George S. Patton, Sr. Correspondence
Collection
Collection Number: A&M 4075
The collection includes letters from George Smith Patton, Sr. (June 26, 1833 - September 25, 1864), who was the grandfather of WWII hero George S. Patton, Jr., and served as a Confederate Colonel during the Civil War. There are letters Patton wrote to his wife, Susan Thornton Glassell Patton (1835-1883), during their courtship and during his military service. There are also letters from Susan and other members of her family, including her brother and Confederate Naval hero William T. Glassell (1831-1879); her father, Andrew Glassell (1793-1873); her son-in-law Thomas Buren Brown, a Los Angeles attorney who married Susan's daughter Eleanor (Nellie) Thornton Patton (1857-1937); and her aunt, Eleanor L. Thornton Gibbs. A contents list is below, followed by transcriptions of select portions of the letters.
Select transcriptions:
Letters from George S. Patton to his wife Susan (Sue) comprise a significant component of this collection, including three love letters written during their courtship (1854-1855, folder 1) and nine letters written during his service in the Civil War (1863, folder 2). In one of the love letters from George to Susan, he asks her to obtain her father's permission for them to wed, writing on 1854 September 26:
"...Should your father approve our engagement I hope that my future life will not make him regret his consent, or you me your preference - And now may I ask another favor from you to add to the many, which you have been so kind as to grant me? Please seek an early opportunity to inform him of my suit, and request his assent. For until that assent is obtained I shall feel, even tho' blessed with a knowledge of your preference -- I shall feel as if I had no right to call you my own ... It is to me a very novel feeling 'to be in love' You are the first whom I have ever loved - my fancy has frequently been captivated; my heart has never been touched before -: and what an 'aching void' does Love fill -: a deep yearning for affection is every mans portion [?] - and he can never be happy until the yearning is satisfied ..."
Apparently there was no word from Andrew Glassell regarding his permission, and on 1854 October 17, George wrote Susan:
"...You cannot imagine how anxious I am to know, if you have heard from your father on a subject near to my heart, and I would fain [?] hope, to yours also - You can readily imagine the awkward, and constraining position in which I am placed. For while I have given you every assurance of love, you have, with very proper maidenly delicacy, never given me the promise of your hand - Now while I can but acknowledge the propriety of your course - yet I am often restrained in what I should like to say by the thought, that you might think, that I was presuming - Did I not have the most perfect and unquestioning confidence in you - I should be very unhappy - As it is I am very uneasy - altho I am sure that my little lady, would not disappoint me so bitterly without good and sufficient cause which Heaven forfend from ever rising on my part. ..."
Susan's father finally gave his consent and the couple wed on 1855 September 8. These letters are not only touching and emotional, but pivotal in light of the fact that this union made possible the birth of one of America's most important military men of the twentieth century: their grandson, George Smith Patton, Jr. (1885-1945).
The series of nine letters from George to Susan in 1863 describe in vivid detail the Confederate raid into [West] Virginia led by Generals William E. "Grumble" Jones and John D. Imboden, during which Patton was a colonel in the 22nd Virginia Infantry. Patton describes the arduous campaign in a series of seven letters dating between 1863 April 14 and 1863 May 15, four of which are excerpted here; a fifth excerpted letter from December gives his final update. The letters read, in part:
1. On 1863 April 14 -- "... will join Imboden's forces at Huttonsville [?] - and will be too strong for any force the Yankees are likely to have at Beverley - we hear by the way [?] that they have 150 contraband soldiers there - our boys all intent[?] on getting a body servant."
2. On 1863 April 28 -- "We have been maneuvering so as to assist Gen Jones (of the Valley) in his attack on the Railroad - I have now every reason to believe from the movements of the enemy - that he has been entirely successful - The Yankees have evacuated both Philippee [Philippi] & Buckhannon and we advance on the Carter place in a few minutes - The prospect now is very bright and we have certainly put the bogus Enuisen/Generals [?] in a great pickle... Tell Andrew that Pa has got him a pretty Yankee hat - with a feather &c."
3. On 1863 April 30, in camp near Buckhannon, [West] Virginia, Patton had sufficient time to describe the campaign in great detail, giving a day-by-day account of his movements "in something like diary form" in a lengthy letter which reads, in part:
"On Sunday night [April 19?], I got orders by special courier from Gen Imboden - to proceed to Join him by way of Monterey [?] ... [on April 20] passing Huntersville [?] ruined & desolated by both armies, & particularly burned by the Yankees. A more perfect picture of the horror [?] of war could not be conceived - Once a flourishing country village of several hundred souls - now deserted save by three families - fences destroyed horses/houses [?] pillaged ..."
