FOUR STARS WORN BY GENERAL SCHWARZKOPF!   H. NORMAN SCHWARZKOPF. TLS: "N Schwarzkopf" as General, U.S. Army, Retired. 1p, 7x8½. Tampa, Florida, 1998 April 16. To Ken. In full: "This is in response to your letter of 15 February in which you asked that I send you a piece of memorabilia. Enclosed is one set of the stars that I wore during the time I was a general officer. I hope it will find a place in your extensive collection." General Schwarzkopf has added the word "set" in his hand and the four silver stars (one set) is present. Each star is approximately one square inch in size. Almost immediately after receiving his first star in 1983, Brigadier General Schwarzkopf was leading troops into battle. A coup had taken place on the tiny Caribbean island of Grenada. Grenadian revolutionaries were building an airfield which U.S. intelligence suspected would be used to supply insurgents in Central America. General Schwarzkopf was placed in command of U.S. ground forces. The coup was thwarted. Schwarzkopf was promoted to Major General (second star) and given command of the 24th Mechanized Infantry Division, at Fort Stewart, Georgia. read more...

FIDEL CASTRO Three weeks after gaining power, Castro signs a typed document authorizing transfer of documents and data to one of his lieutenants. Important Typed DS: "Fidel Castro", 1 page, 8½x11. Fortaleza de La Cabaña, Havana 1959 January 30. In Spanish. "From: Dr. Fidel Castro Ruz/To: All the Ministries". In full: "It is authorized to Captain Dr. ANTONIO NUÑEZ JIMENEZ to remove collections and documents and data to him, necessary for plans of the REVOLUTION." Dr. ANTONIO NUÑEZ JIMENEZ (1923-1998) served under Che Guevera in the revolution which brought Castro to power. He later organized geographic expeditions to locations around the world including the North Pole, Antarctica, the Andes, Amazon, Galapagos Islands and Africa. FIDEL CASTRO marched into Havana on January 9, 1959 and became Cuba's new leader. Fulgencio Batista had fled Cuba on January 1, 1959, after his government was overthrown by an armed revolt. After the fall of Batista, the Constitution of Cuba of 1940 remained in force for a very short period. It was almost immediately replaced by the Basic Law of February 7, 1959. read more...

ZACHARY TAYLOR Manuscript Letter to a Cincinnati newspaper, with his scarce signature as President-elect! Manuscript Letter signed: "Z. Taylor", 1 page, 7¾x7.  Baton Rouge, Louisiana, 1849 January 19. To the Editors and Publishers of the Cincinnati Gazette, in full: "I avail myself of an early occasion before leaving this place to journey north, to express to you my warm acknowledgements for your courtesy and kindness in forwarding to my address for some time past, the regular number of the 'Gazette'-I have always perused its columns with interest and pleasure.  With this acknowledgement please accept my heartfelt wishes for your health and happiness, and for continued success and usefulness to your paper. I am, Gentlemen, with Sentiments of high respect and regard your most obedient servant". The popularity of war hero Zachary Taylor (1784-1850) led to his election as the 12th U.S. President (1849-1850). A 40-year veteran of the Army, Taylor was a veteran of several campaigns against the Indians, including the Black Hawk War and the Seminole wars. read more...

THE FORMER UNION OFFICER IS SUPPORTED BY CONFEDERATE OFFICERS AS HE FIGHTS TO CLEAR HIS NAME   FITZ JOHN PORTER. ALS: "F.J. Porter", 4p, 5x7¾. New York, 1882 January 24. To Colonel Charles Marshall, Baltimore, Maryland. Begins: "My dear Colonel". In full: "I Thank you warmly for your full reply to my letter - I knew or believed that no written messages had passed between Longstreet & Gen Lee to the effect I wrote you - but Longstreet had testified to that effect before the Board. had written it years before. and Col. W.M Owens of New Orleans. had without confering (sic) with Longstreet. stated he heard Gen Lee about 1. PM. tell Longstreet to advance. & Longstreets reply that he wanted to hear from Stuart of the force coming up on this right - and So I took it for granted it was so. I am glad to have the details you give. That Genl Lee had a contempt for Genl Pope and justly I never doubted. He knew Pope. I don't think that any grounds could have induced him to make the moves he did. unless he was vastly superior in numbers to Pope and knew Pope would not be reinforced in time to save him. read more...

