About this Item
Please note: I do not own or possess the Whitworth "bolt" referenced in the authentication letter. Offered is an original typed and signed authentication letter dated July 22, 1963 typed and hand-signed by Jack Magune of the House of Billy Yank out of Worcester, Massachusetts. A letter measuring 5-1/2" by 8-1/2" and typed on one side. Condition: corner chips and short closed tears (to the blank margins only - see image provided). With stamped name and address for the House of Billy Yank to lower left corner of letter, the typed letter reads in full: "7/22/63 - I, the undersigned, do state and affirm that the accompanying Whitworth 'bolt' (shell), was recovered by a diver from the Confederate blockade runner 'Modern Greece.' The 'Modern Greece,' an English cargo ship, was sighted and chased by two Union blockading ships, the 'U.S.S. Cambridge' and the 'U.S.S. Stars and Stripes,' as it attempted to run the blockade into Wilmington, North Carolina, on June 27, 1862. As it neared Fort Fisher, the Union ships fired, causing the cargo vessel to run aground. The Fort Fisher garrison and the ship's crew salvaged as much of the cargo as possible, and then she was sunk by the fort's artillery to prevent her capture. / An account of the 'Modern Greece's' cargo states that it included bars of lead and tin, cases of saws and files, cases of picks, gunpowder, kegs of bullets (the now famous .577-cal. Enfield minie ball), approximatelt [typo] 12,000 Enfield rifles, clothing, whiskey and six Whitworth guns. / Four of the Whitworth guns were salvaged and used as a flying battery by Fort Fisher, using this same Whitworth 'bolt' to shoot up one Union ship, the 'U.S.S. Florida.' One of these Whitworth cannon is now at West Point. / I do attest and affirm that all the above is true as stated, and that the accompanying Whitworth 'bolt' (shell), along with a supply of Enfield minie balls, muskets and carbines, was recovered from the 'Modern Greece' by the diver, Jack Wells, of Carolina Beach, North Carolina. Signed: [handwritten signature] JACK MAGUNE.". Seller Inventory # 015252
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