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MERRITT, WESLEY (1834-1910) Union Major General; Saw action from Chancellorsville through Appomattox in the Army of the Potomac Cavalry during the American Civil War# 8326
Served in the Indian Wars, the Spanish-American War, and the Philippine-American War; Superintendent of the U.S. Military Academy at West Point – 1882-87; First American Military Governor of the Philippines - 1898
Signed Card, 3 ½” x 6 ¼”, “Chicago, Illinois, December twenty ninth. Wesley Merritt, Major General, U.S. Army,” with several notations and the date, “1898,” in an unidentified hand.
Evenly toned, with diagonally clipped corners and several surface abrasions, both front and reverse; although entirely acceptable, portions are somewhat lighter.
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PLEASONTON, ALFRED (1824-97) Union Major General – Washington, D.C.# 8327
A cavalry officer who fought in the East until Grant became general-in-chief in early 1864, Pleasonton’s most memorable action was at Brandy Station, Virginia, the largest cavalry battle of the war.
Civil War-Date Signature, circa 1861, with rank in another hand, “A. Pleasonton, Capt[ain] 2nd Cavalry, Com[man]d[in]g Co[mpany] ‘H’,” on a 1” x 3 ½” slip of paper, removed from a larger letter or document.
Lightly toned, with minor staining, and there are old mounting remnants on the reverse.
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PORTER, WILLIAM D. (1809-64)# 5854
Union Commodore
A lifelong navy man, born in New Orleans, Porter commanded Union naval forces at Ft. Henry, Vicksburg, Port Hudson, and Baton Rouge. He held no active command after promotion to commodore and died on May 1, 1864.
War-Date Signature, with sentiment and the rank Porter held from July 15, 1862 until his death during the Civil War, “Yours Respectfully, W.D. Porter, Commodore, U.S. N[avy],” on a 1 ¾” x 3 ¼” slip of paper.
Lightly and evenly toned, with old mounting traces on the reverse.
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PRENTISS, BENJAMIN M. (1819-1901) Union Major General – Illinois; Most remembered for his gallant defense of the Hornet's Nest at Shiloh # 8329
Civil War-Date Signature, with rank, “B.M. Prentiss, Brig[adier] Gen[era]l U[nited] S[tates] V[olunteers],” on a 2 ¾” x 5” slip of paper.
Excellent, with light, even toning.
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RICE, JAMES C. (1829-64)# 6610
Union Brigadier General - New York; Mortally Wounded at the Battle of Spotsylvania
After early-war service with the 39th New York, Rice led the 44th 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.
Revealing a Movement of the Army of the Potomac to a Newspaperman!
War-Date Autograph Letter Signed, 5” x 7 ¾”. Writing on the day after Abraham Lincoln’s delivery of the Gettysburg Address, Rice orders a newspaper subscription and seeks the unknown recipient’s opinion of his report of the Battle of Gettysburg. For the presumed purpose of illustrating his importance as a correspondent, Rice further offers to submit letters for publication during the upcoming winter, astonishingly suggesting an imminent movement of the Army of the Potomac.
“Army of the Potomac, H[ea]d Q[uarte]rs 2nd Brig. 1st Div. 1st Corps, November 20th 1863. My dear Sir, I should be happy to have the Semi Weekly Post sent to my address. Whenever I have a safe opportunity, I will send you the amount of the annual subscription. Have you ever found time to look over my report of the battle of Gettysburgh? I hope during the coming winter to write a few letters for the Post. There are indications of the movement of this army in a day or two. Be so kind as to write me a few lines. Very sincerely Yours, J.C. Rice, Brig. Genl.”
Throughout the war, President Lincoln and the Union high command were routinely vexed by the reporting of troop movements in newspapers which could be readily obtained by Confederate sympathizers and spies. It is astounding that Rice, newly appointed to the rank of brigadier general for his gallantry at Gettysburg, would volunteer such information to a newspaperman.
The letter is lightly and evenly toned, with several light folds. A small strip of paper in the lower left corner, presumably removed due to its containing the name of the recipient, has been professionally restored.
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ROSECRANS, WILLIAM S. (1819-98)# 6645
Union Major General – Ohio; U.S. Congressman – California – 1881-85
Rosecrans led the Army of the Cumberland at Murfreesboro and through the Tullahoma campaign to Chickamauga, where he was routed by the Confederates under Longstreet, a misadventure which effectively ended his military career. After the war, he settled near Los Angeles, serving as U.S. Congressman from California, 1881 – 1885.
Signed Card, 2” x 3 ½”, with rank, “W.S. Rosecrans, Maj[or] Genl.”
