Civil War-Date Document Signed – an imprinted 142^nd New York Infantry Pass

Document Signed, 3 ¾” x 5”, West Point, Virginia, May 4, 1864, “A.M. Barney, L[ieutenan]t Col[onel] Commanding Regiment,” a desirable, partly printed pass; dated one day before the fighting began at the Battle of the Wilderness and countersigned by 142^nd New York Lieutenant Joseph Hastings Hays, who was wounded at Drewry’s Bluff, Virginia the following month.

Lightly toned, with the expected folds; general wear and staining throughout.

Signed Photograph, “Arno Breker,” a 4” x 5 ¾” postally unused postcard.  Black & white.

Excellent.

Autograph Letter Signed, two pages, front and reverse of the first leaf of an imprinted, folded 4 ¾” x 8” letter-sheet, expressing condolences to a friend upon the death of a brother.

“September 18, 1889.  My dear Bob, I did not know when I wrote today what you were passing through.  I had not heard about your brother’s death.  May I tell you how I am sorry for everything which brings you pain with all my heart & will you believe how earnestly I ask for the highest help.  God bless you & give you His best light.  You will not want me to care to you on Monday as I proposed.  If so, you will tell me so & I shall wholly understand.  Be sure that I am always Your old friend, Phillips Brooks.”

Lightly and evenly toned, with a horizontal fold at the center; pencil notations in the upper right corner.

Autograph Letter Signed, two pages on front and reverse of a single imprinted 3 ½” x 4 ¼” card, declining a request to attend a meeting.

“March 28, 1886.  My dear Mr. Bertrand, I am sorry to say that all my Tuesday Evenings now are hopelessly engaged, so that I must not hope to be at your meeting, which I doubt not will be very interesting & successful.  Yours most sincerely, Phillips Brooks.”

Lightly and evenly toned, with several minor stains and light creases.

Signature, as U.S. Senator, “B.K. Bruce, Miss[issippi],” on a 1 ½” x 4 ½” portion of an album page.

Excellent.

Autograph Note Signed, 2 ½” x 4 ¼”, an undated, cordial reply to a letter.

“To Mark: Thank you for the nice letter, and best wishes to you and your family.  Jimmy Carter.”

Excellent.

Autograph Letter Signed, on 6” x 9” Indianapolis, Indiana hotel stationery; no year, but from later life, sending condolences to an old friend.

“May 31.

Dear Mrs. Nyeth,

My nephew Ed Adam gave me your address yesterday, so I am writing you to give you my heartly [sic] Sympathy in the loss of your dear father.  He was my oldest & best friend & we all loved him.

God be with you,
Jno. L. Clem.
__________________________________

Lightly and evenly toned, with two horizontal folds and a few tiny tears at the edges.

Autograph Letter Signed, 5” x 8”, confirming the date of his appointment as Interior Secretary in the administration of President Ulysses S. Grant.

“Cincinnati [Ohio], 14 May 1873.  Dear Sir: In reply to your note I would say that I was appointed Secretary of the Interior March 6th 1869.  Very Resp[ectfull]y, J.D. Cox.”

Lightly and evenly toned, with two horizontal folds; old hinge and mounting remnants on reverse of the integral leaf.

Signature, “Stephen Decatur,” a frank on a 1 ¼” x 2 ¾” portion of a postal cover; with rank in another hand above and the pencil notation “1819” written vertically at the upper right corner.  A stamped “FREE” partially intersects Decatur’s signature.

Lightly toned, with a stain at the left edge; affixed to heavier backing.

Autograph Letter Signed, 8” x 10”.  As a second-term U.S. representative from New York, Fillmore solicits Secretary of War Joel Poinsett in the discharge of a constituent’s son from his enlistment.  A lengthy report on the reverse is signed by longtime U.S. Army Adjutant General Roger Jones.

“House of Rep[resentatives]
July 6, 1840

Sir,

I have the honor to enclose a letter from James Sheldon, Esq[uire], a counsellor at Law residing in the city of Buffalo, N.Y. with an affidavit of Mr. & Mrs. Brooks, on which they ask to have his son, a lad of 18, discharged from his enlistment into the merited Service of that place.

As I shall soon leave, your earliest attention to this application will greatly oblige,

Your most ob[edien]t ser[van]t,
Millard Fillmore

Hon[orable] J.R. Poinsett

P.S. Please return Mr. Sheldon’s letter.”

Somewhat heavier toning from past matting at the edges; an old tear at the upper right corner, along with clean separation at the edges of two horizontal folds, is repaired on the reverse; several chips at the left edge and corner of the integral leaf.

Document Signed, Burlington, Vermont, July, 18, 1878, “Geo. P. Foster,” a partly printed 2 ¾” x 7 ½” check, also accomplished by Foster, payable to “Myself” for seventy-five dollars.

The signature is unaffected by several bank cancellations.

Civil War-Date Signature

Signature, with rank in another hand, “J.G. Foster, Major Gen[era]l Com[mandin]g,” on a 1 ½” x 2 ½” slip of paper.

