Confederate General - Louisiana

Beauregard commanded the forces which started the Civil War by shelling Fort Sumter, and he went on to serve with distinction at First Manassas, Shiloh, and in the defense of Richmond.

Signature, “G.T. Beauregard, 1877,” on a light 1 ½” x 3 ½” card.

The card is lightly and evenly toned, and there are old mounting remnants on the reverse.

U.S. Congressman – South Carolina – 1853-57

A Mexican War veteran and two-term Democratic representative from South Carolina, Brooks is most remembered for severely beating abolitionist Massachusetts Senator Charles Sumner in the Senate chamber on May 22, 1856, two days after Sumner’s impassioned speech denouncing the Kansas-Nebraska Act.

Signature, as antebellum U.S. Congressman from South Carolina, “P.S. Brooks, Ninety Six. So[uth] Carolina,” on a 1 ¾” x 5 ¾” portion of an album page.

First Lady of the Confederacy

DAVIS, VARINA ANNE (1864-1898)  Daughter of Jefferson & Varina Davis; Known as the “Daughter of the Confederacy”

Signed Album Page, 4” x 7”, “Varina Jefferson Davis.,” also signed and dated by the Davis’s daughter, Winnie, at their Mississippi home, “Varina Anne Davis, Beauvoir, Miss., Nov 5^th 1893,” with the collector’s biographical notations in the lower margin.

Overall condition is excellent, with light, even toning.

First Lady of the Confederacy

Autograph Letter Signed, 4 ½” x 7”, to “Danl. E. Soper, Esqr.,” marked “Personal.” Writing on “Beauvoir House” imprinted black-bordered mourning stationery, due to the death of her husband, Jefferson Davis, just two months earlier, the former Confederate First Lady responds to a request for the autographs of her family and refers the recipient to a New Orleans photographer for a picture of Mr. Davis.

“…Dear Sir, I thank you for the bookmarks sent & return you my autograph & the back of a letter addressed to me by my Husband. My Daughter is in Italy & consequently I cannot send her autograph. W.W. Washburne, Canal St., New Orleans will I am sure send you the best picture he has of Mr. Davis if you apply to him. Believe me Respectfully & truly yours, V. Jefferson Davis. Feb[ruary] 17^th 1890.”

A center horizontal fold and a few superficial stains detract very little from excellent overall condition.

First Lady of the Confederacy

“Mr. Davis is not writing any thing…He is not strong and both of us nil very much in a valetudinarian kind of old aged way truly depressing.”

Autograph Letter Signed, two pages, front and reverse of a 5” x 8” sheet, signed with her seldom-seen full name.

From her Mississippi home, Mrs. Davis thanks a friend, identified only as “Mr. Derby,” for his assistance during the illnesses of both an unnamed friend and her daughter Varina Anne “Winnie” Davis, known throughout the South as the “Daughter of the Confederacy,” due to her birth in the Confederate White House in Richmond during the Civil War. Particular gratitude is expressed for Mr. Derby’s help with Winnie’s literary pursuits, presumably relating to at least one of the books she would publish in the subsequent years, most notably An Irish Knight of the Seventeenth Century, The Veiled Doctor, and Foreign Education for American Girls. In an amusing, melancholy conclusion, Mrs. Davis laments her husband’s lack of literary possibilities, along with the couple’s declining health. Former Confederate President Jefferson Davis died the following year, on December 6, 1889.

“Beauvoir House, 18^th April, 1888. Dear Mr. Derby, I am disappointed over my poor friend’s MS, but know that you did your very best for me and her, for though uncertain sometimes of your success, I never am of your kind desire to serve your friends. Winnie is today is [sic] so unwell that she commissioned me to thank you very gratefully for the trouble you have taken in her behalf and as you decide the question of name as you and our dear old friends the Lovells think best. She does not feel able to read the proof. She will be in New York in the course of the summer and I hope will see you and them while there. Mr. Davis is not writing any thing but has had several literary propositions which have not been accepted. He is not strong and both of us nil very much in a valetudinarian kind of old aged way truly depressing.  With the hope that you and yours are all well I am my dear friend, Very truly yours, Varina Howell Davis.”

There are several areas of slightly heavier toning , along with the usual horizontal folds.

Confederate Brigadier General – Alabama

A Mexican War veteran who had attended both Virginia Military Institute and West Point, Fry led the 13^th Alabama at Seven Pines, Sharpsburg, and Chancellorsville. After recovering from wounds received in all three battles, Fry participated in Pickett’s charge at Gettysburg, where he was again wounded and captured. He was exchanged and returned to service before the siege of Petersburg and commanded a district in Georgia, headquartered at Augusta.

