U.S. First Lady – 1825-29

Autograph Letter Signed, 8” x 10”, with a seldom-seen second form of her signature, “Wife of John Quincy Adams,” added at the conclusion. Graciously writing to the wife of the politically connected Benjamin Ogle Tayloe, the former first lady sends an engraving for Mrs. Tayloe’s collection.

“Quincy [Massachusetts], 28th Oct[o]ber, 1842. Herewith I have the pleasure my Dear Madam to send you the promised engraving to be placed so flatteringly in your elegant Collection of Autographs, where I shall have the gratification of shining, at least through a reflected light, among the brilliant luminaries who so greatly adorn your Book. In the hope of soon meeting you and Mr. Tayloe in Washington; permit me to offer the sentiment of regard of Louisa Catherine Adams. Wife of John Quincy Adams.”

Although the engraving mentioned is no longer present, this letter is accompanied by a 3 ¼” x 6 ¼” address panel, also addressed by Mrs. Adams, to “Mrs. B.O. Tayloe, Washington.”

The letter has a few light water stains and small edge tears, detracting very little from excellent overall condition.

American Social Reformer & Feminist; Winner of the Nobel Peace Prize - 1931

Signature, inscribed, “To Harriet Hull, from Jane Addams, Hull House, Chicago,” on a light 3 ¼” x 5” card.

Slightly irregular toning along the left edge.

African-American Contralto

One of the most celebrated singers of her time, Anderson was refused permission to perform at Constitution Hall by the Daughters of the American Revolution in 1939, due to racial prejudice. In response, First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt resigned her membership in the organization, and a concert was arranged for Easter Sunday, 1939, at the Lincoln Memorial. On January 7, 1955, Anderson became the first black person to perform at the Metropolitan Opera in New York City.

Document Signed, 6” x 9”, “Marian Anderson,” a four-page printed program for “her twelfth consecutive coast-to-coast tour of her native land,” presented by the Civic Music Association; signed diagonally across the text of the title page.

The program has general soiling and wear, along with several folds and light creases, and there is a break in the paper in the mid-left margin.

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.”

---

“In camp near Hamilton or ‘Harmony Church,’ Loudon Co[unty], V[irgini]a, Sunday Evening, July 19, 1863.

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].”

---

Overall condition is excellent, with the usual light toning and two horizontal folds.

Assistant U.S. Secretary of War – 1864-65; Publisher & Editor of the New York Sun

Autograph Letter Signed, in violet ink, on imprinted 5” x 8” stationery as editor of the New York Sun. Writing to Baltimore native Eugene L. Didier, a published authority on Edgar Allan Poe, Dana expresses interest in receiving letters to print in The Sun.

“New York, Oct[ober] 11, 1883. Dear Sir: In reply to your favor of Tuesday last, I can only say that we shall be very glad to receive your letters and to pay for those that we find sufficiently interesting to print. Yours very truly, C.A. Dana.”

The letter is lightly and evenly toned, with two horizontal folds.

Assistant U.S. Secretary of War – 1864-65; Publisher & Editor of the New York Sun

Signed Card, 2 ½” x 3 ¾”, “C.A. Dana, Feb[ruary] 10, 1896.”

American Journalist, Lecturer & Actress

Autograph Quotation Signed, on a 1 ¾” x 3 ¾” card.

“The price of success is industry. Kate Field.”

The card is lightly and evenly toned, with a light stain at the signature, and there is old glue staining on the reverse.

Established by act of Congress near the conclusion of the Civil War, the Freedmen’s Bureau aided former slaves in the South by arranging legal services, food and housing, education, health care, and employment. Union General Oliver O. Howard served as the first Chief Commissioner of the bureau, which operated from 1865 until disbanded by President Grant in 1872.

Letter Signed, on a 7 ¾” x 9 ¾” letter-sheet, imprinted War Department, Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen, and Abandoned Lands. This communication from Bureau Commissioner Oliver O. Howard, secretarially written and signed on the inside third page by the acting clerk, pertains to the return of property to one D.P. Sevick of Chattanooga, Tennessee.

