Sword, overall length 43½ inches, and scabbard. The sword, which has a steel blade, has a brass hilt and wire and leather wrapped grip. The scabbard is steel. Sword is marked on ricasso: "Ames Mfg. Co. Chicopee, Mass. US JH 1858". On April 14, 1858, Ames Manufacturing Company in Chicopee, Massachusetts received an order from the Ordnance Department for 800 "New Pattern" Light Cavalry sabres. All 800 of these sabres, including this one, were delivered in October 1858, making them the first one percent of the 81,300 Light Cavalry sabres that Ames would produce for the Ordnance Department during the Civil War. This is likely the sword of an enlisted man, as their swords were usually dated on the ricasso. During the American Civil War (1861-1865), the Army was divided into three components: the infantry, the artillery and the cavalry. In the early stages of the war, the cavalry supported the artillery and infantry by scouting, gathering intelligence and generally serving as the "eyes and ears" of the Army. As the war progressed, however, the cavalry took an increasingly offensive role, and by the end of the war the Union cavalry was recognized as fearsome offensive force. The light cavalry always fought mounted, using pistols and sabres, such as the one offered here.

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 it necessary - I withheld on account of delicacy to him, and to prevent his name, during life, being banded about by Radical hounds.…"

A two page ledger documenting the work of strengthening walls and armaments, dated 1843 Manuscript document signed: "R E Lee/Capt Engrs", 1p, 23x8¾. Fort Hamilton, New York, 1843 October 24. In full: "I certify that the above Report is correct & that the cash account there in included is correctly stated." Lee was sent to Fort Hamilton in New York harbor as a Captain of the Army Corps of Engineers in 1842. He was charged with improving and fortifying the defenses and shipping yards at this crucial Northern port. This document is a two-page ledger (front and verso) that documents the work for strengthening the walls and armaments on those walls for work up to September 30, 1843. Lee not only managed the project but, he was the dispersing agent for the moneys outlaid for the project. The scope of work is divided into two physical locations, the Fort itself and the Redoubt, which is the barrier surrounded by a parapet (a protective screen to protect troops from frontal assault) that is dominated by guns and heavy fortifications behind it. The following construction was executed on these locations: Masonry, Carpentry, Smithery, Stone Cutting. The cost of these efforts in both materials and labor are documented in both dollars and cents per effort.

Partly Printed DS: "Andrew Johnson" as President and "William H. Seward" as Secretary of State, 1p, 13¾x10. Washington, 1866 May 4. Appointment of William T. Coggeshall of Ohio as "Minister Resident of the United States of America to the Republic of Ecuador". COGGESHALL (1824-1867) presented his credentials on September 20, 1866, serving until his death in Guapolo, Ecuador on August 3, 1867. Congress had passed the Tenure of Office Act on March 2, 1867, over JOHNSON's veto. It required Senate approval for a president to remove any federal official previously confirmed by the Senate. On August 12, 1867, just nine days after Coggeshall's death, Johnson dismissed Secretary of War Edwin M. Stanton, a Radical Republican, in defiance of the act. This action led to Johnson's impeachment in 1868. The Radical Republicans controlling the Senate then refused to confirm most of Johnson's appointments, including three successive Ministers to Ecuador. It was not until Grant became President in 1869 that the Senate confirmed the appointment of Coggeshall's successor. SEWARD, who had been appointed by President Lincoln on March 5, 1861, served as Secretary of State through Johnson's administration. Lightly creased. Folds, vertical fold touches the second "l" in William.

