Union Brigadier General – Massachusetts; Killed-in-Action at the Battle of Winchester

A West Point graduate and Mexican War veteran, Russell saw early-war service as colonel of the 7^th Massachusetts Infantry on the Peninsula and at Antietam. After promotion to brigadier general, he saw action at Fredericksburg, Chancellorsville, Gettysburg, Petersburg, and at the battle of Winchester, where he was killed while leading a brigade on September 19, 1864.

War-Date Signature, with rank, “D.A. Russell, Brig. Genl.,” on a 1” x 2 ¾” slip of paper.

Lightly and evenly toned, with light soiling and wear.

Union Brigadier General – Massachusetts; Awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor for Gallantry in the Defense of Harpers Ferry, Virginia

An 1849 West Point graduate and veteran of the Seminole War, Saxton was commanding an artillery detachment at the St. Louis arsenal when the Civil War began. He assisted General Nathaniel Lyon in dispersing the pro-southern Missouri State Guard at Camp Jackson and subsequently became Lyon’s chief quartermaster.  After being transferred east, Saxton commanded the defenses of Harpers Ferry in May and June of 1862, an action for which he was awarded the Medal of Honor. His primary function for the remainder of the war was the enlistment and organization of former slaves into the Federal Army. Upon the termination of hostilities, Saxton became an assistant commander in a division of the Freedmen’s Bureau.

Civil War-Date Autograph Letter Signed, 8” x 10”. While serving as quartermaster on the Port Royal expedition, Saxton directs the delivery of hay and coal for the use of Union forces at Hilton Head, South Carolina. Docketing on the reverse dates this letter to December 19, 1861, shortly after Hilton Head was taken, establishing a base for future Union operations along the coast of South Carolina, Georgia, and Florida.

“Capt[ain] [Herbert] Hascall. The bark Chas. Keen has 290 bales of hay on board for this Dept. She has also Coal for the Navy Dept. She has three days to unload for us & two for the Navy. The hay is on top. Will you please have the hay taken out…Yours, Rufus Saxton, Capt[ain] U.S.A., A[ssistant] Q[uarter] M[aster].”

The letter is lightly and evenly toned, with two horizontal folds and a few small stains. There is very slight loss of paper in the upper left corner.

Union Major General – Virginia; U.S. Army Brevet Lieutenant General for Service in the Mexican War

Scott’s Civil War role was limited to the conception of the “Anaconda Plan” for forcing the surrender of the Confederacy. Due to advanced age, he resigned from the army shortly after McClellan’s appointment to command the Army of the Potomac.

Signature, with the brevet rank Scott held from his service in the Mexican War, “Free, Winfield Scott, Lieut[enant] Genl., &c.,” on a 1 ¼” x 4” portion of an envelope front.

Union Major General - Connecticut

A West Point graduate, veteran of the Seminole and Mexican Wars, Sedgwick served with the Army of the Potomac from the Peninsula through Spotsylvania, where he was killed by a Confederate sharpshooter.

War-Date Document Signed, 3 ¾” x 8”, a manuscript pass for Lieutenant Henry J. Strait of the hard-fought 40^th New York Infantry, also know as the Mozart Regiment. This early-war pass can be dated to the period before Sedgwick’s promotion to major general on July 25, 1862.

“Permission is hereby given Lieut[enant] H.J.Strait to visit Washington & Return to-day. By order of E.J. Riley, Col[onel] Com[man]d[in]g 40^th N[ew] Y[ork] V[olunteers].  per J.H.B. Jenkins, Adj[utan]t’s Clerk. Approved, John Sedgwick, Brig[adier] Gen[era]l Vol[unteer]s.”

There is light soiling and wear, paper separation at the center intersection of the usual folds, along with minor loss of paper in the upper margin.

Wife of Union General William Tecumseh Sherman; Daughter of Thomas Ewing – Secretary of the Treasury – 1841; Secretary of the Interior – 1849-50

Mrs. Sherman Wants to Visit Her Husband at Vicksburg, during the Campaign to Take the City

Civil War-Date Autograph Letter Signed, two pages, front and reverse of a 5” x 8” sheet, to Union General Stephen A. Hurlbut. Writing from her Ohio home, Mrs. Sherman congratulates the chronically corrupt Hurlbut on his being able to remain in the Army, her well-connected father, Thomas Ewing, having used his political influence on Hurlbut’s behalf. She further encourages Hurlbut to write a memoir, and concludes by expressing a desire to visit her husband at the Union encampment opposite Vicksburg, Mississippi, during the Federal campaign to take the river city.