“Washington, July 10^th, 1867. D.P. Sevick, Esq., Chattanooga, Tennessee]. Sir, I am directed by Major Gen. Howard to acknowledge the receipt of your communication of July 4^th calling attention to previous papers, requesting return of your property in possession of the Bureau, and to inform you that the same has been referred to the Ass[istan]t Commissioner of Tennessee for consideration and action. The previous papers in the case were referred from this office April 20^th to the Ass[istan]t Commissioner of Tennessee with instructions to ‘settle the case if possible.’ Very Respectfully, Your Obedient servant, Isaac A. Dennis, Acting Chief Clerk.”

The letter has light soiling and wear, two horizontal folds, and several pinholes in the upper and left margins.

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 Inventor of the Gatling Gun

Autograph Quotation Signed, an exceptional example on a 3” x 5” card.

“We should remember our friends and not forget our enemies. R.J. Gatling, Hartford, Ct., Nov. 13^th 1893.”

Condition is excellent, with slight “fingerprinting” of ink and light mounting remnants on the reverse.

Union Lieutenant Colonel – Awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor for Gallantry at the Battle of Salem Heights, Virginia, May 3, 1863; U.S. Brigadier General of Volunteers – Spanish-American War

Document Signed, 8 ½” x 11”, June 9, 1874, “Jno. C. Gilmore, Captain 24[th] Inf[an]try,” a partly printed document certifying Gilmore’s pay of $180 for the month of May 1874. The document is also accomplished by Gilmore, thus bearing a second signature in the heading, “Captain J.C. Gilmore, 24[th] U.S. Infantry.”

Overall condition is very good, with light, even toning and two vertical folds.

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.

British Prime Minister – 1868-74, 1880-85, 1886 & 1892-94

Signed Black-Bordered Envelope, 3 ¼” x 5”, “W.E. Gladstone,” also addressed by Gladstone, to “R[igh]t Hon[orable] H[enry] Labouchere, M[ember] P[arliament].” Also a prominent writer, publisher, and theater owner, Henry du Pre Labouchere served several terms as a Liberal Party Member of Parliament from 1865 through 1905, advocating Irish home rule.

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.

American Social Writer & Philosopher

Autograph Letters Signed (2), to Neil Yetwin. Transcribed below; further description will be posted shortly.

---

February 4, 1979

Dear Mr. Yetwin:

Many thanks for your letter. Unfortunately my failing eyesight prevents me from reading the faded print of your article. I shall have someone read it to me later.

There is a danger of an Anti-Semitic explosion in this country. There is no telling when it will come. The Negro vote can easily become anti-Jewish. Arab money can work mischief. If America’s present decline lands us into a real mess, many politicians will be tempted to blame the Jews for all our ills. Add the fact that over half of the adversary intellectuals who villify [sic] this country at every opportunity are Jewish and you can see that the present situation in America is not totally different from what things were in WeimarGermany in the late 1920s. The chief difference is that the Jews now have a place of refuge – Israel.

Warm regards,
Eric Hoffer

---

February 22, 1979

Dear Mr. Yetwin:

Were I a Jew I would not waste my time wondering what people think of the Jews. In America the Jews constitute 2.7% of the population yet they have produced our two foremost living writers, and they receive about half of the Nobel Prizes given to Americans. The Jews have given America one of its most outstanding secretaries of state, and more than any other ethnic minority are represented in Presidential cabinets. Jews are conspicuous on the faculties of our foremost universities and are outstanding in almost every scientific field. No one doubts that had Hitler left the Jews alone he would have won the war. Without exception, countries which persecute Jews come to a bad end. Finally, in Israel the Jews have produced brilliant generals and are teaching the world how to turn deserts into gardens. It should be obvious that what the world needs is more Jews.

As I said, I would not pay attention to what people say about Jews. But in the back of mind I would keep alive the awareness that the impulse to kill Jews is dormant everywhere.

Warm regards,
Eric Hoffer

Seventh U.S. President - 1829-37

Autograph Note Signed, as President, on a 5” x 6” portion of the address panel of a Treasury Department communication, to “The President…” A directive from Jackson relating to a court case, the note is dated and signed twice with initials at the conclusion.