Pierre G. T. Beauregard signs a war dated manuscript letter of thanks for forwarding the letter from his wife. War-dated Manuscript Letter Signed: "G.T. Beauregard", 1p, 8x7¼ lined sheet. Charleston, South Carolina, 1863 September 16. On letterhead of Headquarters, Department of South Carolina, Georgia and Florida to "Dear Sir". In full: "I have received the letter from Mrs. B[eauregard] you have been kind enough to send me; please return my sincere thanks to the parties connected with it's (sic) transmission. Hoping that before very long our troubles will be at an end, & that I shall be able to acknowledge personally this favor. I remain Yours very truly & resply". At the time of this letter, Confederate General Pierre Gustave Toutant Beauregard (1818-1893) was Commander of the Confederacy's Military Department of South Carolina, Georgia and Florida (1862-1864) and was defending Charleston from attacks by the Union Army and Navy. Beauregard, who had shortened his name to G.T. Beauregard while a student at West Point, had been named a Brigadier General in the Confederate States Army on March 1, 1861 and just a month later, on April 12, 1861, gave the order for Confederate troops to fire on Ft.

. Printed DS: "U.S. Grant" as President of the Soldiers Monument Association, 1p, 14x17. Galena, Ill., 1865 August 28. Not filled in. In full: "This Certifies that [blank] Is hereby Constituted a Member of the Jo Daviess Soldiers' Monument Association." Vignette of Lincoln at top center and five other smaller vignettes. Engraved by the Continental Bank Note Co., New York. At the time the Civil War broke out, former soldier Ulysses S. Grant was working in his father's hardware store in Galena, Illinois. Four years later, Lieutenant General Grant was the hero of Galena and of the Civil War, which ended on April 9, 1865. The citizens of Galena purchased a furnished home in town and presented it to Grant. He signed its deed on August 18, 1865. Other honors were heaped upon the General, including the honorary presidency of the Jo Daviess Soldiers' Monument Association, for which he signed this membership certificate (according to his memoirs) on August 28, 1865. Galena is located on the Mississippi River in Jo Daviess County, named for the Daniel Boone-like figure of Col. JOSEPH H. DAVIESS, frontier lawyer who was killed in the Battle of Tippecanoe in 1811. Counties in Missouri and Indiana were also named after Daviess. Fine condition.

Comprises: (1) Autograph Letter Signed: "your affectionate Brother", 3½ pages, 7 5/8 by 9¾. Camp Newbern, N.C., February 16, 1863. Normal folds. Slightly worn at folds on first page, else fine. To his brother, Joseph Wensel, Pottstown, Montgomery County, Pa., who Americanized the family name. Henry has written his letter with a German accent. Spelling not corrected. In part: "I in form you that I Received your letter on the 13th day of february and 25 cents in money and 4 postage Stamps and I was very glad to hear from you and the old folks and I was very much obliged for the money and Stamps...I wish you whould fetch my two Saws too over to your house and keep them in your Care till Come home and if you want to youth [use] them why youth them till I Call for them and if I never Come home no more why you may keep them and pay to my Wife what you think is Ride [right] are what you think they are worth you may keep them for keeping in Repair as long as I am in Service...…"

Signed carte-de-visite, shown as major general, matted and framed to 8x9½ Photograph Mount signed: "Geo McClellan/Maj. Genl.". Sepia, 2½x4. Matted and framed to an overall size of 8x9½. McClellan (1826-1885) was named General in Chief by President Lincoln in November 1861. He directed the Peninsular Campaign and won at Antietam, but was removed by President Lincoln for failure to continue the pressure on Lee's army. No match for Confederate General Robert E. Lee as a field commander, but skilled at logistics and organization, McClellan made a great contribution to eventual Union victory by building the Army of the Potomac into a well trained and disciplined fighting force. In 1864, he was the unsuccessful Democratic candidate for President, losing to Lincoln 233 electoral votes to 21. From 1878-1881, he was Governor of New Jersey. Fine condition. Framed, not by HistoryForSale.