War-Date Document Signed, 8” x 13”, Augusta, Georgia, October 12, 1864, “B.D. Fry, Brig[adier] Gen[eral] Commanding Post,” a partly printed clothing requisition for soldiers confined in the hospital there. Of the eight Confederates listed, two of the four from Florida regiments were wounded at the battle of Chickamauga, a third at Atlanta. Most notably, Fourth Florida Infantry Private James Herndon, wounded at Chickamauga, was later captured and confined at Camp Chase, Ohio, where he died of disease on April 4, 1865.

There are three vertical folds and several small holes in the center and in the upper margin, none affecting the text of the document.

Confederate Brigadier General

A South Carolina native and businessman, Gladden was appointed postmaster of Columbia by President John Tyler. He served in the Mexican War and assumed the lieutenant colonelcy of the 1^st South Carolina when the state seceded from the Union in late 1860. Shortly after his adopted state of Louisiana likewise seceded, Gladden was appointed colonel of the 1^st Louisiana Infantry. As brigadier general, he was wounded by a shell fragment during the first day’s fighting at Shiloh. Less than a week after the amputation of his arm on the field, Gladden died in General P.G.T. Beauregard’s headquarters in Corinth, Mississippi on April 12, 1862.

War-Date Signature, “A.H. Gladden, Brig[adier] Gen[eral] Commanding 1^st Brig[ade],” on a 1 ½” x 6” portion of a partly printed Confederate medical document, dated December 4, 1861.

The signature is affixed to light card stock and has the often-seen soiling and wear.

Confederate Lieutenant General– South Carolina; Governor of South Carolina – 1876-79; Democratic U.S. Senator – South Carolina – 1879-91

Hampton served with distinction from First Manassas through the surrender of Joseph Johnston in North Carolina, becoming, along with Nathan Bedford Forrest and Richard Taylor, one of only three civilians to attain the rank of lieutenant general.

Autograph Letter Signed, two pages, on front and reverse of a 5” x 8” sheet, to Thomas Taylor, a captain in Hampton’s Legion during the Civil War. As a first-term U.S. Senator from South Carolina, Hampton discusses agricultural matters relating to the former Confederate commissioner, Senator L.Q.C. Lamar, also referring Taylor to another old Confederate comrade, 1^st South Carolina Lieutenant Colonel Andrew P. Butler.

“Wash[ingto]n, June 9^th 1879. My Dear Taylor, your letter reached me a day or two ago & I was glad to learn that you were all well. The warm weather & the confinement here have made my leg trouble me & I shall try to get off very soon. Senator Lamar has heard that by the cultivation of vetches the [?] grass can be exterminated & he wants some vetch seed. Can you have some sent to him here? Do consult Dr. Ravenel to learn if the grass can be eradicated by this plant & get from him the mode of cultivating it. If you see Col. A.P. Butler tell him that I want him to let me have a trio of white game chickens for Lamar. If he has any of pure blood he could ship them by express to Oxford, Miss[issippi]. Do see if you can get three chickens. Write when you can. With kind regards to Mrs. Taylor, I am Y[ou]rs truly, Wade Hampton.”

Accompanied by the transmittal envelope, addressed by Hampton, to “Capt. Thos. Taylor, Charleston, So[uth] Ca[rolina].

The letter is in excellent overall condition. The envelope bears general soiling and wear, along with several edge chips and tears.

Confederate Brigadier General – Kentucky; Brother-in-Law of Abraham Lincoln

A West Point graduate, attorney, and antebellum Kentucky state legislator, Helm married the half sister of Mary Todd Lincoln in 1856. When the Civil War broke out five years later, he declined a position in the Federal Army, offered by President Lincoln; instead joining the Confederate cause, Helm organized and led the 1^st Kentucky Cavalry. Promoted brigadier general just before the battle of Shiloh, Helm saw action at Vicksburg, Baton Rouge, and Chickamauga, where he was mortally wounded while leading a brigade under Confederate Major General John C. Breckinridge in the Army of Tennessee.

War-Date Signature, “B.H. Helm, Brig[adier] Gen[era]l Com[man]d[ing],” an extremely rare example on a 1 ½” x 3” slip of paper, removed from a letter.

Wife of Confederate Lieutenant General Thomas J. “Stonewall” Jackson

Autograph Letter Signed, two pages, on individual 5” x 8” sheets, with social content to a recipient identified only as Mrs. Norcross. It is very likely that Mrs. Jackson was in California at this time to be near her daughter, Julia Jackson Christian, shortly before she gave birth to a daughter, also named Julia, on June 5, 1887.