His regiment marched on to Hightown, "where the rest of the expeditionary force had assembled - road [?] on myself - to see the General - was rec'd very cordially. & liked him much as a man - What he was as a General remained to be proved." The force, now numbering 3,500, continued their northward march into the Alleghany Mountains:
"Wednesday [April] 22 ... It was 18 miles across the mountains, and but one inhabited home on the road - got to camp just before dark - crossing the Greenbrier river - at the scene of the action there - Rain still increasing - camped on the wet ground - without shelter or supper, as our wagons did not come up - except some crackers for the men ... Everybody wet, hungry & cold --
Thursday [April] 23: No wagons came up, few crackers for breakfast - started at 7 A.M. to cross celebrated cheat mountain ... 18 miles across, 9 up, and 9 down - Road in miserable order ... At the top of the mountain passed the Yankee intrenchments [sic] - which are quite strong, and rendered almost impregnable by position ... Camped at the foot of the mountain having marched nearly 20 miles - no supper as our wagons were still behind ...
Friday [April] 24th - Started at 7 A.M. ... took a foot path through the woods to avoid crossing the river twice, and marched our way to Beverly - I heard from country people that the Yankees had no idea of our approach - and that they were only about 1200 strong, & would not give us a fight - our advance pushed on & about 2 o'clock we in the rear heard the boom [?] of a cannon - ranks were immediately closed, & we pushed on - as we came around the bend of the road about a mile from town, we were seen by the enemy, who [was] shelling us - their practice was good -one shell bursting a few feet from the 22nd & slightly wounding a Lieutenant - not enough to stop him - I was met by an aid, who ordered me, to shelter my men from the cannonade, & await orders, I did so. In a few minutes, I was advanced to another position & finally to a third - where my orders [?] were to wait until the other troops became engaged & then/there [?] to charge the battery - we were all ready to do the work - but the Yankees gave us no chance, retreating before there was any engagement. We pursued them several miles - as we passed through town - many ladies waved their handkerchiefs &c - but the Union element was very visible - The Yankees burned in retreating their stores, and the store of a man of Secession proclivities - we were in town but a few moments, and our men broke into and pillaged a sutlers establishment, and the store of the Union Sheriff of the county - I did not feel very much envy/sorry [?] for the owners, but I regretted the demoralization it must necessarily cause - Peter got in the streets, and Yankee camp quite an assortment, but did not go into any store. I am afraid that Imboden is no disciplinarian - & many of his officers certainly are not ...
Saturday [April] 25th ... left camp at about 8 o'clock A.M. - marched across the Bridge, and took the road to Buckhannon - crossing Rich mountain, and right over [?] the battle ground [?] ...
Sunday [April] 26th ... crossing the west fork of the Valley River ... equidistant from Philippo [Philippi] & Buckhannon, thus threatening them both - there we heard of reinforcements to the enemy - and as yet Gen Jones had not communicated with us in regard to his movements in the Batlo & Ohio R.Rd. He was to have communicated at Beverly, and we had been advancing hoping to hear from him every moment. It was obviously unsafe for us to proceed any further without his cooperation - as to attack either place would then be to expose our communications, and both our flanks - Gen. Imboden then determined to fall back to Beverly until he could [?] hear from Gen Jones ...
Tuesday [April] 28th During that night the Gen got information from Gen Jones - which showed that altho' not successful in destroying the Cheat river viaduct, he had destroyed some smaller bridges and was in the country - so to day we started for Buckhannon - heard that the Yankees had evacuated that place in haste ...
Wednesday [April] 29th Marched to Buckhannon - found that the Yankees 4000 strong with four pieces of artillery - had retreated in great haste ... Same disgraceful scenes [of looting] occurred here as at Beverly - I soon got disgusted, & came to camp where I have been ever since ..."
