By Stacy Locke, Manager of Historical Collections
Title: Henry A. Sand Papers, 1862-1863
Extent: 1.0 Boxes
Arrangement: Chronological
Date Acquired: 06/20/2014
Subjects: Sand, Henry Augustus, Sand, Isabella, Sand, Theodore, Sand family, United States--History--Civil War, 1861-1865--Personal narratives
Languages: English
The papers of Henry A. Sand were purchased for accession into the Green-Wood Historical Collection because Henry Augustus Sand (1837-1862) is a permanent resident of Green-Wood, as is his mother, Isabella Sand (d.1883) from whom some materials in this collection derive. The collection consists of one official military document and six handwritten letters, all composed and sent within the Sand family. The document is a Commission of the New York State Militia, appointing Henry A. Sand as Captain in the 103rd New York Volunteers, with rank from March 12, 1862. Dated May 21, 1862, City of Albany. The letters span from 1862 to 1863, representing a sample of the correspondence between immediate members of the Sand family during those years. It was a significant period of time within the family, most notably because it was during this span that Henry A. Sand was hospitalized after a leg injury inflicted at the Battle of Antietam and died as a result. Included are letters written by Henry A. Sand, his brother Theodore, and their mother, Isabella.
The earliest letter was written by Captain Sand while serving as Captain of the 103rd Regiment N.Y.S.V. for the Union cause in the American Civil War. At this time Henry is well and he describes the activities of his regiment, including an encounter with Confederate forces, to his brother Theodore. The following two letters, chronologically, were written by Isabella Sand and sent to her husband, the father of Henry A. Sand, while she accompanied Henry Sand in the field hospital following his injury. The two letters discuss the slow progress of Henry’s condition, which he would ultimately never recover from. The second of Isabella’s letters is dated October 26, 1862 – just four days before Henry’s death. The last three letters were written by Theodore Sand, the same person to whom the initial letter was addressed. Theodore writes, in different instances, to his mother, Isabella Sand, and to his father. At this time Theodore is a soldier in the war and recounts some of his experiences. They date to June and July and thus the death of his brother is not discussed.
Henry Augustus Sand (1837-1862) is one of many Civil War veterans interred at Green-Wood Cemetery. Initially enlisting in 1861 as a Private in Company K of the 7th Regiment of the New York State Militia, Sand re-enlisted in March, 1862, as a Captain in Companies D and A of the 103rd New York Volunteer Infantry. During the Battle of Antietam on September 17, 1862, the color bearer of the 103rd Regiment was struck down, and Captain Sand stepped up, seizing the American flag and continued forward, planting the flag far ahead of the troops and urging them to come forward. It was then that Sand was struck in the leg by a piece of cannonball shrapnel. After weeks of suffering in a field hospital, hoping for recovery, Henry succumbed to his wounds on October 30, 1862. A New York native, Captain Sand’s body was brought back north and interred at Green-Wood on November 7th of that year. He is buried in Lot No. 319, Section 42. His tombstone reads, “He held aloft the Flag of our Country.” Isabella Sand (d. 1883) is the mother of Henry Augustus Sand and is interred in lot No. 319, Section 42.
After his death the colonel of his regiment wrote a letter to his family that read in part, "...With the battle of Antietam will live his name, an ornament to the Army and to his country and a just source of pride to his family, to his friends and to his regiment for whom he has labored and sacrificed in this righteous cause, his life and his blood."
Sand, Henry Augustus
Sand, Isabella
Sand, Theodore
Sand family
United States--History--Civil War, 1861-1865--Personal narratives
Repository: Historical Collections
Acquisition Source: "The Horse Soldier" Antiques, Gettysburg, PA
Acquisition Method: Direct Purchase
Appraisal Information: Purchased for a total of $2,000.00, no tax applied
Processing Information: Accession #: 012-2014