“Mr. Breckinridge Defence – To be carefully examined, and compared with the charges made and the Testimony advised. A.J. Rec[eive]d 13^th March 1830 – A.J.”

The sheet is lightly soiled, with several small stains and light creases.

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

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 Suffragette & Reformer; An Organizer of the United States Sanitary Commission during the Civil War

Signature, with closing, “Y[ou]rs truly, M.A. Livermore,” on a 1 ¾” x 3 ¾” slip of paper, removed from a letter.

Lightly and evenly toned, with old mounting remnants on the reverse.

Union Brigadier General - New Hampshire; U.S. Congressman – New Hampshire – 1859-63 & 1865-67; U.S. Senator – New Hampshire - 1889

Marston recruited and led the 2^nd New Hampshire at First Bull Run, the Peninsula, and Fredericksburg. After Gettysburg, he was assigned to establish the prison camp at Point Lookout and returned to the Army of the Potomac for the disastrous Union assault at Cold Harbor.

Marston Writes of the Hard Fighting at Drewry’s Bluff

War-Date Autograph Letter Signed, three pages, on a 5” x 8” letter-sheet. Writing to an unnamed cousin from the scene of the Union’s just-concluded attempt to take Richmond, Marston shares details of the hard fighting, and concludes with information relating to political events in his native New Hampshire. In the campaign which came to be known as Drewry’s Bluff, begun on May 6, 1864, Benjamin Butler’s Army of the James advanced overland toward Richmond from the Bermuda Hundred, just north of City Point. As indicated in this letter, the Federal Army came within six miles of the Confederate capital before being repulsed in a counterattack by troops under P.G.T. Beauregard on May 16, successfully delaying the fall of Richmond by almost a year.

---

“In the Field near Drewry’s Bluff, May 19, [18]64.

Friend Cousin,

Your brother in [?] wrote me to know what had become of you, but I suppose you have reported before this as Wilkinson tells me you started for home some days ago. Since I started on this campaign I have had little opportunity to hear from or write to anyone. For nearly a week I had no opportunity of sending letters if I had the time to write them. It has been the hardest kind of campaigning I have ever known. Marching, fighting, sleeping on the ground without tents, fire or even a blanket. I have several times undertaken to write a short note but before I could complete it everybody would be called to arms to repel a charge or make an attack. I have had to write orders and reports with a tree for a table while shot and shells were crashing through the branches. The rebels are pressing us about as hard as we are pressing them and last night they shelled our camps. But I imagine we shall soon reverse all this and drive them within their earthen walls about Richmond and force an entrance ourselves. The right wing of the army got within 6 or 7 miles of Richmond on the 16^th but that 6 or 7 miles we shall find a much harder road to travel than that we have passed over. I have re[ceive]d only three or four letters from N.H. since I left Yorktown and not one from Washington. Probably people don’t know where I am and I hardly know myself. That it is all woods, swamps & ravines with but very little land in cultivation I know very well.

What new thing has turned up about the Senatorship – anything? Wilkinson had a letter from his brother saying Tuck was about played out & that Rollins he thought was gaining a little. I am told also that the Boston Advertiser is down on me for not supporting Joel and us not being in the front rank of republicans &c &c. That is Tuck of course. His hand may not have written the article but his mean spirit dictated it. Well, we have had to deal with these fellows before and whatever else they may do they cannot defeat us.

I should like for you to write me and let me know the present aspect of affairs.

When I will get time to write again I don’t know. My command occupies me every moment.

Yours very truly, G. Marston.

Remember me kindly to friend Gale.”

---

The sheets are lightly and evenly toned, with the usual horizontal folds, and there is light water staining throughout.

Union Major General; Democratic U.S. Presidential Candidate - 1864

McClellan graduated second in the West Point class of 1846, served in the Mexican War and, at the outbreak of the Civil War, was appointed major general. In August 1861, after the Federal disaster at First Manassas, he assumed command of the Army of the Potomac. From this point forward, McClellan’s organizational ability was offset by his hesitance in pursuing the enemy, causing Lincoln to permanently relieve him in November 1862, after the battle of Antietam. He ran unsuccessfully against Lincoln as the Democratic Presidential candidate in the election of 1864.