4. On 1863 May 15, Patton gave a final report to his wife:
"... The day after I wrote you from that place we took up the line of march for Weston ... Weston is 23 miles from Clarksburg, and we found that the enemy had concentrated a large force at the latter place too strong for us to cope with - in their entrenchments. we remained at Weston offering them fight for three days, but they did not accept the gage [?] - Our provisions were giving out, and we found it impossible to procure any breadstuff. Gen Jones & Imboden therefore agreed as follows - Gen Jones with his cavalry Brigade marched to attack the North-Western Va R.Rd., while Imboden took up the line of march towards Summersville - so as to threaten the Kanawha Valley - Gen Jones performed his work most successfully - destroying several Bridges, & a tunnel. Gen Imboden met the greatest physical difficulties - it rained in torrents for three days, and nights, the roads were perfect quagmires - and it was with great difficulty & hardwork that we made four or five miles a day ... we then advanced on Summersville, but the place was evacuated before we could get there - Imboden's cavalry horses/men [?] pursued, and captured a train of 30 wagons - loaded with corn & hard bread [?] &c &c and 180 fine mules - At Summersville Gen Jones again Joined us - and there, against my earnest desire, and advice, it was determined to return to our lines - instead of pursuing our success, and driving the enemy out of the Kanawha Valley - Which I believed we could have done ... Thus ends our raid into Western Virginia - Characterized by great boldness, and meeting with great success - altho' I think that some golden opportunities were lost and that if Gen Lam [?] Jones had cooperated - we could have redeemed Western Va. - As it is the fruits of the expedition are many & important - 2500 or 3000 good beef cattle & 12 or 1500 horses have been driven out - The Confederate flag has been carried where it never floated before, great damage has been done to an important avenue of the enemy's communication, & great terror [?] and panic been infused [?] into Pierpoint [Pierpont] & his crew ... The trip has been one of great exposure & privation - We have been almost constantly marching for nearly five weeks - in a very difficult country... "
The raid proved to be a military success -- the raiders managed to destroy numerous railroad bridges, disrupting rail traffic on the critical Baltimore and Ohio Railroad. However, the raid was a political failure in that it did not dampen enthusiasm in western Virginia to form a new state. Patton's dissatisfaction with Jones grew as the year went on and by the end of 1863, he had concluded that the general was thoroughly incompetent.
5. On 1863 December 23, Patton sent his wife a lengthy update, disparaging Jones's behavior:
"... We have had a most terrible campaign, so far as hardship and exposure go ... Soon after I last wrote you - the news was brought to us that Averill [sic: Averell?] ... was on his way to the Sweet Springs. I proposed and urged that we should at once march to meet the enemy - or if he had passed us to follow him up - and eventually force him to fight. Gen Jones however [?] decided otherwise, and ordered us to march to the Salt Sulphur Springs & cook two days rations - During that night the news came that the enemy had passed the Sweet Springs mountain in the direction of the Railroad - My opinion was asked, and I again urged going to the Sweet Springs & beyond in the direction of the enemy - Gen Jones after great indecision concluded [?] to send Echols' Brigade in that direction, and McCauslands to Newport in Giles county - Thus dividing a force which was not as strong as Avrill's, into two portions - we marched that day 15 miles, and encamped, during the night a terrible [?] storm of rain & sleet came up to which we were exposed without any shelter, & suffered much - The next morning, the storm continued & we marched about 7 miles & encamped - Gen Jones being in the rear at a comfortable house, and sending word, that as he was somewhat unwell - he would not come out that day, unless absolutely necessary & there he staid [sic] - We spent another miserable night - and the next day went to the tip of the Sweet Springs mountain, an excellent position which we were ordered to fortify, and there we staid for three days, and nights - suffering greatly from the intense cold - The position was very strong, and as long as there was a great probability of the enemy's coming that way, was the proper place for the troops - but on Saturday afternoon we got reliable information that the enemy had turned to the left ... and gone in the direction of Covington - We ought then as I thought, to have moved at once to Callaghans - where we would certainly have intercepted the enemy - but we staid, at the old position - trusting, I suppose, to Jenkins [?] burning the bridges on Jackson river which he did not do - and the enemy passed him ... The troops from the East were all too late, and Avrill escaped - He ought to have been captured with his whole command, and would have been if we were blessed [?] in this department [?] with something like a Commanding General. Jones is utterly incompetent, and as long as he has the direction of affairs - we will have nothing but disaster and dispair [sic] here. That Avrill should have been allowed to escape - after being delayed for two days, by high water, in the heart of the state - is a burning shame and disgrace - The Army out here are entirely disgusted -- I write these things to you and the family only, for no good can be effected, by giving them publicly..."
The Patton letters also include six letters from Susan Thornton Glassell Patton to members of her family (folder 3, 1852-1863), including one written to her husband on 1863 March 15, prior to the Jones-Imboden Raid.