There is general soiling and wear, along with a few pinholes and light creases.
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ROSECRANS, WILLIAM S. (1819-98) Union Major General – Ohio; Commanded the Union Army of the Cumberland from Stone’s River to Chickamauga; U.S. Congressman – California – 1881-85# 8330
Signature, as U.S. Congressman from California, “W.S. Rosecrans, M[ember] C[ongress], 1st Dist[rict] of California,” on a 2” x 4” portion of a lightly toned album page.
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SEDGWICK, JOHN (1813-64)# 6919
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 40th 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 40th 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.
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SEDGWICK, JOHN (1813-64) Union Major General - Connecticut# 8331
A West Point graduate and 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 Signature, with rank and command in another hand, “John Sedgwick, Major General, Commanding Sixth Corps,” on a 1 ¼” x 3 ¾” slip of paper, removed from a larger letter.
Excellent, with light, even toning.
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SHERIDAN, PHILIP H. (1831-88) Union Major General – New York; U.S. Army General – 1888; Commander-in-Chief of the U.S. Army – 1883-88# 8332
As cavalry commander, Sheridan distinguished himself in action from Booneville and Chickamauga to the fighting at Yellow Tavern which resulted in the death of J.E.B. Stuart in 1864.
Signature, with closing and rank in another hand, “Very Respectfully Your Ob[edien]t Ser[van]t, P.H. Sheridan, Major Gen[eral] Com[man]d[in]g,” on a 2 ¼” x 3 ¾” slip of paper, removed from a larger letter.
Lightly toned, with minor brushing of ink to several letters.
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SHERMAN, WILLIAM TECUMSEH (1820-91) Union Major General – Ohio; General and Commander-in-Chief of the U.S. Army – 1869-83# 8333
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, “W.T. Sherman, General,” on a slip of lightly lined paper, matted to a dimension of 1 ½” x 3 ¼” beneath a 4 ½”x 5 ¼” portrait. Ready for framing or display, 8 ¼” x 10 ¾” overall.
Lightly toned, with minor staining and a light horizontal fold.
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SIGEL, FRANZ (1824-1902) Union Major General – Missouri# 8335
A German native, Sigel led a division at Pea Ridge and against Jackson in the 1862 Valley campaign. As commander of the Department of West Virginia, he was defeated by Breckinridge and the Virginia Military Institute cadets at New Market.
Signature, with rank in another hand, “F. Sigel, Major General,” on a lightly toned 1 ¼” x 2” slip of paper, removed from a larger letter or document.
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SMITH, CALEB BLOOD (1808-1864)# 6952
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.
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STANTON, EDWIN M. (1814-69)# 6955
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.
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STANTON, EDWIN M. (1814-69)# 7042
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 1st 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.
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THOMAS, GEORGE H. (1816-70) Union Major General during the American Civil War, Known as the “Rock of Chickamauga”# 8336
An 1840 West Point graduate, Thomas served in the Seminole and Mexican Wars. As a Virginia native, his decision to remain loyal to the Union created tension both professional and personal – his sisters disavowed him for the rest of their lives. He saw action at First Manassas, Shiloh, Corinth, Murfreesboro, Chickamauga, Atlanta, Franklin, and Nashville.
Signature, with rank, “Geo. H. Thomas, Maj[or] Gen[era]l U.S.A.,” on a 1 ¼” x 3 ½” slip of paper, affixed to slightly larger stock from a period photograph album with the notation “Commanding the Department of the Tennessee” in another hand below.
Lightly toned, with scattered spotting of ink.
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TRUMBULL, LYMAN (1813-96)# 6977
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.
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TYNDALE, HECTOR (1821-80)# 7038
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.
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WALLACE, LEW (1827-1905) Union Major General – Indiana; Governor of New Mexico Territory – 1878-81# 8337
Wallace served in the West at Ft. Donelson and Shiloh, was transferred east with Grant to encounter Jubal Early at Monocacy River in 1864, and was president of the court-martial which tried and condemned Andersonville Commandant Henry Wirz. He served as post-war Governor of the New Mexico Territory and U.S. Minister to Turkey. He is also remembered for writing Ben Hur: A Tale of the Christ.
Signed Card, 2” x 3 ¼”, “Lew. Wallace.”
Excellent, with light, even toning.
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WELLES, GIDEON (1802-78)# 6958
U.S. Secretary of the Navy - 1861-69
Signature, as U.S. Navy Secretary, “Gideon Welles,” on a 1 ¾” x 3 ¼” slip of paper, removed from a letter.
Lightly and evenly toned, with a few small stains and a slightly irregular upper edge.
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