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“Lancaster, Ohio, March 16, 1863.

Maj[or] Gen[era]l Hurlbut.

Dear Sir,

On my return home from Cincinnati, on the 14th, I received your kind letter of the 8^th inst[ant]. Permit me to offer my sincere congratulations upon your triumph over those who tried to get you out of the Service. We saw with great regret the efforts that were made against you & are therefore the more rejoiced at your success. Father gave his influence and did what he could in your favor before he left Washington and he felt pretty confident that your enemies would be unsuccessful. Although you have not left the Service may we not hope for the memoir you promise? Anything from your pen would be racy & full of interest. Those who participated in the fights ought to have their turn to write about them. We have had fictions enough, but people have grown so fond of them the truth would not relish unless very well presented. Will you do me the favor to have your man Lancy or your man ‘Friday’ deliver the accompanying letter. Would you be shocked to see me come down soon? Could I get to Young’s Point?

Very truly your friend,

Ellen E. Sherman.”

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Overall condition is excellent, with light, even toning and the usual folds. There are three small, symmetrical holes at mid-right, apparently made while the letter was folded.

Union Major General - Ohio

An 1840 West Point graduate, Sherman was superintendent of what is now LSU when war broke out in 1861. He resigned when Confederates seized the U.S. arsenal in Baton Rouge, shortly thereafter reentering the army. Early lack of success in Kentucky was soon offset by distinguished service at Shiloh, Vicksburg, Chattanooga, Atlanta, and in the “March to the Sea.”

Signature, with rank and date, “W.T. Sherman, General, 1888,” on the reverse of Sherman’s 2” x 3 ½” calling card.

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

Union Major General - New York; Awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor for the Battle of Gettysburg

Sickles lost a leg and was awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor as a result of his action in the Peach Orchard at Gettysburg on July 2, 1863.

Signature, with rank and date, “Autograph of D.E. Sickles, Maj[or] Gen]era]l U.S. Army, New York, Jan[uar]y 11, [18]90,” on a 3 ¼” x 4 ¾” slip of paper.

Lightly and evenly toned, with a vertical fold at the center.

U.S. Interior Secretary – 1861-63

Signature, “Caleb B. Smith,” on a 1 ¼” x 4” slip of paper.

Lightly and evenly toned, with old glue staining on the reverse.

U.S. Attorney General – 1864-66

Signed Card, 1 ¼” x 3 ¼”, “James Speed.”

Lightly and evenly toned, with minor bleeding of ink at the conclusion of the signature.

U.S. Treasurer - 1861-75; U.S. Congressman – New York – 1855-61

Signature, as U.S. Congressman, “F.E. Spinner, M[ember] C[ongress],” on a 1” x 3” slip of paper.

Union Major General - Ohio; Awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor for Distinguished Bravery at the Battle of Franklin, Tennessee, November 30, 1864

An 1852 West Point graduate, Stanley saw Civil War action in the West from Wilson's Creek through Franklin, where his actions earned the Congressional Medal of Honor. After the war, he served in Dakota, New Mexico, and Texas on the western frontier.

Autograph Quotation Signed, on a 4” x 7” album page.

“Youth is the heyday of life. Enjoy it Dear Josie, whilst we elders applaud. D.S. Stanley, Col[onel] 22^nd Inf[an]t[r]y, B[re]v[e]t Maj[or] Gen[era]l.”

On the reverse is the signature, “G.H. Patten, L[ieutenan]t 22^nd Inf[antry], Santa Fe, Dec[ember] 10, [18]83.”

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

U.S. Secretary of War – 1862-68

Signature, with the closing in another hand, “Yours truly, Edwin M. Stanton,” on a 1 ¼” x 3 ½” slip of paper, removed from a letter.

Lightly and evenly toned, with old glue staining on the reverse.

U.S. Secretary of War – 1862-68

President Lincoln Appoints Henry Larcom Abott a Brevet Brigadier General

War-Date Document Signed, 8” x 10,” as Secretary of War, Washington, December 2, 1864, “E.M. Stanton,” a partly printed War Department letter informing 1^st Connecticut Heavy Artillery Colonel Henry Larcom Abbott that he has been appointed to the rank of brevet brigadier general by President Lincoln, “…for gallant and distinguished services in the operations before Richmond and especially in the lines before Petersburg,” to rank from August 1, 1864.