“San Diego, California, March 21^st 1887. My dear Mrs. Norcross, Yours of the 13^th has just found me in California! as you will see from the heading of my letter. I am very sorry that we missed seeing you as you passed through Richmond, for it would have given both my daughter and myself sincere pleasure to meet you again. This is a changing and uncertain world. We had no idea one year ago that we would now be in this far off land, but Providence seemed to guide us here, and we find a most charming climate, and have been blest with good health. We hope our sojourn here may be only temporary, and that we may be permitted to return to Virginia in a few years at best. We will trust to be more fortunate in meeting you the next time you come south. With our kind regards and best wishes, I am Sincerely yours, M.A. Jackson. P.O. Box 312.”

Both sheets are lightly and evenly toned, with the usual horizontal folds.

Confederate General & Commander of the Army of Northern Virginia

Returning the Remains of a Young Lieutenant Who Died in Texas to His Father in Pennsylvania

“Hon[ora]ble John Dick, Meadville, P[ennsylvani]a. Camp in Clear fork of Brazos, 13 July 1857. Dear Sir, Having seen a statement in the papers that the letters that had reached Indianola from about the 20 to the 30 May had all been lost in the mails shipped aboard the Steamer Louisiana, & as my letter to you of the 6 May should have been at Indianola about that time, I have determined to send to you a Copy, that you might see why your letter of 10 Sept. [18]’56 had been so long unack[nowledge]d, should the original have been lost, & that I had given such attention to your inquiries as I was able. I hope my letter of the 19^th May reached you safely, & that you will have rec[eive]d w[ith] this the remains of your Son, forw[arde]d at that time to the Messrs. Thorps, who were also written to. I made arrangements for their shipment from Indianola, & have heard of their safe passage through San Antonio. With Sentiments of esteem & respect I am very resp[ectfull]y your Ob[edien]t Serv[an]t, R.E. Lee.”

During a forty-day expedition which scouted the headwaters of the Colorado, Brazos, and Wichita rivers, begun in early June, 1856, the four cavalry squadrons in Lee’s command had several encounters with hostile Comanche Indians. The available records indicate that Lieutenant Dick died at Camp Cooper on July 31, 1856 - just eight days after Lee’s return.  It is unknown if he died of wounds received during the expedition, or due to an illness or an injury that occurred at the notoriously harsh Camp Cooper.

The letter is in excellent condition, with slight discoloration along portions of the usual folds and superficial paper breaks at their intersections.

Confederate General & Commander of the Army of Northern Virginia

Document Signed, 8” x 10 ½”, as President of Washington College, Lexington Virginia, June 20, 1867, “R.E. Lee,” the partly printed report card for a student, “Mr. Edwin T. Dumble,” in the subjects of Latin, Greek, and Mathematics.

Born in Madison, Indiana in 1852, Edwin Dumble moved to Galveston, Texas with his family as an infant. His education at Washington College was twice interrupted by reversals in his father’s cotton and lumber businesses. He later served as an executive in several oil companies – most notably the Southern Pacific, the Rio Bravo, and the East Coast Oil Companies - and as Texas State Geologist from 1887 to 1897. In 1924, Dumble received a doctorate of science from his early alma mater, now Washington and Lee University, before retiring to Virginia. He died in 1927.

The document is lightly and evenly toned, with a few small stains. There are several tiny holes along the usual folds, none affected the text of the document.

American Sculptor

Signed Photograph, 7 ½” x 10”, “To Charles C. Curran – The War Horse in Art. H.A. MacNeil, S.C.” The photograph is of MacNeil’s sculpture to the Confederate Defenders of Charleston, South Carolina during the American Civil War, and was inscribed to noted American artist Charles C. Curran shortly before the dedication of the monument on October 20, 1932.

The reverse bears MacNeil’s further handwritten notation, “Study. Defensive Monument, Sumter Park, Charleston, S.C. H.A. MacNeil, S.C. 1931,” and the stamp, “The Capitol Photo Studios, 617 – 2^nd Avenue, College Point, L[ong] I[sland].”

There are a few small stains in the margins, and the reverse bears heavier glue staining from past mounting.

Confederate Brigadier General – Texas; Governor of Texas – 1887-91

Born in Iowa, Ross was a noted Indian fighter and captain of a company of Texas Rangers before the war. He entered Confederate service as a private and was quickly promoted to colonel of the 6^th Texas Cavalry, fighting in over one hundred engagements during the Civil War.