ANDREW JACKSON and JOHN H. EATON The friends discuss their shared passion for race horses, and Eaton sends Jackson a gift of a pipe. When President Jackson appointed Eaton to his Cabinet, it triggered a major political scandal which changed the course of American history. Autograph Letter Signed: "A.J." on lower half of concluding page of 2½p Autograph Letter Signed (separate sheets) of John H. Eaton to Jackson, 8x9¾. Eaton's letter is written from Granville, North Carolina, 1826 September 12. Integral address leaf addressed by Eaton to General Jackson at "Hermitage, Davidson County, Tennessee" noting that it would be delivered by "Rev'd H.M. Cryer". In part: "The Sir Archie Horse sold to Mr. Cryer was bred by me-his Dam and grand Dam were very fine mares, of Roanoak's color-five feet three inches high ellegant (sic), compact and active...I am quite partial to old Archie, but think the Dam of Roanoak was certainly as fine or a finer Nag. In the Autumn of 1819 after covering some mares in the early part of the Spring, this Horse was trained & run at Warrenton. He was beaten by Mr. Drummonds Napoleon. read more...

JOHN PAUL JONES The military hero's signature on a 1¾x1 slip of paper. Extremely Rare! Signature: "Jno P Jones" 1¾x1. Scottish-born John Paul Jones (1747-1792) was commissioned a first lieutenant in the new Continental Navy in December 1775. Serving aboard Esek Hopkins' flagship Alfred, Jones was the first to hoist the Grand Union flag on a continental warship. Elevated to Captain, Jones commanded the 12-gun sloop Providence during the summer and fall of 1776, capturing and sinking several British ships. In 1779, now commanding the Bonhomme Richard, a ship loaned by France and named in homage to Benjamin Franklin's Poor Richard's Almanack, Jones raided English shipping and fought his most famous engagement, a long and bloody duel with the superior British frigate Serapis. Refusing English Captain Pearson's request for his surrender, Jones made his famous retort, "I have not yet begun to fight." The Bonhomme Richard was sunk, but Jones won the battle, transferring his command to the vanquished Serapis. In 1781 Jones returned to the U.S. to supervise the formation of the American Navy. In 1788, he accepted service in the Russian navy under Catherine the Great, engaging in several naval battles against the Ottoman Empire. Then, in 1792 he was appointed U.S. read more...

WILLIAM BARCLAY "BAT" MASTERSON This extraordinary document is a typed manuscript for Dodge City, The Cowboy Capital about Western lawman Bat Masterson, with a total of four handwritten corrections by him, including his very rare full signature. It was written by Robert M. Wright, former mayor of Dodge City, Kansas, and sent to Masterson, a former deputy in Dodge City, for his review. Annotated typed manuscript signed "William Barclay (Bat) Masterson". Black ink and lead pencil notations in unknown hand. 6 pages, 8½x11, bound with a needle at top edge. There are a total of four corrections on the first page. The first is Masterson's signature, correcting the title "W.B. Masterson (Bat)". He also corrected the initials "W.B." in the first sentence with "William Barclay". The other two corrections pertain to his candidacy for sheriff of Ford County, Kansas, which included Dodge City. He crossed out the "6" in "1876" and corrected it with "7". read more...

JOSÉ MARTÍ One day before he announced the creation of the Cuban Revolutionary Party, Martí signed this historic, Spanish-language autograph letter arranging tuition payments for the daughters of a friend and ideological rival, Miguel Figueroa. Historic ALS: "José Martí", 1 page, 7½x10¼. [New York], 1892 February 13. In Spanish, translated. In full: "Señora [Mother] Zulueta. My Dear Madam: I had wanted to go myself to put in the hands of Madam Treasurer the tuition payments for the Figueroa girls, and to discharge in person the errand with which their father entrusted me. But I have not been able to recover yet from my illness, so I am mailing the checks to Madam Treasurer, and if I am on my feet by Monday - and my health is not compromised by my attendance at a public meeting tomorrow - I hope to have the pleasure of personally greeting you and the Figueroa girls, to whom I beg you to give the enclosed letter." On the eve of his announcing the organization of the Cuban Revolutionary Party, formed to gain Cuba's independence from Spain, Martí helps his friend and sometime ideological opponent, MIGUEL FIGUEROA (1851-1892). read more...

FITZ JOHN PORTER Court-martialed after Second Bull Run, the Union officer defends his actions to Robert E. Lee's biographer and tells of his long friendship with the Confederate General. Important ALS: "F.J. Porter", 3¼ p, New York, 1870 January 22. To General Robert E. Lee's former Aide-de-Camp, Colonel Charles Marshall, who at the time was in the midst of writing an autobiography of his experiences with the General: An Aide-De-Camp of Lee, Being The Papers of Colonel Charles Marshall. Marshall corresponded with many of Lee's subordinates in an effort to collect their correspondences with Lee for reference and publication in the book. Porter had known Lee since his boyhood and was "close to him" in the Mexican War and "at West Point, where for a time I [Porter] was his adjt". General Lee died just nine months after this letter. Porter writes, in full: "I have yours- and thank you. The opinions quoted in my 'data' are all from original letters - I had Genl Lee's written permission to use his letters, whenever I deemed read more...