U.S. Postmaster General - 1861-64; Brother of Francis P. Blair, Jr.; Mayor of St. Louis – 1842-43; Counsel for Dred Scott before the U.S. Supreme Court

War-Date Signed Envelope, 3 ¼” x 6”, free-franked as U.S. Postmaster General under President Abraham Lincoln during the Civil War, “M. Blair, P.M.G.” The envelope is also addressed by Blair, to “Col[onel] F.A. Dick, St. Louis, Mo.,” and is postmarked “Washington, D.C., May 8, 1863.”

The envelope is lightly toned, with minor wear and a few superficial tears at the edges, along with several small stains.

Union Brigadier General – Massachusetts

While leading the 10^th Massachusetts under McClellan on the Peninsula, Briggs was severely wounded in both thighs at Seven Pines. He briefly returned to active service, to command a brigade in the Middle Department and a division in the Army of the Potomac.

Briggs Writes to His Wife After “the late bloody battle of Gettysburg.”

War-Date Autograph Letter Signed, four pages, on a 5” x 8” letter-sheet, signed “your Husband,” incorporating his signature into his wife’s address, “Mrs. H.S. Briggs, Pittsfield, Mass[achusetts],” at the conclusion. Assigned to lead an Eighth Corps brigade in the Army of the Potomac, Briggs relates the rigors sustained by the troops in his command. Many of them were Massachusetts Volunteers approaching the end of their nine-month terms of service – diverted and quick-marched to guard Union-held territory near Harpers Ferry during the retreat of Robert E. Lee’s Army of Northern Virginia after “the late bloody battle of Gettysburg.”

Dear Molly,

I have been thinking ever since we got into camp about 11 o’clock this forenoon that I must write; but it has been so hot and I have been so sleepy that I have not got to it till now (past 9 o’c[lock] eve) and that is time to turn in for…as early as 4 o’c[lock] in the morning to march.

This has been the hottest day we have had, and the men could hardly have endured a long march. We left camp near Waterford this morning at about 7 o’c[lock] and halted here as I said a little before 11 o’c[lock]. We are bivouacked in a fine wood, the first shade of any account we have had in our encampment. I last wrote you at camp near Buckittsville on Thursday I believe (or Friday, it is very difficult for me to keep the days of the week). We were ordered to march from there at 4 o’c[lock] yesterday morning but didn’t get off till about 6, then marched to Waterford which we reached about 2 o’c[lock] and had plenty of time to get into camp and rest before night. We crossed the Potomac yesterday morning by a pontoon bridge about 8 o’c[lock] at Berlin, where we left the 46[th] Mass[achusetts] Col[onel] [William S.] Shurtleff to go home its time having nearly expired. That leaves me with only the 8^th [Massachusetts] whose time expires on the 30^th inst[ant] and the 39^th [Massachusetts] about a thousand men in all; But that is a large Brigade in this Corps so reduced has it become by the casualties of a long term, the most ever of all which was the late bloody battle of Gettysburg. A Vermont Brig[age] left the Div[ision] yesterday also nine month troops.

Which way we go from here I know nothing of nor what is going on about us. It was supposed this morning that we were going to Leesburg [Virginia] from which we were about 7 miles to the north. We are now about the same distance west, and about mid-way between or opposite Gregors and Snickers Gaps in the Blue Ridge. I keep remarkably well altho[ugh] we all feel our broken sleep. Our orders to march almost invariably come after midnight here since there is not much sleep for us after that.

Dear Molly I have thought a great deal of you all to day, both on the march and since arrival in camp. I can think of you with better heart than when I first joined this army a week ago tho[ugh] not less tenderly and graciously. I am not so homesick and have come to accept my position as a necessity and duty. I am not altogether agreeably situated here; but I am content for the present in the belief that there will be some change soon as my command will be broken up by the departure of the 8^th [Massachusetts] a week hence.

