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.

Civil War legend Joshua Chamberlain signed check to local stonecutter. Partly Printed Check signed: "J.L. Chamberlain", 7x2¾. Brunswick, Me., 1867 October 12. Drawn on the First National Bank of Brunswick. Payable to D.M. Melcher for $65.00. Affixed at left is a 2-cent U.S. Internal Revenue stamp picturing Washington. D.M. Melcher & Co., Brunswick, Maine, was a stonecutter company that erected monuments in cemeteries. Colonel Chamberlain, formerly a professor at Bowdoin College, Maine, commanded the 20th Maine in its famous defense of Little Round Top in the Battle of Gettysburg, July 2, 1863. His unit was posted as left flank of the Union Army and fended off repeated Confederate attacks throughout the day. He broke the Confederate lines by a bayonet charge. Chamberlain, who was awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor for his actions that day, received the only battlefield promotion to General in the Civil War. At Appomattox Courthouse, April 9, 1865, Brevet Major General Chamberlain was chosen to accept the Confederate surrender. He then ordered Union troops to present arms to their former enemy as a mark of respect. Chamberlain was Republican Governor of Maine (1866-1970), then assumed the presidency of Bowdoin.  His severe war wounds eventually killed him in 1914.

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: "...…"

Handwritten letter to former rival - now partner - Pawnee Bill Lillie -  outlining plans for a California tour of their wild west show. "And if all goes well we could clean up a wagon load of money." Autograph Letter signed: "Col.", 1 page, 8½x11. Saco, Maine, May 30 (circa 1908). On letterhead of Buffalo Bill's Wild West and Pawnee Bill's Far East to "Dear Major" [William Lillie]. In full: "The reason I would not sign up with Craft. They went back on the Contract they had Bacon draw and sent two of their own fixing. You see by the route of Sells Floto that they are playing all of the Country west of the Rockies and North West. And I think we should do it. I think the summer of the Great Panama Fair at San Francisco we could show all that Country. In the Spring three shows. San Francisco July, Aug. Sep. Then Southern Cal. Oct. And if all goes well we could clean up a wagon load of money." William Frederick Cody (1846-1917) earned the name "Buffalo Bill" for killing thousands of buffalo as a hired hunter in 1867 and 1868. Cody had begun his Wild West career herding cattle at age nine. Five years later, he became the Pony Express' youngest rider.

From the President to the son of Buchanan's Postmaster General: He cannot attend a meeting of the Society of the Army of the Potomac. Manuscript LS: "Benj Harrison" as President, 1p, 7½x10. Executive Mansion, Washington, 1892 May 21. To Hon. Horatio C. King, Brooklyn, N.Y. In full: "I beg to acknowledge the receipt of your letter of May 19th in which you extend to me a cordial invitation to attend the annual meeting of the Society of the Army of the Potomac to be held at Scranton June 15th and 16th. I fear that it will not be possible for me to accept this invitation, and assure you that I regret that it is so." KING, son of Buchanan's Postmaster General, was Judge Advocate General of New York. In the Civil War, he served with the Army of the Potomac and Shenandoah from 1862-1865. Harrison was Colonel in the 70th Indiana Regiment in the Civil War. Just 2½ weeks after this letter, President Harrison was renominated on the first ballot at the Republican National Convention held in Minneapolis June 7-10, 1892. Tanned, lined page. Lightly creased. Vertical fold touches the "a" in Harrison. Fine condition.

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.…"

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.

Handwritten letter, signed in text as "General Custer" (even though he had reverted to his pre-war rank), written in the Dakota Territory two years before his death at the Little Big Horn. Letter includes Custer's stab at poetry. Third Person Autograph Letter, 1 page, 7¾x6¼. Fort Lincoln, D.T. [Dakota Territory], 1874 June 5th. Unknown addressee. In full: "Gen Custers compliments his regrets likewise, in response to your kind invitation. His absence should never create surprise except from his own habitation. This being written his duty might end. With no fear of being called Alfred Tennyson. He simply desires, however to send you, the accompanying leg of venison." George Armstrong Custer (1839-1876) graduated last in his class at West Point in 1858, but promptly redeemed himself through his brave and aggressive cavalry leadership during the Civil War. Earning the confidence of cavalry commanders Pleasanton and Sheridan, he rose swiftly to the rank of brevet major general by war's end. Custer had taken command of the 5th Michigan Cavalry shortly before Gettysburg and led it into battle repeatedly. Custer left military service briefly after the Civil War, dabbling in business and politics, but by 1867 he was back in uniform, battling Plains Indians.

Note handwritten as a lieutenant in the US Army, on duty at Fort Riley, Kansas Territory, signed in the text and accompanied by the original $3 bank note Stewart enclosed with it. Third Person Autograph Note, 1 page, 8x5. In full: "Be sure to direct $6 Lieut. J. E. B. Stuart Fort Riley K. T. P. S. I enclose also $3 more for which please send the Congressional Globe & appendix t P. L. Taylor, Fort Riley K. T. [Kansas Territory]." Accompanied by the $3 demand note, issued by the Phoenix Bank of Hartford, which Stewart forwarded with this letter. James Ewell Brown (J.E.B.) Stuart (1833-1864), called Jeb by his friends and by history, graduated from West Point in 1854, serving on the Western frontier. He participated in the capture of John Brown at Harper's Ferry. When he signed this note, Stewart was serving as Quartermaster of the 1st Cavalry, stationed at Fort Riley in the Kansas Territory. "Bleeding Kansas" was aflame with pro- and anti-slavery forces, seeking to determine by which system the Territory would enter the Union. Stewart, already a veteran of skirmishes with the Plains Indians, was helping to preserve order in the divided land. He was promoted to first lieutenant in 1858, and to captain shortly before he resigned from the US Army to join the Confederacy in May 1861.

The former Civil War Union general accepts the invitation of Ohio Senator John Sherman to act as Marshal for the Ceremonies at the dedication of the Washington Monument. Manuscript LS: "P.H. Sheridan" as Lieutenant General, 1½p, 7½ x 9¾ lined sheet, front and verso (hinged to show both sides of letter). Washington, D.C., 1884 December 12. On letterhead of Headquarters, Army of the United States to Hon. John Sherman, U.S. Senate. Begins: "My dear Sir". In full: "I have the honor to acknowledge receipt of your letter of December 11th. communicating the resolution unanimously adopted by the Commission, inviting me to 'act as Marshal on the day of the ceremonies, to arrange the details of the procession and assign to the different organizations their places in the line.' Accepting with pleasure the duty thus assigned me, I beg that you will convey to the commission my high appreciation of the distinguished honor conferred upon me.…"

. 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...…"