A Rare Confederate Muster Roll for the Sixth Texas Cavalry

War-Date Document Signed, 22” x 28”, Camp near Spring Hill, Tennessee, April 29, 1863, “L.S. Ross, Col[onel],” a partly printed muster roll for Company D, 6^th Texas Cavalry. Most of the seventy-four Confederates listed were recruited at Dallas, Texas, with the usual notations of sickness, absence, one wounded and taken prisoner, and another “Killed in battle on 5 March 1863.”

While the portion on which Ross has signed is sound, the document is well-worn throughout, with numerous small holes from ink erosion, the usual heavy folds, soiling, and wear. Images of the remainder of the document will be provided upon request.

Confederate Brigadier General - Alabama

A Tennessee native, Shelley recruited and led the 30^th Alabama Infantry during the campaign and siege of Vicksburg, where he was captured and paroled. He subsequently saw action in all the battles of the Army of Tennessee from Chattanooga through Franklin, having been appointed brigadier general from September 17, 1864. After the war, Shelley served four consecutive terms as a Democratic U.S. Congressman from Alabama.

War-Date Endorsement Signed, “Approved & Respectfully forwarded. C.M. Shelley, Col[onel] Com[man]d[in]g,” on a 1 ¾” x 3 ¼” portion of a Confederate document.

While post-war autographs of Shelley are common, war-date pieces are rarely encountered. There is light, even toning, along with heavy mounting remnants on the reverse.

Confederate Vice President - Georgia

Despite his unionist stance as congressman from Georgia, Stephens followed his native state to the Confederacy, becoming a representative in the Provisional Congress, a position he retained even after assuming the Vice Presidency. After the war, he returned to the U.S. House of Representatives from 1873 through 1882.

Signed as Confederate Commissioner the Day Before Meeting with Lincoln at the Hampton Roads Peace Conference

Civil War-Date Signature, on a light 1 ¾” x 3 ¼” card, as Confederate Commissioner to the Hampton Roads Peace Conference. Requesting a meeting with President Lincoln to discuss a possible termination of the war, Confederate Vice President Stephens and the two other representatives were passed through the Federal lines at Petersburg by Lieutenant General Ulysses S. Grant on January 30, 1865. They awaited instruction from Lincoln at Grant’s City Point, Virginia headquarters, and it is undoubtedly while there that Stephens signed this card.

“Alexander H. Stephens, Con[federate] States Com[missione]r, City Point, V[irgini]a. 2 Feb. 1865.”

On February 3, 1865, President Abraham Lincoln and U.S. Secretary of State William H. Seward met with the Confederate commissioners, Vice President Alexander H. Stephens, Senator R.M.T. Hunter, and Assistant Secretary of War John A. Campbell, on a steamer in Hampton Roads, Virginia to discuss the prospects of a negotiated peace. The Confederacy’s insistence on independence, dismissed outright by Lincoln, and disagreement over emancipation of the slaves doomed the conference to failure. All three commissioners were arrested by Federal authorities and imprisoned for several months after the war.

While Stephens manuscripts from both before and after the Civil War are common, autographs as Confederate Vice President during the war period are only occasionally seen. This card, from the historic peace conference near the war’s end, is the only such example I’ve encountered.

The card bears light, even toning, along with minor glue staining at the edges, from its being affixed to a slightly larger card.

Confederate Captain – Second Florida Cavalry

Born in Georgia in 1814, Thigpin was a prosperous Apalachicola merchant, owner of land and slaves, and the sheriff of Franklin County, Florida in the years leading up to the Civil War. He enlisted in the Second Florida Cavalry (the Milton Dragoons) in early 1862, and spent the war years protecting plantations and salt works along the coast in the vicinity from the repeated incursions from both the Union Army and Navy.

Reporting on a Union Attack on Apalachicola, Florida – to a Confederate Officer Later Killed at the Battle of Olustee

War-Date Letter Signed, 8” x 10”, with excellent content relating to a Federal attack on Confederate-held Apalachicola, Florida. First blockaded by the Union Navy on June 11, 1862, Apalachicola changed hands numerous times during the war. Repeated Federal attacks were made on the port city, this letter detailing Thigpin’s observations in the aftermath of an April 20, 1863 raid by forces under Union Navy Lieutenant Commander George U. Morris, in which a large quantity of cotton and Confederate ordnance was seized.

The letter is in excellent condition, with the expected folds, and there is light soiling and wear on the reverse.

Confederate Colonel - North Carolina; Commanded Thomas’s Cherokee Legion; White Chief of the Oconaluftee Cherokee

Document Signed, Charleston, South Carolina, June 13, 1838, “Wm. H. Thomas,” a partly printed 3 ¼” x 7” promissory note, payable to James W.Y. Watson for $258.82.

The document has light toning, soiling, and wear, along with the expected folds.