Five days after General Lee's surrender, the Confederate President, determined to fight on, signs instructions to General Beauregard, framedto an overall size of 37x21. ALS: "J.D." as President of the Confederacy, on verso in lower ¼ page of 8½x5 telegraph form, South of Yadkin River, 1865 April 14. On telegram form headed "The Southern Express Company/Forward Packages by Passenger trains and Steamers, and Dispatches by Telegraph,/to all parts of the Confederate States". Telegram from Brigadier General S.H. Ferguson to General Beauregard completely in the hand of a telegraph clerk, including signature. In full: "Have Crossed Almost all my horses on RR bridge with a little work wagons Can be brought over by hands will push on after enemy & have advised Genl Johnston to put his Command at work to repair Rail Road if this is approved orders had better be given = neither find passable today. S.H. Ferguson Brig Genl". Initialed "DH" by the telegraph clerk. At the conclusion of his message to Beauregard, Brigadier General Ferguson has penned: "By J." beneath which Jefferson Davis has penned, in full: "Genl Beauregard/Would it not be well for Genl.…"

Eloquently demands protection of the Red Cross symbol. Manuscript Signed: "Clara Barton" circa 1893, three typed pages, 8 x 10½. American Association of the Red Cross President Barton issues a call for a meeting of the Official Advisory Board to consider the protection of the Red Cross Insignia. Her fight had begun shortly after the First Geneva Convention attended by governments from around the world in 1864. Barton fought for the U.S. Congress to ratify the Convention but fearing foreign entanglements the government would not ratify and acknowledge the Convention until 18 years later. After the chartering of the society in 1882, the charitable and international neutral symbol was also used for everything from snake oils, cigars, alcoholic beverages and later, her fiercest adversary, the burgeoning conglomerate Johnson & Johnson Company. This overwhelming misuse and lack of congressional action led Barton to call the first meeting of the association's Board in 1893. Ultimately, the Red Cross would receive limited protection with the organization's official chartering in 1900. Barton's manuscript, in part: "...…"

Telegram, unsigned, 1 page, 8½x11. 1866 December 6. Telegram partly printed in Portuguese, received from Gideon Welles in Washington, D.C., for transmittal to Admiral Goldsborough, American Squadron at Lisbon, Portugal. Manuscript text of Welles' message (unknown hand): "Send steamer to Alexandria, Egypt to receive Surautt [sic] from Consul Hale and bring him to Washington." [Welles' name has also been misspelled by the telegraph office.] Docketed on verso: "Hon. G. Welles/Secy of the Navy/6th Dec. 1866/Send steamer to/Alexandria, Egypt". Gideon Welles (1812-1878), a Jacksonian Democrat who joined the new Republican Party in 1854 because he detested slavery, was Secretary of the Navy throughout the Presidencies of Abraham Lincoln (who called him "Neptune") and Andrew Johnson (1861-1869). John Suratt (1844-1916) was the son of Mary Suratt, convicted of conspiracy in the assassination of President Lincoln and the first woman executed (hanged) by the US government. John Suratt was accused of involvement in the conspiracy, but remained at large for a year and a half, fleeing first to Canada and then through Europe, escaping after first having been captured in Italy.

Rare handwritten letter to his friend Charles Fletcher, smuggled out of the jail by his wife, signed by him in 1883 while he awaited trial for robbery and murder Rare ALS: "Frank" with "Direct to Mrs. Frank James" to left of signature, 1 page, 7¾x10½. In Jail at Gallatin, Missouri, 1883 April 7. To his friend, Charles Fletcher. In part: "I should of written you before this but all my mail had to be inspected by the Sheriff. But as my wife is now with me and can smuggle this through the linens and she can receive letters…hence this letter. I am getting on as well as one could suppose in Jail…You have so proved yourself, I hope you will be so situated as to be able to attend my trial in June. I am expecting to be acquitted if justice prevails I will be undoubtedly. My wife sends kindest regards to you and family. Hoping to hear from you soon…." Frank and Jesse James had been Confederate guerrillas under the leadership of William Quantrill during the Civil War. They joined Cole Younger and others in 1866 and formed a gang of which Jesse was usually regarded as the leader. At first, they specialized in bank robberies, but in 1873 they held up a train.