1864.53

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General Hooker's Players "Pretty Badly Beat", 70-11

Salience	Noteworthy
Tags	Civil War, MilitaryCivil War, Military
Location	TNTN
City/State/Country:	Chattanooga, TN, United States
Modern Address
Game	Massachusetts Game, presumablyMassachusetts Game, presumably
Immediacy of Report	Contemporary
Age of Players	AdultAdult
Holiday
Notables
Text	A: The match game of base ball between the staff, and orderlies of Gen. Hooker, and thirteen players from our regiment came off this forenoon, the result was in favor of our regiment, the innings stood seventy to eleven, pretty badly beat wasn't they.  They will play another game this afternoon.  Gen. Hooker ordered Col. Wood to postpone brigade drill, that they might play.   B:Nothing has been stirring for the last week except for ball playing and one brigade drill.  We play ball about all the time now.  We, or some of the officers, have received a challenge from Gen'l Hooker's staff and escort to play a match.  Fourteen players have been selected to play against them, amongst whom is ELE< the letter writer>.  Four of them are commissioned officers, the rest enlisted men.  We have also had a challenge from the one hundred and thirty.sixth New York, bit I don't know if it will be played or not.   C: Major Lawrence with a skillful nine selected from Hooker's body guard, challenged the [33rd MA] regiment to match them in a manly game of base ball, and his nine got worsted.  The New York regiment threw down the glove with a like result.  The champion Sharon [MA] boys knew a thing or two about base ball, which they had learned in contests with the laurelled Massapoags at home.
Sources	A: Letter of April 13, 1864 by Lt. Thomas Howland.  Obtained via Massachusetts Historical Society, August 2015. B: Letter home by E. L. Edes, April 1864. For full letter, see Supplemental Text, below. C: A. B. Underwood, Thirty-Third Mass. Infantry Regiment, 1862 - 1865 (A. Williams and Co., Boston, 1881, page 199.  Search string: <kershaw had a smart>.
Warning
Comment	It seems likely that these games were played under Mass game rules. General Sherman's winter camp was outside Chattanooga, and his march into GA started in the beginning of May 1864.     Edit with form to add a comment
Query	The Massapoag Club of Sharon MA fielded 10-14 players for its pre-war games, which were subject to Massachusetts rules.  Why would the regimental history, 17 years later, refer to "nines"?  Edit with form to add a query
Source Image	[[Image:|left|thumb]]
External Number
Submitted by	Paul Johnson
Submission Note	Emails of 8/1/2015 and 8/16/2015
Has Supplemental Text	Yes

1864.53 General Hooker's Players "Pretty Badly Beat", 70-11"

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Comments

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Supplemental Text

 

Lookout Valley, Tennessee

Sunday, May 10, 1864

 

Dear Mary

 

    I guess it is about your turn to get a letter, or to make the reason of my writing plainer, I haven't got anything to say.  I got a letter from you the other day, and one from Sophy yesterday.  Nothing has been stirring for the last week except for ball playing and one brigade drill.  We play ball about all the time now.  We, or some of the officers, have received a challenge from Gen'l Hooker's staff and escort to play a match.  Fourteen players have been selected to play against them, amongst whom is ELE.  Four of them are commissioned officers, the rest enlisted men.  We have also had a challenge from the one hundred and thirty.sixth New York, bit I don't know if it will be played or not.  Gen Howard our Corps commander is going to take command of the corps and our corps is to be consolidated with the twelfth under the command of our old friend Hooker.  We have been having a good deal of rainy weather lately but there is a consolation in having that as when it rains we can't have a brigade drill.  Today is a cold, stormy, disagreeable day but quite comfortable inside with a good fire.  We have just had services by our Lieut Col's brother from Chicago.  We have a very nice man for Chaplain and a very popular one too,.  He plays ball with us and is always full of jokes.  I shall send you a paper printed in Chattanooga.  It is not much of a paper but it may interest you as coming from here.  We have the greatest sport with the newsboy who peddles them he always has some awful news to tell but you can't find a word (???) in the paper.  I don't know what else to write to you.  I am very well, haven't been sick a day since the battle of Chattanooga, I am also in excellent spirits.  Give my love to everybody and the rest of the people.

 

Your aff. brother,

 

E. L. Edes

April (??), 1864