A manuscript notation in the lower margin directs this letter through Army of the Potomac Commanding General George G. Meade.

Condition is very good, with light toning and the usual horizontal folds.

Union Brigadier General – Pennsylvania; Colonel of the 7^th U.S. Cavalry – 1869-88

A West Point graduate and lifelong soldier, Sturgis saw action in the Mexican War and against the Indians on the western frontier during the years leading up to the Civil War. During the Civil War, he participated in the battles of Wilson’s Creek, Second Manassas, Sharpsburg, and Fredericksburg. Transferred west, Sturgis was routed by Nathan Bedford Forrest at Brice’s Cross Roads, after which he held no field command. In 1869, Sturgis was appointed colonel of the 7^th Cavalry, a position he held at the time of the massacre of Custer and his command at the Little Big Horn.

“…I was what was called a ‘49er, and it was at San Louis Obispo, that in the Spring of 1849, I prepared and fitted out my small Company of Dragoons for an expedition against the Indians in the neighborhood of the Tulare lakes & the head of King’s River.”

Autograph Letter Signed, three pages, on individual sheets of 5 ½” x 8 ½” hotel stationery, imprinted “The Ebbitt: C.C. Willard, Prop., Washington, D.C.” In a humble, gracious response to an autograph request from a young girl in San Luis Obispo, California, Sturgis provides a satisfying reminiscence of his Gold Rush-era military exploits in the region.

“March 10, 1886. Miss Mary C. Day, San Louis Obispo, Cal. My dear Young lady, you very kind and complimentary note only reached me yesterday and I hasten to enclose my Autograph in compliance with your request. You will be surprised perhaps to learn that I was what was called a ‘49er, and it was at San Louis Obispo, that in the Spring of 1849, I prepared and fitted out my small Company of Dragoons for an expedition against the Indians in the neighborhood of the Tulare lakes & the head of King’s River. In those days San Louis Obispo was simply an old Mission, but it is probably now a thriving town. The world has changed so much since those days. Hoping that this will not be so long in reaching you as Yours was in reaching me, and thanking you again for the compliment implied in your request for my Autograph, believe me, Very Sincerely Your o[bedien]t ser[van]t, S.D. Sturgis.”

Light, even toning, the usual folds, and old paper clip stains in the upper margins detract very little.

Union Brevet Brigadier General; Union Colonel – 11^th U.S. Colored Heavy Artillery; U.S. Congressman – Louisiana – 1868-69 & 1870-75

Signature, in violet ink as U.S. Congressman, “J.H. Sypher, M[ember] C[ongress],” on a ¾” x 2” slip of paper; affixed to a 1 ¼” x 6 ½” portion of a period album page, with the collector’s biographical notations.

U.S. Senator - Illinois - 1855-73; Co-authored the Thirteenth Amendment - Prohibiting Slavery in the United States

Signature, “Lyman Trumbull,” on a ½” x 4” slip of paper, removed from a document.

There is bleeding of ink in portions of the signature.

U.S. Senator - Illinois - 1855-73; Co-authored the Thirteenth Amendment – Prohibiting Slavery in the United States

Signed Card, 2” x 3 ½”, as U.S. Senator from Illinois, “Lyman Trumbull, Ill[inois].”

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

Union Brigadier General - Pennsylvania; Returned the Body of John Brown for Burial after His Execution

At the request of his Quaker mother, Tyndale turned down an appointment to West Point to enter his father’s ceramics business. He escorted Mrs. John Brown to visit her imprisoned husband on the night before his execution, and on the trip returning his body for burial in North Elba, New York. Twice wounded, having three horses shot from under him, and being left for dead on the field at Antietam, Tynsdale resigned due to poor health on August 26, 1864.

Signature, with the rank Tyndale held from April 9, 1863 until his resignation the following year, “Hector Tyndale, Brig. Genl. U.S. Vol[unteer]s,” on a 1 ¼” x 5 ½” slip of paper; quite possibly war-date, as Tyndale resigned well before the end of the war, and was brevetted major general of volunteers on March 13, 1865.