It is now a fortnight since the date of your and George’s last letter. I do not allow myself to be anxious about you, trusting the Father of Mercies and of us all to keep you. Our mails are not often sent, since I suppose it is hardly known at Washington what my address is. I shall hope now to hear from you after the receipt of my letter from Funkstown dated a week ago tomorrow.

Our mail boy was sent to H[ea]d Qu[arter]s tonight but returned with the message that probably there would be no mail sent for two or three days.

I must turn in. So good night with lots of love to all. Affectionately your Husband. Mrs. H.S. Briggs, Pittsfield, Mass[achusetts].”

Union Major General – Massachusetts; Republican U.S. Congressman – Massachusetts – 1867-75 & 1877-79; U.S. Presidential Candidate – Greenback Party - 1884

Known as “Beast Butler” for his harsh treatment of civilians in New Orleans, Butler had, ironically, nominated Jefferson Davis for the presidency on the 1860 Democratic ticket.

War-Date Signature, “Yours truly, Benj. F. Butler, Maj. Genl. Com[manding],” on a 2 ½” x 4 ¾” slip of paper.

Lightly and evenly toned, with a horizontal fold, along with minor bleeding of ink in portions of Butler’s rank.

Union Brigadier General – Maine; Awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor for Gettysburg

As colonel of the 20^th Maine, Chamberlain gallantly defended Little Round Top, preventing a Confederate victory at Gettysburg.

Civil War-Date Signature, a seldom-seen example with sentiment and the rank Chamberlain held from June 18, 1864 through the end of the war, on a 1 ¾” x 5” slip of lined paper. Chamberlain was brevetted major general of volunteers on March 29, 1865.

“Very respectfully, Your ob[e]d[ien]t Serv[an]t, J.L. Chamberlain, Brig. Genl. Com[man]d[in]g.”

The slip is lightly toned, with some show-through of old glue staining on the reverse, and there is a small hole above the “Com” in Chamberlain’s rank; illustrated against a black background for added clarity.

U.S. Treasury Secretary - 1861-64; U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice - 1864-73

As Lincoln’s Treasury Secretary, Chase was instrumental in the efforts to finance the war and was responsible for the issue and acceptance of paper money as legal tender. Continued rivalry and strife with Lincoln precipitated his appointment to fill the Supreme Court vacancy created by the death of Roger B. Taney in 1864.

War-Date Signature, with closing and title in another hand, “S.P. Chase,” on a 1 ½” x 4” slip of paper, removed from a letter as U.S. Treasury Secretary, the position Chase held from March 4, 1861 through December 6, 1864; with the pencil notation, “1862” in the lower margin.

Union Brigadier General – New York

Born in New York City to immigrant Irish parents, Devin served as colonel of the 6^th New York Cavalry from the unit’s formation in late 1861 through the battles of Antietam and Fredericksburg. He led a cavalry brigade under Union General John Buford in the first day’s fighting at Gettysburg, and subsequently saw action in Kilpatrick’s raid on Richmond and with Sheridan in the Shenandoah.

War-Date Endorsement Signed, on a 2 ¼” x 3 ½” slip of paper, removed from a larger document.

“Head Q[uar]t[e]rs, 2^nd Brig[ade] 1^st Cav[alry] Division, Oct. 23, 1863. Approved & Respectfully forwarded. Thos. C. Devin, Col[onel] Com[man]d[in]g Brig[ade].”

Union Major General  – New York

A West Point graduate and Mexican War veteran, Doubleday was garrisoned in Charleston Harbor when the Civil War began with the bombardment of Ft. Sumter by forces under Confederate General P.G.T. Beauregard. He subsequently saw action at Second Bull Run, Antietam, Fredericksburg, Chancellorsville, and Gettysburg, where he assumed command of the First Corps upon the death of John Reynolds. Doubleday has since been popularly credited with inventing baseball.