Lightly and evenly toned, with minor staining and wear; affixed to a larger, heavier card, with old mounting remnants on the reverse.

Civil War-Date – as Chaplain of the 20^th Maine Infantry

Very Rare Autograph Letter Signed – returning the remains of a West Point classmate, mortally wounded at the Mexican War Battle of Churubusco

Autograph Letter Signed, 8” x 10”, to “Mr. Francis Bacon, Alfred, M[ain]e,” returning the remains of his brother, Lieutenant John Danforth Bacon, who died on October 12, 1847 from wounds received at the Mexican War Battle of Churubusco.

“New Orleans, March 13, 1848.

D[ea]r Sir:

Captain Monroe having left the city unexpectedly for a short time, he requested me to say to you in his behalf – that the remains of your brother had been shipped on the Lapland to Boston, directed to the care of U.S. Acting Assistant Quarter Master at that place.  She sailed about the 9^[th] Inst[ant].

Before closing this letter, permit me to offer you my sincere sympathy for the loss of your brother, who besides belonging to the same Regiment, was associated with me many years at the Military Academy.  I always esteemed his as one of my dearest friends & it is a source of comfort to know that he met his fate like a soldier – surrounded by those who loved him as a brother.

I am very truly yours,
R.B. Garnett,
L[ieutenan]t 6^th Inf[antr]y.
U.S.A.
New Orleans

Excellent overall, with the expected original folds.

Civil War-Date Signature

Civil War-Date Autograph Letter Signed – with excellent Vicksburg Campaign content

Autograph Letter Signed, two pages, front and reverse of an imprinted 8” x 10 page as Commander of the District of Eastern Arkansas.  In the early stages of the Vicksburg Campaign, Gorman sends a highly detailed account of operations under his command to Admiral David Dixon Porter.  Worthy of further study.

“St. Charles [Arkansas], Jan[uar]y 20th 1863

Acting Rear Admiral
D[avid] D[ixon] Porter

Admiral:

Your dispatch of the 19th (yesterday) was duly rec[eive]d at 8 A.M. Today.  All my transports will be at the mouth tomorrow.  From there I will row up to Helena, as each boat has Artillery, Cavalry and Infantry and I cannot fit out the force I am going to send to Maj[or] Gen[era]l McClernand at any other place.  I will send for the Vicksburg Expedition all the force possible, at least one full brigade, one field battery fully equipped, and I think I may be able to send two brigades, being one more than the General asks.

My success with the Expedition up White River has been complete.  At St. Charles I captured a large amount of forage, corn &c. and some prisoners.  At Duvall’s Bluff I took two 8 inch Columbiads with carriages in complete order, 25 prisoners with 70 new Enfield rifles, some stores, tents, &c., destroyed 3 cars & R[ail] R[oad] track, and burnt two Bridges – one 90 and the other 200 feet long.

At Des Arc we captured 100 prisoners, several hundred rounds of fixed 6 po[und] ammunition, several thousand bushels of Gov[ernmen]t corn, a large rebel mail, and destroyed their Telegraph.  All the force of the enemy have crossed the Arkansas [River] to Little Rock.

I should have gone to Little Rock dire[c]t if I could have crossed the sea of mud and wa[ter] between there and Duvall’s Bluff, but this is impossible at the present, and my orders were such as to comp[lete] my return at once.

I am Admiral very respectfully y[ou]r
Ob[edient] Serv[an]t,

W.A. Gorman
Brig[adier] Gen[ra]l Com[mandin]g.”

Lightly and evenly toned, with two horizontal folds; an old paper mounting strip at the right edge of the reverse obscures a few letters of text.

Signature, “B.H. Grierson,” on a 1” x 3” slip of paper, removed from a larger document or letter.

Lightly and evenly toned; somewhat closely clipped; excellent otherwise.

Appointed U.S. Surgeon General on April 25, 1862, Hammond radically reorganized the war-time Medical Department.  He was court-martialed and dismissed from the service in 1864 after a political struggle with Secretary of War Stanton; the charges were reviewed in 1879 and Hammond was exonerated, restored to rank, and placed on the retired list. 

Signature, with closing, “Yours sincerely, William A. Hammond,” on a 1 ¾” x 4 ¾” slip of paper, removed from a letter; tipped to slightly larger backing.

Lightly and evenly toned, with a collector’s pencil notation in the lower left corner.

Franked Envelope as Civil War Congressman

Franked Envelope, 3” x 5 ½”, “John B. Haskin, M[ember] C[ongress],” with stamped free designation and February 19, 1861 New York City and Williamsburgh, New York postmarks; addressed in another hand to a Westchester County, New York resident.

Smearing of ink in the New York postmark and in portions of the address; heavier soiling and wear at the edges.

Signature, with place and date also in Hill’s hand, “Fort Clinch, Fl[orid]a, Jan[uary] 31^st 1850, A.P. Hill, 1^st Art[illery],” on a 1 ¾” x 3 ¼” portion of a military document.

A large, bold example, in stark contrast to the smaller and lighter signings from many of Hill’s Civil War-time documents and letters.