Civil War-Date Signature & Rank

Signature, with sentiment and early-war rank, “Yours Sincerely, Joseph Hooker, Brig[adier] Gen[era]l,” on a 2” x 3 ¼” slip of lined paper, affixed to heavier backing of the same dimension.

Lightly and evenly toned, with minor wear and staining; portions affected by brushing and bleeding of ink, along with surface abrasion.

Signature, “Rufus Ingalls,” with rank in another hand, on a 1 ¼” x 3 ¼” slip of paper, removed from a military letter.

Lightly and evenly toned, with a few small stains; an old mounting hinge is on the reverse.

Civil War-Date Document Signed

Signed Album Page, 4 ¾” x 7 ¼”, “Andrew Johnson.”

Excellent, with light, even toning and original binding holes at the left edge.

Document Signed, 7 ¾” x 9 ¾”, New Orleans, Louisiana, April 14, 1828, “H. Johnson,” as governor on an imprinted form with a beautifully embossed seal at lower left, appointing a judge in West Feliciana Parish.

A seldom-seen document, with light, even toning; minor separation, with no loss of paper, at the usual vertical and horizontal folds; a few chips at the uneven left edge.

Signed Program, 4” x 6”, as President on the front cover, “Lyndon B. Johnson,” for a White House event honoring the President of the Philippines, October 5, 1964, featuring The Harkness Ballet.

On heavy paper, lightly and evenly toned, with superficial wear and soiling.

Signature, as U.S. Senator, “Cha[rle]s W. Jones, Fl[orid]a,” on a 2 ½” x 4” portion of an album page.

Lightly and evenly toned.

Mexican War-Date Signature & Rank

Signature & Rank, “P. Kearny, Jr., L[ieutenan]t 1^st Dr[agoon]s Com[man]d[ing]…” on a 1 ½” x 5” slip of paper; a portion of the document from which Kearny’s signature was removed is included, and bears the manuscript heading, in an unknown hand, “Date. 31^st December 1846.  Station. Saltillo, (Mexico).”

Minor wear and staining, with two pinholes at the left edge of the dated slip of paper.

Signature, as U.S. Representative, “F.C. Le Blond, Celina, Ohio,” on a 2 ¾” x 5” portion of an album page.

Lightly and evenly toned.

Autograph Letter Signed, 7 ¼” x 9 ¼”, thanking one “J.H. Coghill, Esq[uire], New York City,” for the gift of a book.

“Richland, Stafford Co[unty], V[irgini]a,
Feb[ruary] 10, 1880.

My dear Sir,

I beg that you will accept my thanks for the book you were kind enough to send me, and I must also tender my congratulations for the excellent manner displayed in grouping the material, you have so carefully gathered, in such handsome form.

Grateful too, for the Kind feelings expressed for myself,

I am very truly yours,
Fitzhugh Lee.”

Lightly and evenly toned, with the expected folds; tipped to slightly larger backing at the edges.

Autograph Letter Signed, 7 ¾” x 10 ¾”, one page.  As Post Engineer at Fort Hamilton, situated at the mouth of New York Harbor in Brooklyn, Lee writes to a materials supplier, ordering hydraulic cement, commonly used to construct and repair stone and cement structures, even underwater.  While serving as post engineer at Fort Hamilton, 1841-46, Lee is credited with the design and construction of several New York-area fortifications, notably Fort Richmond, Fort Tompkins, and the forts at Willetts Point and Sandy Hook.

 “Henry Wilde, Esq[uir]e,

Sec[retar]y Newark L, & C, Ms. Co.,

Fort Hamilton, N[ew[ Y[ork],

11 April 1843.

Sir,

I have rec[eive]d your letter of the 18 Ult[im]o, offering to furnish me with fresh hydraulic Cement @ $1.25/100 per cask of 300 lbs., deducting 12 ½ c[ents] per cask for those returned.  I will thank you to send me to this place 50 Casks with as little delay as practicable.  The cement must be fresh, & the Casks light & strong.  You may also send 10 Casks of Lime.

Very respectf[ull]y Your Ob[edien]t Serv[an]t,

R.E Lee,

Capt[ain] Eng[ineer]s.”

Lightly and evenly toned, with minor soiling and wear and the expected folds; the integral leaf, addressed in another hand, is bound by a paper strip at the left edge, and has a small hole well beneath the address from the opening of a no-longer-present wax seal.

As Superintendent of the U.S. Military Academy at West Point

LEE, ROBERT EDWARD (1807-70)  Confederate General & Commander of the Army of Northern Virginia

GARNETT, ROBERT SELDEN (1819-61)  Confederate Brigadier General; Killed-in-Action at the Battle of Corrick’s Ford, Virginia, July 13, 1861 - the first general officer to be killed during the American Civil War; Veteran of the Mexican & Seminole Wars

TOTTEN, JOSEPH GILBERT (1788-1864)  Union Brigadier General during the American Civil War; Veteran of the War of 1812 & the Mexican War

Endorsement Signed, as Superintendent of the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, “Approved, R.E. Lee, Captain Corps Eng[ineer]s & B[revet] Col[onel, Sup[erintenden]t M[ilitary] A[cademy],” on a 3 ½” x 7” portion of a letter from Robert S. Garnett, whose signature and rank are at upper right: “R.S. Garnett, Capt[ain] 7^th Inf[antry] & B[revet] Maj[or], Com[mandant] of Corps of Cadets.”  Also endorsed by longtime U.S. Army Officer Joseph Totten beneath, “Eng[inee]r Department, July 7, 1853.  Approved, Jos. G. Totten.”