Civil War-Date Autograph Letter Signed, on a lightly toned sheet, trimmed to 5” x 6”. Near the conclusion of the war’s third year, Doubleday sends this handwritten letter for the collection of noted autograph collector William H. Fry. Accompanying records indicate that Fry’s collection, this piece included as Lot #580, was sold by Davis & Harvey, a Philadelphia auction company, on June 7 & 8, 1907.

“Washington, D.C., Dec[ember] 13, 1863. Sir, I enclose my autograph as requested. A. Doubleday, Major Genl. Vol[unteers]. To Wm. H. Fry, Esq., Harrisburg, P[ennsylvani]a.”

There are two horizontal folds, and a small hole near the right edge affects one letter of text.

U.S. Secretary of State – 1852-53; Governor of Massachusetts – 1836-40; U.S Senator - Massachusetts

Everett preceded Lincoln at the podium on November 19, 1863, giving the principal address at the Gettysburg cemetery dedication.

Civil War-Date Autograph Quotation Signed, on a 3” x 5” slip of paper. During the third full year of the war – and less than a year after he delivered the opening speech before Abraham Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address – Everett expresses reverence for the nation’s first President, George Washington.

“Washington was the greatest of good men & the best of great men. Edward Everett. Boston, 3 Sept[embe]r 1864.”

Condition is excellent, with the expected light 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.

American Journalist & Abolitionist; Founder of the Abolitionist Newspaper, “The Liberator”

Civil War-Date Autograph Quotation Signed, voicing the abolitionist sentiment for which Garrison was widely known, on a 2 ½” x 5” portion of an album page.

“Yours, for universal freedom, Wm. Lloyd Garrison, Boston, May 20, 1862.”

Garrison’s long-held, oft-stated dream of “immediate and complete emancipation of all slaves” was very soon advanced two-fold, as the bill abolishing slavery in the territories was signed into law on June 19 and, more significantly, President Lincoln read the first draft of his Emancipation Proclamation to the Cabinet on July 22, 1862.

Barely discernible damp-staining to the left one-third, along with a few small stains, detract very little.

Confederate Colonel – 1^st Missouri Cavalry; U.S. Marshal – Western District of Missouri; Missouri State Treasurer-1877-81

A Kentucky native and Buchanan County, Missouri resident, Gates led the 1^st Missouri Cavalry under Sterling Price, later Confederate Generals Bowen, Forney, and French. He had four horses shot from under him during the war, being captured three times and wounded five times, losing an arm at the Battle of Franklin. After the war, Gates returned to Missouri, serving as Buchanan County Sheriff, U.S. Marshal for the Western District of Missouri, and State Treasurer.

War-Date Signed Card, 2” x 3 ¼”, as 1^st Missouri Cavalry Commander, “Elijah Gates, Col. Commanding 1^st Mo. Cavalry C.S.A.”

The card is lightly and evenly toned, with a few small stains.

Union Brigadier General – Pennsylvania; First Mayor of San Francisco, California – 1850-51; Governor of Kansas Territory – 1856-57; Governor of Pennsylvania – 1867-73

A veteran of the Mexican War, Geary began the Civil War as Colonel of the 28^th Pennsylvania Infantry. He was twice wounded at Cedar Mountain, commanded the 2^nd Division of the 12^th Corps at Chancellorsville and Gettysburg, and subsequently saw action at Chattanooga. After the war, Geary served two terms as Governor of Pennsylvania.

War-Date Signature, with rank, “Jno. W. Geary, Brig. Genl. Com[man]d[in]g,” on a 1 ¼” x 4” slip of paper, removed from a larger document or letter.

Lightly and evenly toned, with a few small stains, along with old glue staining on the reverse.

Confederate Brigadier General – Louisiana; U.S. Senator – Louisiana – 1883-92

As colonel, Gibson led the 13^th Louisiana Infantry at Shiloh, in the Kentucky campaign, and at Chickamauga. Subsequently promoted to brigadier general, he served with distinction at Atlanta, during Hood's late-war invasion of Tennessee, and in the defense of Spanish Fort, Alabama. An attorney by profession, Gibson served as U.S. Congressman, Regent of the Smithsonian Institution, and president of the board of administrators for Tulane University after the war.