After the Failed Assault of the Fifty-Fourth Massachusetts Infantry - McClellan Gives Advice for Taking Fort Wagner

Civil War-Date Autograph Letter Signed, 1 ½ pages, on the first and third leaves of an 8” x 10” letter-sheet, to “Col[onel] H.L. Abbott.” Just ten months after his dismissal from command of the Army of the Potomac by President Lincoln, McClellan advises Colonel Henry Larcom Abbot, later brevetted brigadier general, in the best means for taking Fort Wagner. It is somewhat curious, yet perhaps inevitable, that Abbot is seeking McClellan’s counsel, in light of his being relieved of command the previous year.

“Orange, New Jersey, Sept[ember] 5, 1863. My dear Col., Your kind letter of the 21^st, with its enclosures, has arrived. I have read the experiments with much interest, & would be glad to have the result of any similar ones you may make. I am inclined to think that an elaborate system of experiments upon the breaching of thick parapets of sand & earth would be of interest just now – altho’ I expect [Fort] Wagner and its companions will have to be taken in some such way as the [?] was viz: drive the garrison into their bombproofs by mortar firing, & then march into the work before they can get out of their shelters. Gil[l]more will have to use more mortars before he gets through. Please thank Col. White for remembering my request. Give my kindest regards to all my friends in the Reg[imen]t. Mrs. McC[lellan] desires to write in this request, as she regards herself as having peculiar claims on your Reg[imen]t. With my thanks for the update, I am ever your friend, Geo. B. McClellan.”

Less than two miles from Fort Sumter, Fort Wagner was the South’s principal land defense of Morris Island, South Carolina, guarding the southern approach to the harbor of Charleston. On July 18, 1863, just six weeks before this letter was written, the 54^th Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry, famously composed of black troops, led a frontal assault on the fortification, losing the regiment’s organizer, Colonel Robert Gould Shaw, along with twenty-five percent of its number, in the attack. Fort Wagner was never taken by force; after the disastrous assault of July 18, a formal siege began. A subsequent assault, ordered for September 7, proved unnecessary, as the fort and all other Confederate works on Morris Island had been abandoned the night before.

There is light, even toning, and the text of the letter is unaffected by a few small holes and clean paper separation at the edges of the usual folds.

Twenty-Fifth U.S. President - 1897-1901

Signed by President McKinley for the First Lady

Executive Mansion Card, 2 ¾” x 4 ¼”, signed by President William McKinley on behalf of the First Lady, “Ida S. McKinley.”

The card is undeniably rare, this being the first such example I have seen. Minor smudging of ink at the conclusion of the signature detracts very little from otherwise excellent condition.

Union Navy Captain; U.S. Navy Rear Admiral

Executive Officer of the U.S.S. Decatur in Action against Hostile Indians during the Battle of Seattle, January 26, 1856

As stated in Navy Department records, Middleton, a lifelong navy man, most notably “served as executive officer on board of the U.S.S. Decatur in operating against a combination of hostile Indians of the various tribes of Washington and Oregon territories during the war of the winter of 1855-56, particularly on the occasion of the attack upon Seattle, Washington Territory, on January 26, 1856.

Document Signed, 2 ¾” x 8”, United States Navy Yard, New York, June 1, 1858, “Edward Middleton,” a partly printed receipt for Middleton’s pay of $101.71.

Overall condition is very good, with a minor paper break in the lower left margin.

American Poet & Writer

Autograph Note Signed, on an evenly toned index card, 3” x 5”, with a second signature, “i.e. Marianne Craig Moore,” penned vertically in the left margin.

“November 14, 1952. A curious request but I accede. My signature for: Mr. Jerry Arnholt, Men’s Hall, Chadron State Teacher’s College, Chadron, Nebraska. Marianne Moore.”