Several light creases and a few minor stains detract very little.

Autograph Document Signed, 8” x 10”, Fort Hamilton, New York, June 2, 1846, “R.E. Lee, Capt[ain] Eng[inee]rs,” a partly printed requisition for supplies sold to the U.S. Army for use at the installation.  The hardware being purchased is enumerated in Lee’s hand on the front, as is a three-line docket beneath his signature on the reverse.  While serving as post engineer at Fort Hamilton, 1841-46, Lee is credited with the design and construction of several New York-area fortifications, notably Fort Richmond, Fort Tompkins, and the forts at Willetts Point and Sandy Hook.

Seldom seen in its entire form, as Lee’s signature and four lines of print preceding it are often excised and sold as a smaller document.  Lightly and evenly toned, with two horizontal folds, several minor stains and paper breaks.

Signature, with the rank held from June 11, 1851 through the outbreak of the American Civil War, “N. Lyon, Capt[ain], 2^nd Inf[antr]y, Com[mandin]g Comp[an]y ‘B’”, on a 3” x 4 ¼” slip of lined paper.

Lightly and evenly toned, with a few superficial stains; old mounting traces on the reverse.

Autograph Letter Signed, 8” x 10”, requesting a cask of wine be sent to Fort Independence, Massachusetts. 

“Boston, 5^th July, 1849.  Major Wm. D. Fraser, U.S. Corps Engineers, N[ew] Y[ork].  D[ea]r Sir, I will thank you to forward to this place by first packet convenient one cask Gaudron for the service of Fort Independence.  Gaugeret & his Assistant joined me from St.[?] Newton on the morning of the 3^rd July.  Very Respectfully, Your Ob[edien]t Jos. K.F. Mansfield, Capt[ain]…& B[re]v[e]t Col[onel].’’

Overall condition is very good, with heavier wear and toning at the usual vertical and horizontal folds.

Autograph Letter Signed, 4 ½” x 7”, two pages on the first and third leaves of a folded lettersheet.  On black-bordered mourning stationery, Mrs. McClellan responds to a request for her husband’s autograph, probably just months after his death on October 29, 1885.

“32 Washington Square, Jan[uar]y 20^th.  Wm. H Jones, Esq[uire].  Dear Sir, Mr. Curtis writes me that you would like an autograph of General McClellan to put in Mr. Curtis’ little book.  I have no note or letter that I can [s]end, but I enclose his signature which I have cut from a check.  Yours truly, Ellen M. McClellan.”

Lightly and evenly toned, with a horizontal fold at the center; there are a few minor chips to the black border, and a diagonal horizontal fold transverses the lower portion of both pages.

Civil War-Date Document Signed

Document Signed, 8” x 10”, “Approved, Danl. McCook, Co[lone]l Com[man]d[in]g Brigade,” a requisition for service to the Quartermaster’s Department of the 52^nd Ohio Infantry, August 30 to November 18, 1862.

Lightly and evenly toned, with heavier staining along two horizontal folds; water staining at the left and the center fold, well away from McCook’s endorsement.

Civil War-Date Letter Signed

Letter Signed, 7 ¾” x 9 ¾”, an early-ear communication regarding supplies needed for the Seventh Brigade, under General James Negley.

“Head Quarters Second Division, Camp Wood [Kentucky], Dec[ember] 16, 1861.

Capt[ain] J.F. Boyd
As[sistan]t Q[uarte]r Master.

Sir,

I have the honor herewith to enclose, a memorandum of the wants of the Q[uarte]r Masters Dep[artmen]t of the 7^th Brigade.  Gen[era]l Negley informs me he has, made several requisitions for the articles, without obtaining them.  You will please ereport to these Head Quarters why the articles have not been furnished.

I am Sir, very respectfully,
Your Obedient Servant,

Danl. McCook
As[sistan]t Adj[utan]t Gen[era]l.”

Lightly and evenly toned, with two horizontal folds, several light surface creases, and a few old paper and hinge remnants on the reverse.

Document Signed, 4 ¾” x 7 ½”, St. Louis Missouri, September 4, 1861, “J. McKinstry,” accomplished in another hand, a partly printed pass for a “Mrs. Sarah McIntyre to pass beyond the limits of the City and County of St. Louis, to go to Ohio.”

A rare autograph on an interesting, seldom-seen form, this being the first McKinstry piece we have encountered.  Moderate toning throughout, with several stains; heavier wear and soiling along two vertical folds, with negligible separation at the edges.

War-Date Confederate Bond

Document Signed, 14” x 17”, April 1, 1861, “A.B. Moore,” a partly printed $1000 bond “ISSUED FOR MILITARY DEFENSE” of the state of Alabama, serial number 314.  Countersigned by State Comptroller W.J. Greene, with a pink embossed seal at the lower left.  Thirteen of the original coupons remain attached at the bottom.  Supporting material states that this issue is given the highest rarity rating of “R11” by Confederate Bond Authority Grover C. Criswell.

Lightly toned, with tiny holes at the intersections of the expected folds and a few small tears at the edges.