Rounding up Deserters from the 13^th Louisiana for the Battles of Franklin and Nashville

War-Date Autograph Endorsement Signed, on the reverse of a letter, 8” x 10”, directing 13^th Louisiana Captain James Lingan to Jackson, Mississippi to apprehend “absentees and deserters” from the regiment. The officer to whom Captain Lingan is ordered to report, Major Michael O. Tracey, was severely wounded at the battle of Murfreesboro on December 31, 1862, requiring the amputation of his right leg.

“Head-Quarters Army of Tennessee. In the Field, November 9^th 1864. Field Special Orders No. 144…The following named Officers of Gibson’s Brigade are detailed for Sixty (60) days, and will report to Major M.O. Tracy, 13^th La. Regt., at Jackson, Miss. for the purpose of collecting all absentees and deserters from Gibson’s Brigade. Captain James Lingan, Co. B., Austin’s Battalion. By Command of General Hood, Jas. Cooper, Capt. & A.A.A.G.”

Several junior officers and adjutants have further endorsed the document, and there are three official stamps from the Quartermasters Department in Selma, Alabama at mid-left. There is general soiling and wear throughout, and crude archival tape reinforcement of two folds on the letter side, opposite Gibson’s endorsement, could easily be repaired by a professional conservator.

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.

18^th U.S. President - 1869-77; Union Lieutenant General

From Vicksburg, Grant Exerts His Authority Over the Mississippi, in an Incident with the Steamer Empress – Later Burned by Nathan Bedford Forrest

War-Date Autograph Letter Signed, 1 ½ pages, front and reverse of the first leaf of a folded 5” x 8” letter-sheet, to a United States Treasury agent identified only as “Mr. Montrose.”

From his headquarters in Vicksburg, Mississippi, the Confederate river stronghold having fallen to Federal forces under Grant just three months earlier, the Union commander informs Agent Montrose of the improper seizure of a cotton-laden steamer on the river by the U.S. Navy. As unhindered shipping on the Mississippi had resumed after the mid-summer fall of Vicksburg and Port Hudson, Montrose is further instructed to provide passes for use by Union vessels as additional protection against future seizures in violation of orders already issued by Grant.

“U.S.S. Choctaw, Off Mouth of Red River, October 4, 1863. Sir: This morning the steamer Empress came down from Natchez, having on board about 2,800 bales of cotton, taken on board by permission of Brigadier-General M.M. Crocker, commanding U.S. forces at Natchez…Never having received orders to pass cotton shipped by permission of army officers, and the proclamation of the President of March 31, 1863, and the regulations of the Secretary of the Treasury of the same date not permitting any such trade, I ordered the captain of the Empress to return to Natchez with the cotton, and gave him a letter to General Crocker, a copy of which I enclose. I was informed by the captain of the Empress that these permits were given by General Grant…Frank M. Ramsay, Lieutenant-Commander, Commanding Third District.”

“U.S.S. Benton, Off Natchez, October 9, 1863…I was informed by my executive officer that he had forwarded a letter from General Grant to Captain Ramsay, a copy of which I send, in which the general was willing to assume the responsibility in the premises and referred to an order from the Treasury Department of September 15, 1863, which caused him to issue his General Order No. 57, which I send enclosed…Jas. A. Greer, Lieutenant-Commander, Comdg. 4^th Dist., Miss. Squadron.”

“U.S.S. Choctaw, Off Mouth of Red River, November 8, 1863. Captain Couthouy told them that you commanded the Mississippi River; that General Grant was absolute on shore, but that he did not control so much of the water of the Mississippi as would be sufficient for him to wash his face in; that this was no question between military and naval authority, but simply whether the officers in command of gunboats should obey your orders and those of the Secretary of the Navy or those of General Grant…A person calling himself General David Stewart (who, I was informed in Natchez, is supposed to be a cotton speculator) took it upon himself to spread a number of reports, and was the principal speaker among the passengers on the Empress…Frank M. Ramsay, Lieutenant-Commander, Comdg. 3^rd Dist., Miss. Squadron.”