U.S. Navy Commander; Was Presented a Sword by Resolution of Congress for the Battle of Lake Champlain – War of 1812

Document Signed, 2 ½” x 6 ½”, United States Navy Yard, New York, June 1, 1845, “Charles T. Platt, Com[man]d[e]r U.S. Navy,” the endorsed receipt on the reverse of Platt’s partly printed pay check.

There is light soiling and wear, along with two cross-cut cancellations.

 

After early-war service with the 39^th New York, Rice led the 44^th New York in the Peninsula campaign and at Second Manassas, Chancellorsville, and Gettysburg, where his heroic defense of Little Round Top secured his promotion to brigadier. He was severely wounded while leading a brigade in Wadsworth's division at Spotsylvania and died from complications arising from the amputation of his leg.

 

War-Date Autograph Letter Signed, four pages, on a folded 5” x 8” letter-sheet, to a friend identified only as “Isaac.” Exhibiting a taste for combat rarely put into words by an officer so soon destined for higher command – Rice was appointed brigadier general shortly after the battle of Gettysburg - his exploits in the May 27, 1862 Peninsula campaign battle of Hanover Court House are dramatically related: “…I gave the rebel lines twelve rounds from my pistols and fifty from a musket…I went into that engagement with my whole soul, determined to gain a victory or die in the attempt, and we whipped the rascals after two hours of hard – terrible hard fighting.” There is further exceptional, patriotic content throughout, including Rice’s confident assurance that McClellan would soon take Richmond: “Genl. McClellan is collecting a great force here. Beauregard I think is at Richmond with 20 to 30,000 troops. We shall ‘bag’ them this time. It may take six weeks to do it, but it is a sure thing.” Ever mindful of fame and self-advancement, Rice speaks more than once of submitting his battle reports to the New York Evening Post.

---

“Head Quarters 44^th N[ew] Y[ork] V[olunteers], 
Bivouac, New Bridge, V[irgini]a, 
June 12/[18]62. 

My dear Isaac,

Your very kind & welcome letter of the 7^th inst[ant] has just been rec[eive]d. I thank you for the kind notice you were pleased to take of my conduct on the field in the columns of the Evening Post. I did my duty in the engagement at Hanover Court House, as a Massachusetts man always does his duty – that is, by going into a fight, with the intention, and the express understanding that somebody will – yes- must be hurt. It gave me great pleasure to hurt somebody on that day in the severe struggle – at least. I gave the rebel lines twelve rounds from my pistols and fifty from a musket, besides attending strictly to other small duties, resting upon a Colonel of a regiment on such an occasion. In a word my dear Isaac, I went into that engagement with my whole soul, determined to gain a victory or die in the attempt, and we whipped the rascals after two hours of hard – terrible hard fighting. My official report, or a copy of the report I sent to the Evening Post, not by any means to have published as a report, but as the groundwork for a letter or an editorial, describing the battle. You are at liberty to read the manuscript. I think it will interest you. This report will be published officially in time. My conduct on the field has been greatly commended by my Superior Officers, but I see no great merit in my courage, because it is as natural for a proud son of Massachusetts to fight in this contest, and fight with his whole heart, as it was to go to her district schools, or churches, when a boy. Genl. McClellan is collecting a great force here. Beauregard I think is at Richmond with 20 to 30,000 troops. We shall ‘bag’ them this time. It may take six weeks to do it, but it is a sure thing. This is a rough letter, but it is written out in the field, in sight of the enemy, in a very hot day, so excuse the style. I hope you have noticed some correspondence of mine in the Columns of the Evening Post, within the last few weeks. Please give my kind regards to Mr. Nordhoff of the Post, who, although a stranger to me, has placed me under great obligation to him for his kindness. Do not allow this letter to be published, as it is for your eye alone. Be kind enough to bear my kindest regards to Mrs. Clark, and accept for yourself that kind remembrance, which, as in school boy and college days, I cherish now, and trust I ever shall, through life. I am very sincerely

your friend, 
James C. Rice, Lieut[enant] Col[onel].” 