There are several letters to and from Susan's brother, William T. Glassell of the U.S. Navy and later of the Confederate Navy (folders 3 and 4, 1851-1863). William holds the distinction of serving as one of the world's first combat submariners when he led a crew on the torpedo boat David in an attempt to destroy the USS New Ironsides on 1863 October 5. (See the book W.T. Glassell and the Little Torpedo Boat "David", mentioned in the Separation note, for more information.) Of particular interest is a letter by William, in Charleston, SC, 1863 September 18, to his sister Susan, writing, in part:
"... My last to Father was from this place; and I informed him of my having come on to take part in the fight for Charleston, which I much prefer to remaining idle in Wilmington. Limited as you know are my means and power, I hope yet to strike a blow, with the aid of Almighty God, that even our powerful foe will not despise. Should it please God that I perish in the effort, His will be done! Should I never return, I have directed that what funds I possess shall be sent to Mr. Jno L. Bacon, for your use..."
English
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George Smith Patton, Sr. (June 26, 1833 - September 25, 1864) was the grandfather of WWII hero George S. Patton, Jr., and served as a Confederate Colonel during the Civil War. He was born in Fredericksburg, Virginia and raised in Richmond. He graduated from Virginia Military Institute in 1852, and married Susan Thornton Glassell (1835-1883) on September 8, 1855. He practiced law in Kanawha County before the war broke out.
He enlisted as a private on May 5, 1861, but within a month had secured a commission as a captain in the 22nd Virginia Infantry. Patton was wounded twice in battle: at the Battle of Scary Creek in 1861, he suffered a shoulder wound and was captured after being left on the battlefield, and at the Giles Court House conflict in 1862, he was wounded in the stomach. By the time Patton joined the Jones-Imboden Raid, he had been promoted to full colonel and had served some time in a Union prisoner-of-war camp. He was killed in action at the Battle of Opequon, also known as the Third Battle of Winchester, in 1864, leaving behind his wife and four children.
William Thornton Glassell (January 15, 1831 - January 28, 1879), brother of Susan Thornton Glassell Patton, served as one of the world's first combat submariners. Born in Culpeper County, Virginia, he joined the U.S. Navy, serving as a midshipman in the late 1840s and early 1850s. He was promoted to lieutenant in 1855. When the Civil War erupted, Glassell was aboard a naval vessel in China. Upon his return to the U.S. in 1861, he refused to swear the oath of allegiance expected from Southerners, and was imprisoned at Fort Warren for eight months before being exchanged. The Confederate Navy immediately conferred a lieutenant's commission upon him with command of the ironclad CSS Chicora at Charleston Harbor.
On the night of October 5, 1863, Glassell and a crew of three piloted the torpedo boat CSS David in an attempt to destroy the ironclad USS New Ironsides by ramming a spar torpedo into it. The torpedo's explosion extinguished the David's fires, rendering her inoperable in a hail of small arms fire. Most of David's crew abandoned ship; while the pilot and firemen were eventually able to relight the engine, Glassell was captured and sent once again to Fort Warren. New Ironsides, originally presumed unhurt, was actually damaged enough to be put out of service for nearly a year. For his bravery, Glassell was promoted to commander. For a book about his exploits, please see the Separation note.
0.21 Linear Feet (2.5 in. (1 document case, 2.5 in.; 1 oversize folder))
The collection includes letters from George Smith Patton, Sr. (June 26, 1833 - September 25, 1864), who was the grandfather of WWII hero George S. Patton, Jr., and served as a Confederate Colonel during the Civil War. There are letters Patton wrote to his wife, Susan Thornton Glassell Patton (1835-1883), during their courtship and during his military service. There are also letters from Susan and other members of her family, including her brother and Confederate Naval hero William T. Glassell (1831-1879); her father, Andrew Glassell (1793-1873); her son-in-law Thomas Buren Brown, a Los Angeles attorney who married Susan's daughter Eleanor (Nellie) Thornton Patton (1857-1937); and her aunt, Eleanor L. Thornton Gibbs. See Scope and Content note for a contents list and transcriptions of select portions of the letters.
West Virginia and Regional History Center / West Virginia University / 1549 University Avenue / P.O. Box 6069 / Morgantown, WV 26506-6069 / Phone: 304-293-3536 / Fax: 304-293-3981 / URL: https://wvrhc.lib.wvu.edu/
Purchase from JG Autographs, 2015 February 20
Separated to Rare Book Collection: Glassell, William T, and Eleanor B. MacFarland. W.T. Glassell and the Little Torpedo Boat "David". Los Angeles: Privately printed for E.B. MacFarland, 1937. 30 pp. octavo. illus. with 3 plates (Bound in blue cloth boards titled in gilt on red leather. Dampstains and rubbing to boards and spine). Compiled by his niece, Eleanor Banning MacFarland and inscribed by her on the flyleaf, "To Hobie / With love from / Eleanor."
Part of the West Virginia and Regional History Center Repository