engraving of
Frazar Stearns
with his signature and “
Your affec son
…
”. He was young & handsome.
I include a pic of more info about Frazar and the Dickinson’s. I also have tucked in the back a history of the
21
st
MASS Regiment
& where they served in battle…, which Frazar was in (as well as so many other Amherst boys).
But icing on the cake that I just discovered….on the front free page this book is SIGNED…in very light pencil….by another soldier. I cannot make all, but I can get this…it is signed
“William Crockett”
…..”
33
rd
Regt
” (MASS)….then  it appears to be a place…I think Springfield (where the Regt was mustered 1862)….then below that a date which seems Jan or June…..???? 186???
This is a bonus to any Civil War researcher, but I do not know how to access databases to see who
William Crockett, 33
rd
MASS Regt
, was. But I did find out that the 33rd MASS regt fought at Gettysburg. Maybe you can find more info of him! Good luck!
There are
two copies
of this book from the Dickinson Family Library, at the Houghton Library, Harvard. One is signed and inscribed to Austin’s son, Ned (Edward), in 1874 by Mr. Stearns:
“
Master Edward Dickinson
from
Dr. Stearns.
Amherst College, 21 July,
1874.
“
Ned Dickinson was born in 1862 and he would have been 12 years old, at that time of the gift.
I don’t need my three copies  of this  (my personal collection copy is signed by William Stearns)…so I offer this spare….and it is a good one, super condition….starting a reasonable
.99
and have to ask .00 Media Mail shipping.
If you have a Dickinson collection, this is a worthy addition…as so little was talked about of the Civil War by Emily….but Frazar impacted all deeply.
Also, of you look at the dedication page by Dr. Stearns, it is to
William S. Clark
as commanding officer. ..."
He graduated from
Amherst College
in 1848 …He then served as professor of chemistry at Amherst College from 1852 to 1867. During the Civil War, he was granted leave from Amherst to serve with the
21st Regiment Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry
, eventually achieving the rank of colonel and the command of that unit……Clark took part in student military drill instruction at Amherst College and successfully recruited a number of students…..By April 1863, the numbers of the 21st Massachusetts had been so thinned by what Clark called the "
cruel fate of war,
" that the regiment had virtually ceased to exist (!!) - and Clark's command was only nominal. He therefore resigned his commission and returned to Massachusetts.".... William S. Clark was also close to Emily Dickinson, and some believe that he was the intended recipient of the mysterious love letters by Emily Dickinson....The
Master Letters
....however, I don't believe it....Clark was an avid Botanist...flowers, plants...as was Emily and I believe that was the bond between them. There are so MANY back stories with Emily Dickinson!
P.S...Here are the very sad facts for what happened to the
21st Regt MASS.
...Frazar's Regt.....the casualty list.... killed or died:
"Regiment lost during service 11 Officers and 148 Enlisted men killed and mortally wounded....and 2 Officers and 89 enlisted men died by disease. Total: 250."
On Jul-12-21 at 12:55:15 PDT, seller added the following information:
NEWS....I found a history book of all the MASS Regiments. The owner of this book, inscribed by him...was WILLIAM CROCKETT.....33rd Regiment MASS . It turms out that he also was killed in action. ebay is not letting me add any more photos of teh page. But here is what teh exact info is of him:
Crockett, William...33rd Regiment MASS. Volunteer Infantry. Age 31.Painter. Enlisted Jult 24, 1862. Mustered in August 5, 1862; Killed October 29, 1863, Wauhatchie, Tenn, as a Corporal.
On Jul-12-21 at 13:01:52 PDT, seller added the following information:
And info on te battle where William Crockett was killed:
"
The
Battle of Wauhatchie
was fought October 28–29, 1863, in
Hamilton
and
Marion
counties,
Tennessee
, and
Dade County, Georgia
, in the
American Civil War
. A Union force had seized
Brown's Ferry
on the Tennessee River, opening a supply line to the Union army in
Chattanooga
. Confederate forces attempted to dislodge the Union force defending the ferry and again close this supply line but were defeated. Wauhatchie was one of the few night battles of the Civil War."
"
Union losses in the battle were 78 killed, 327 wounded, and 15 missing. The Confederates reported their losses as 34 killed, 305 wounded, and 69 missing. One account says Bratton lost 408 men while Law lost only 52.
Geary reported burying 153 Confederates and capturing over one hundred prisoners, so the Confederate losses may have been over 900 men.
The Union army now had its window to the outside and could receive supplies, weapons, ammunition, and reinforcements via the Cracker Line. The way was clear for the start of the
Battles for Chattanooga
on November 23."
On Jul-12-21 at 13:32:30 PDT, seller added the following information:
...one more....William Crockett was in "Company E"