---

The prediction that McClellan would soon be in Richmond became poignantly ironic. General McClellan withdrew down the Peninsula in early July, the month after the bold assertion was made, and Rice was mortally wounded almost two years later, during Grant’s ultimately successful campaign to capture the Confederate capital. Interestingly, on the day Rice composed this letter, Confederate Cavalry General Jeb Stuart began his famous four-day ride around McClellan’s Army of the Potomac on the Peninsula, returning to Richmond on June 15, 1862.

Condition is excellent, with the usual light toning, along with two horizontal folds.

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.

U.S. Secretary of State - 1861-69

Despite being a contender for the Republican presidential nomination in 1860, Seward served effectively in Lincoln’s cabinet. He was seriously injured on the night of April 14, 1865, in the assassination plot which took the life of Lincoln. His most notable post-war achievement was the acquisition of Alaska in 1867.

Signed the Day before the Assassination of President Abraham Lincoln and the Attempt on Seward’s Life by Lewis Powell

Document Signed, 8” x 10”, Washington, D.C., April 13, 1865, "William H. Seward,” as U.S. Secretary of State. Signed the day before the assassination of President Lincoln by John Wilkes Booth and the attempt on Seward’s life by his associate, Lewis Powell, the partly printed document transmits “…a true copy of an act of Congress entitled ‘An Act for the relief of Solomon Wadsworth,’ approved February 13, 1865; the original of which is on file in this Department.” With another significant association, the copy of the Congressional Act, H.R. 431, bound between the letter-sheet pages with ribbon at the left edge, is signed in print at the conclusion by House of Representatives Clerk Edward McPherson, on whose Pennsylvania farm the battle of Gettysburg began.

The document is lightly toned, and there are a few chips and wear at the upper left edge and the seal.

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.

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.

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.

---

“Camp at John Landing, Fl[orid]a, April 29^th 1863. Capt[ain] James Barrow, As[sistan]t Adj[utan]t Gen[era]l. Sir, Since the closing of my last monthly report, I forwarded you a day or two ago, I have reports from my pickets near Apalachicola. The enemy came to town on Friday night last, in five launches, having two howitzers, and from 100 to 125 men. They placed their guards out, ransacked the town in search of private citizens, and then left about 8 o’clock Saturday morning. The enemy divided up into small squads of from 16 to 20 – and appeared quite careless. I shall hear from Apala[chicola] from the pickets I have there, in the course of a few days, when I will give you further information. I repeat what I said before our visit to Apala[chicola] with Major Scott, that I can draw the Enemy out at any time, and with assistance, check him in his incursions to town. I hear that Com[mander] Morris slept in one of the citizens homes, drunk, all of Friday night. Yours & c., C. Thigpin, Capt[ain] Co[mpany] A, 2^nd Reg[imen]t Fl[orid]a Cav[alry].”

---

The recipient of this communication, Captain James Barrow, was promoted to that rank, on the staff of Confederate General Howell Cobb, on March 6, 1862, serving in the District of Middle Florida the following spring. Advanced to lieutenant colonel shortly afterward, he was killed on February 20, 1864 at the battle of Olustee, Florida.

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

Confederate Brigadier General – Alabama; Confederate Secretary of War – 1861

A prominent antebellum politician from Alabama, Walker became the first Confederate Secretary of War on February 21, 1861, resigning on September 16 to become brigadier general. He subsequently held no active field command and resigned his Confederate commission on March 31, 1862.

An Early-War Appointment for Tenth Alabama Major John J. Woodward – Later Killed-in-Action at Gaines Mill

War-Date Document Signed, as Confederate Secretary of War on an imprinted 8” x 10” form, Richmond, Virginia, September 4, 1861, “L.P. Walker,” informing Captain John J. Woodward of his promotion to major in the 10^th Alabama Infantry, Provisional Army of the Confederate States. The 10^th Alabama served with distinction from the early-war battle of Dranesville until the Confederate surrender at Appomattox. The regiment’s casualties at Gaines Mill were among the highest of any unit there engaged; they included John J. Woodward, advanced to colonel since his enlistment, killed while serving in Longstreet’s Division of the Army of Northern Virginia.

The partly printed document has general soiling and wear, along with numerous stains, and there is clean separation, with no loss of paper, at the edges of the usual horizontal folds.