Presented in this lot are Tombstone Arizona Territory S. L. Hart Civil War Letters, December 1861 to January 1862. Provenance: Tombstone Western Heritage Museum, Tombstone, Arizona. More than fifty (50) handwritten letters and eleven stamped envelopes from Hart to his wife. Hart writes succinctly but vividly about day to day life in the different U. S. Army camps he was in. His first two letters tell about being mustered into the service, pitching tents, drilling all day and being tired. Hart was at Camp Horton in Wisconsin, Camp Abercrombie in Shepherdsville, Kentucky, Elizabethtown and Bacon Creek also in Kentucky. Samuel Lombard Hart (1830-1893) prior to becoming a very highly regarded and skilled gunsmith over his ten years in Tombstone, had two separate tours of duty with Union forces in the Civil War. As a Lieutenant, he served with the Wisconsin 10th Infantry and as an Assistant Signal Officer for the 4th Division of the Army of the Tennessee seeing action in several battles including Pittsburgh Landing. After the war as a gunsmith in Tombstone Arizona Territory, if gun repairs were needed, Hart's on Freemont Street was the place to go, located just a short distance from the famous Fly Photography studio and right next door to the O.K. Corral. On Oct. 26th of 1881 Hart, while working in his store, would be one of the relatively few witnesses to the Gunfight at the O.K. Corral that made Tombstone and the Earp's famous. Guns that were re-worked or repaired by Hart were often stamped with his logo, which was the letters S and L over a "heart," an artistic yet compact and simple way of saying "S.L. Hart." S.L. was entrusted with both basic repairs as well as also sought out for his special Colt pistols. Some of Hart's more notable clients were US Marshal Wyatt Earp, Doc Holiday, outlaw Ike Clanton and Buckskin Frank Leslie. It has been said that the legacy of S.L. Hart as gunsmith to the cowboys, gamblers, lawmen, and gunfighters of Tombstone cannot be over estimated. Today a firearm with the "S.L. Hart" stamp is almost priceless. The letters are in amazingly well preserved condition, each in a clear protective sleeve. Measure 9.5"W x 11.25"L, combined weight is 2lb, 4oz.