There is light, even toning, with the usual folds, several small stains, and somewhat heavier soiling and wear to the docketed fourth page of the letter-sheet. Slight trimming of the margins, perhaps inadvertent when the envelope in which the letter was delivered was opened, affects several letters of text in the last line of the first page and in the first word of the second.

American Editor & Abolitionist

As founder of the New York Tribune, Greeley exerted great political power with the expression of his antislavery views. He was defeated in the 1872 presidential election, and died later in the same year.

A Recommendation for a Disabled Soldier in the Irish Brigade

Civil War-Date Autograph Letter Signed, on imprinted 5” x 8” Office of The Tribune stationery, to “Gen[eral] M.C. M[e]igs, Quartermaster U.S.A.” In this earnest and eloquent letter to U.S. Army Quartermaster General Montgomery C. Meigs, who established the military cemetery at Arlington later in the war, Greeley recommends a battle-disabled soldier in the 69^th New York, part of the Irish Brigade under General Thomas F. Meagher, for a position.

The letter is accompanied by a period carte-de-visite image of Greeley, with a C.D. Fredericks & Co. backmark. Both pieces bear general soiling and wear, the letter having the usual horizontal folds and a few small stains.

Confederate Lieutenant General – Virginia

After entering Confederate service as Colonel of Virginia Militia, Jackson earned the sobriquet "Stonewall" at First Manassas, serving brilliantly from the Valley Campaign through Second Manassas, Sharpsburg, and Chancellorsville. He was accidentally wounded by his own troops while returning from a personal reconnaissance of the Union position at Chancellorsville, and died on May 10, 1863.

War-Date Document Signed, 4 ½” x 6 ½”, May 1, 1861, as early-war colonel of Virginia Volunteers, “T.J. Jackson, Col. Va. Vols.,” a partly printed field-press requisition for pens and pen holders, accomplished in another hand.

There is slightly heavier toning along the right edge, with two horizontal folds, and the document is closely trimmed at the bottom, affecting several letters in Jackson’s rank.

Sixteenth U.S. President - 1861-65

A Request for a Lieutenant’s Promotion – Just Two Months Before He was Mortally Wounded at Cedar Creek

“The above, written by a very good man, is submitted to the Secretary of War. A. Lincoln.”

Noted as a resident of Allentown, Pennsylvania in the accompanying National Archives records, Mr. Baldwin was undoubtedly a caller at the Executive Mansion, and was directed to write his request, hoping that President Lincoln would approve and advance it through the proper channels. His letter, accomplished in pencil, in full:

“Aug. 12^th 1864. To His Excellency, Abraham Lincoln, President of the U.S. I desire the transfer or promotion of my brother, Lt. Henry M. Baldwin, Battery M, 5^th Reg[imen]t U.S. Artillery, to any vacancy in the Regt. which you may decide it possible to place him, consistent with the good of the service. Very Resp[ectfull]y, F.H. Baldwin.”

There is no record of Lieutenant Baldwin’s promotion or transfer before he was severely wounded through the chest and left arm on October 19, 1864 – just two months later - at the Battle of Cedar Creek. He died on November 8, 1864 at Sheridan Hospital, near Winchester, Virginia.

The letter is in excellent condition, with creases from two vertical folds.                                                                                      

Sixteenth U.S. President - 1861-65

Civil War-Date Document Signed, 15” x 19”, as President, Washington, July 29, 1861, “Abraham Lincoln,” a partly printed appointment for “…Stephen Brooks…Surveyor of the Customs for the District of Middletown in the State of Connecticut.” Countersigned by the Secretary of the Treasury, “S.P. Chase.”

The document is in excellent overall condition, with light age toning and several minor paper breaks at the intersections of the usual folds. Both signatures are distinct and free from flaw in every respect.